Monday, 7 Sept., is Labor Day in America, a day most Americans associate with a threeday weekend and a farewell to summertime. However, this national holiday isalso a time to honor workers and the central place their labor has in ourlives. VOA's Adam Phillips spoke withsome New Yorkers about what work means to them.
"Work is what you do to earn a living; it'swhat you do all day to get your paycheck," says John Collins, a young insurancebroker-turned law student. But Collins concedes there are other reasons people work. "Some people do what they love, or they dovolunteer work [and] they are clearly working for more than money alone."
For Vab, who sells homemade rap CDs to passersby, working is all about trade,whether one is working a regular "nine to five" job, or selling clothes. "Like, right now, I am standing on a cornerand I'm stopping people to collect donations for my music," he says. "That's hustle. That's work to me."
Many immigrants, like Colombia-born Ricardo A. Lopez, work to realizetheir American Dream. For 28 years, he's been driving a taxicab 13 hours a day,six days a week, but has yet to tire of it. "It's not a greatly skilled job, but the moneyis good," he says. "You take care of your family. You pay all the debts, and allthe bills. I paid off two houses!"
Lopezsays the dignity of coming to work every day makes one proud. "Otherwise, you'dbe walking the streets. Like I know a Cuban guy over here that stays the wholeday and the whole year doing nothing, and he's happy! I'm not [like that]! Ihave !" he says with a grin.
Software engineer Puru Vandansetty says hegains both self respect and respect from others through productive work, becausehis labor benefits others. "Imagine [if] no one worked," he says. "You wouldn'thave these buildings. You wouldn't have anything. [There would be] nodevelopment. So we are constantly working toward making the world a betterplace."
Vandansetty adds that when he works, he alsogenerates employment for others. "I amspending my money. I am buying food or something. Other people are able to sellit. They are able to survive. So this whole chain has to go on." He says thatmost of his life goes into his work, "and then I try to 'steal' some time for fun."
Not every New Yorker feels that way. , a well-known artist and politicalcartoonist, does not find it necessary to sacrifice fun for work. He believesthat, to a significant extent, "if one likes doing it, it's not work. But work involves overcoming resistance," he says, "that is, getting something donethat would not be done otherwise." Butto Grossman, drawing cartoons and painting pictures as he does, "seemintrinsically more fun than other things I can think of to do, like heavy dutyshoveling."
Shoveling is just one of the jobs 62 year oldRichard Tarver is always glad to do. These days, Tarver is a handyman and mostlydoes building maintenance, but he also knows how to cook, paint and do manyother tasks. "I love work!" says Tarver. "It keeps me going. It keeps me young.It keeps me able. It keeps me strong." For him, work is about lots more thancash. "It's about something, and doing something for yourself? to make you look like ."
In a restaurant uptown, longtime writer also likes to be identified by her job. Burg points out that in urban areas it'scommon to ask someone you meet what their profession is. "And I am I am happyto be defined as a writer," says Burg. "It implies being creative andimaginative and interesting."
Burgsays while work gives her a role to play in society, the work- givesher a social context in which to work closely, even intimately, with others. "Ifyou are with people that are smart and on the same page as you are, thosepeople become not just your colleagues, but also your friends."
Burg says that work can bring outqualities - competence or skill or imagination - for example - that one may noteven perceive with a romantic partner. "There's this wonderful interweaving ofwork and play that is just a fabulous way to keep yourself alive!"
Work as livelihood. Work as play. Work asproductivity. Work as a social bonding and enterprise. Indeed, there seem to beas many reasons why people work as there are types of work to do. And thisLabor Day, Americans will once again have an opportunity to reflect on whattheir work means to them, and to rededicate themselves to the labors ahead.