While this Labor Day may be overshadowed by our high unemployment rate in the U.S., hopefully it will also serve as a catalyst to get Americans back into the workforce.

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And, of course, May Day is international labor day.

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As is often the case, a new labor deal may not be reached until the day, or possible up to the minute that the current CBA is set to expire.

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Salas, whose group is known as CHIRLA, dates the May Day rallies to a labor dispute with a restaurant in the city's Koreatown neighborhood that drew several hundred demonstrators in 2000.

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What's interesting is if the airlines will have a really big sale, particularly big international sale, between now and Labor Day to get people over whatever fears they may have, to get people over whatever worries about the recession, about the economy that they may have.

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And delayed purchases may be especially acute this year, given the Labor Day weekend washout expected at many East Coast stores, thanks to Tropical Storm Ernesto.

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May Day rallies began in the United States in 2000 during a labor dispute with a restaurant in Los Angeles that drew several hundred demonstrators, said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.

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And, finally, the summer begins on Memorial Day, a US public holiday which falls on the last Monday in May (after which it is socially acceptable to wear white), and ends on Labor Day, the first Monday in September.

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