Labor Day is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Labor Day is "dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country."
The Department also notes that Labor Day, which grew out of local and state initiatives, became a national holiday through an act of Congress in 1894.
My dad, John Hatala Jr., designing something that would go completely over my head at Struthers-Dunn in Pitman in 1967. In fact, it likely did go over my head; he designed relays for, among other things, F14 fighters and the Titan rocket. We post this gallery in celebration of the hard working people in the Garden State.
Here, we pay homage to people working in a broad range of occupations -- oyster shuckers, glassware packers, linemen and builders, beer brewers and pear pickers.
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Here, you will see photos of factory workers and hospital employees, embroiderers and farmers, piano makers and toll takers.
We salute them all. Be sure captions are enabled to read about each picture.
Can't get enough? Here's a link to last year's gallery.
Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find The Star-Ledger on Facebook.