Labor Day, when many of us get a break from our labor and the rest get time-and-a-half, is the split personality of national holidays.

That's been true from the beginning. Depending on the source, the holiday in honor of workers was the brainchild of either Peter McGuire, co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, or Matthew Maguire, a secretary of the Central Labor Union. Either way, it came as labor unions developed their voices and clout in the daunting workplace of the Industrial Revolution -- 12-hour days, seven-day weeks, unsafe conditions and low pay.

Parades, some with the character of protest marches, were the first element of Labor Day observances, long before the first Monday of September became a paid day off.

For all of the debate about labor unions, popular attitudes about them have changed little over the years. Respondents in Gallup polls were asked whether they approve or disapprove of unions and the range varied little, from 1936 through last year. Support for unions peaked at 75 percent in the mid-1950s and was at a low of 55 percent in the late '70s and early '80s. In the last survey, completed a year ago, support stood at 60 percent.

Union membership was another matter. In 2007, the number of workers belonging to a union rose, but union members accounted for just 12 percent of U.S. workers, compared to a rate of 20 percent in 1983, the first year that comparable data was available.

Labor Day no longer is a holiday defined by union membership, as it now extends beyond its roots to encompass all American workers. If there's a common thread, however, it may be that the majority, according to a recent Gallup poll, like their jobs -- 48 percent were "completely satisfied" and 42 percent were "somewhat satisfied."

For too many, though, there is no work this Labor Day. Unemployment rose to 5.7 percent in July, as inflation rose along with the number of people working part-time for economic reasons. For them the job is finding work.

Work is a way to support ourselves and our families, but there is more to it than money. Whether our tasks are completed in an office or on an assembly line, in an orchestra or a school, at a construction site or at home, even in filling out a job application, there is dignity in a job well done.

We all can celebrate that today.