Labor Day is not a day off. It is a day on. A day to focus our collective efforts on the American dream of a safe place to live, work and raise a family in dignity. The democratic dream of fair opportunity is the promise of America I dreamed of when I fled from oppression in Ethiopia. I believe the first immigrants…

After serving in the military overseas, my father returned home and worked in construction to support our family. But when an accident with a construction crane left him with a severely injured back, it took him a year and a half to recover—without workers’ compensation. As one of his nine children, I remember how…