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This Monday, the nation will recognize the very important part the American worker plays in our country’s continued progression.

On the first Monday of September, the nation recognizes Labor Day, an important day recognizes the work of the employee that keeps businesses across the United States running. Since the late 1894s, when President Grover Cleveland signed the recognition of Labor Day as a federal holiday, we have taken the day to celebrate the worker. The day was marked by parades and celebrations and later by speakers raising the impact that our nation’s workforce makes on our country each day.

It’s because of the driver we are able to get goods to where they need to go. It’s because of the stocker that goes in at 4 a.m. that you have a choice of goods on the shelf. And it’s because of the union that many workers have the benefits they deserve to make a living.

However, these days Labor Day has kind of slid under the radar. For many, it simply celebrates a three-day weekend. A last hurrah for summer, as it were. It has become a weekend of picnics, grilling and fun.

Which is all well and good. There’s no law saying that you can’t do both, but all too often we don’t do both.

The fact is, that without our workforce laying the base for American progress, there is no progress. We are at a standstill and the jobs that we carry out on a daily basis deserve more of a recognition.

Now, are we saying you need to thank each person you see doing a job? No, of course not, but we hope you at least take a moment to appreciate the jobs being done all around you — even your own.

Labor Day is not something to be taken lightly. It’s a day of honoring where we have been and where we need to go in order to be the very best we can.