The arrival of Labor Day on the calendar each year often signifies a great shift in the national psyche. Celebrated on the first Monday of September, this important holiday often marks the end of summer, the return of students to classrooms and the cessation of vacations and extended time off – at least until the end of the year.

Ours is a productive society – arguably the most productive and most innovative that the world has ever known. Through a combination of many factors – rights, laws, immigration, economic forces, capital formation – fueled by ideals and the great hope for a better tomorrow, the contributions of American society to the human condition and global standards of living are second to none.

At the heart of these phenomena are American workers who serve as the backbone of our corporations, governments, small businesses, unions, nonprofits and educational institutions. It’s because workers work that America works so well.

This year it’s especially important to recognize the contribution of all workers. The general trend of the pandemic shows that economic stressors of the last two years are on the downswing, but not without some residual pain for those whose jobs were most impacted by the economic fallout. In many quarters of the economy there are still issues to resolve. These workers still need our help – today and for tomorrow.

It almost goes without saying that some workers have been nothing short of heroic through the pandemic. Doctors, nurses, first responders, public safety workers and teachers, among others, have gone above and beyond the call of their duties every day.

It’s more important than ever that those of us who help to deliver benefits to workers do so with stronger resolve than ever before. At Empower, it’s our mission to serve working Americans. This is why we exist.

We are finding new ways to make this a reality through every corporate, public, nonprofit and Taft-Hartley plan we serve, through the thousands of advisors with whom we work and through our Retirement Solutions Group and Personal Capital.

President Theodore Roosevelt is quoted as saying, “Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” I wholeheartedly agree with that.

The work we do at Empower is worth doing. It’s worth it to serve American workers in the ways that we know how in order to support all the contributions that workers provide to our nation.

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