For millions of Americans, Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer and the last long weekend before fall.
For many University employees and students, however, Labor Day offers no break in the routine of going to work or attending classes.
While some employees expressed discontent with working on a state holiday, most workers said they did not mind.
Pavilion XI employee April Oliver said working on Labor Day was difficult, "especially if you have kids at home."
History professor Nelson Lichtenstein, a member of the Labor Action Group, said he and other members of the group think there should be a system in place for employees to influence the University's decision to close on holidays.
"There's no mechanism [at the University] to decide whether to close on Labor Day," Lichtenstein said.
James Lee, Pavilion location manager, said some workers were unhappy with the system because they misunderstood the compensation policy.
Employees will either be given a day off very close to the holiday they had to work, or they can choose not to take a day off and be paid for an extra day, Lee said.
University News Services Director Carol Wood said it was unavoidable for the University to have certain employees overlook holidays when students remain in class.
"Clearly there are certain people who have to work ... to keep everything moving for the students," she said.
But most members of the University community expressed little to no resentment over missing a day off that many Americans accept as a matter of course.
Bookstore clerk Scott Burnet said working on Labor Day is not an issue for him.
"Everybody who works for the University just gets used to it," Burnet said. "We don't even think about it."
His co-worker, Assistant Manager Patsy Goolsby, noted that University employees are given other holidays that retail workers don't often get.
"Having a four-day weekend for Thanksgiving is kind of nice," she said.
Her manager, Wayne Terwilliger, agreed. "We all recognize that we need to [work on Labor Day]," he said. "It's never a surprise."
Director of University Stores John Kates explained the philosophy behind having store employees work on Labor Day.
"We're here every day that [students] are here," Kates said.
University Human Resources officials could not be reached for comment.
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