Watching helplessly as flood waters rose was not an option for Brandon Parker. This Texas refinery worker and member of the United Steelworkers (USW) union has a jacked-up Suburban and a friend with a boat. There was no way he was going to let family members, neighbors or strangers drown.

The New York Times recently profiled the story—or the commute, rather—of Sheila James, a 61-year-old federal office worker who lives in Stockton, California, but works 80 miles away in San Francisco. She rises at 2 a.m. so she can catch a bus and two trains to get her job as a public health adviser. Her total commuting time? Three hours—each way.

Across the country, Americans took time on Labor Day to celebrate working people and our accomplishments.

On Labor Day, working people across the country will be taking the day off and celebrating the achievements of working people. From the North Bay Labor Council's annual pancake breakfast in Santa Rosa, California, to the Mother Jones re-enactment in Salina, Kansas, the creativity and hard work of America's workers will be on display. To be specific, for Labor Day, planned events across the country include:

The U.S. economy added 156,000 jobs in August, and unemployment was little changed at 4.4%, according to figures released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This continues the recovery of the labor market at a tempered rate, which means the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee should continue to let the economy grow and not raise interest rates.