Opinion: Reflect on workers' importance to you

Labor Day is coming up, a time when we normally celebrate the end of summer with a barbeque and cooler weather. This year, because of COVID, we're asking people to socially distance. So why not take the opportunity to think about why we have the holiday in the first place?

As Americans we appreciate times of intensity well; the country's founding, sacrifices of war, or death of a great civil rights leader. What we sometimes forget is the worth of everyday work and what that daily grind means to our lives. That's why Labor Day was created.

Think about it. When you see orange barrels, do you think about the risk and sweat those folks repairing roads are going through? Probably not, as it means you're delayed. But without those workers putting it all out there on blacktop we wouldn't be able to commute, visit our families, or in better times see a movie or game. To these road workers: thank you.

How about the store? When you're picking up bread, milk, chile, or some chicken for dinner do you recognize the work it took grow the crops, feed the animals, process the food, transport it to the store, and stock the shelves? All that means we can eat, and food should never be taken for granted. To these farmers, truckers, and grocery store workers: thank you.

And in this pandemic, some work means even more because of the risk taken for "essential" jobs that we all need.

Teachers get a bad rap. Some falsely accuse them of working nine months, lazily going through their days as babysitters. However, as many parents are more involved in daily online learning, the revelation on just how damn hard the job is and how much our educators do is now intimately revealed. When they go back to the classroom, they'll risk working with lots of people indoors. But they will do it because they love our kids. To all the teachers: thank you.

Healthcare jobs are life and death to start with. The risks of COVID make them even tougher. My sister is a Veterans Affairs doc, and in May did a stint in the Bronx right after the virus spiked in New York. One day she had to tell a hard of hearing vet in his 70s that he had cancer, trying to communicate through two masks and a face shield. Her story is hard, and the fact that almost 1,000 American healthcare workers have died from this terrible disease makes it harder. To all of you first responders, techs, nurses, and doctors: thank you.

We in the Lujan Grisham Administration honor our workers with concrete policies. We partnered with the Legislature to increase the minimum wage and are doing more to prosecute wage theft. We continue to fight for more healthcare access and increased pay for teachers significantly.

We've also protected all New Mexicans, including many frontline workers, in this COVID crisis with mask mandates, COVID-safe workplace regulations, and travel restrictions. To all New Mexicans, thank you for following these practices and decreasing the COVID spread.

This is a hard time, but by keeping our heads up and supporting our friends and neighbors with hard work and respect we will get through this together. And as you mask up and socially distance over Labor Day, please take a second to reflect on how important workers are to you and your family.

When you get a chance thank one.

Bill McCamley is the New Mexico secretary of Workforce Solutions. Contact him:

[email protected]