Labor Day these days is all about beaches, barbecues, games such as baseball, football, and volleyball, and shopping. It’s also a great weekend for travel.

This year, 57 percent of Americans plan to travel for Labor Day weekend, more than 150 million will enjoy a barbecue or picnic, and thousands will attend a college football game.

While Labor Day is seen as a fun holiday, it’s also important to remember and celebrate the origins of the special day. The holiday’s roots can be traced back to the streets of 1880s New York City, where rival union leaders joined forces to protest the unfair labor practices that plagued industry at the time.

Take the long weekend off, if you are lucky enough to have all three days off, said Marilyn Markel, assistant professor of economics at Illinois College, but think about why you have a long weekend. “Labor activists fought and died for many of the rights workers in the United States are currently afforded,” Markel said. “Many would be aghast that we have allowed so much regressive employment legislation over the last few decades.”

She pointed out legislation rolling back protections for workers – minimum wage, tenure, worker safety, child labor laws, and union busting plus overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Markel said workers are suffering and will continue to suffer until worker protections are back in place and expanded and inflation is in check.

For more information on Labor Day, see the infographic from WalletHub.com below:

Whatever your plans, have the greatest Labor Day ever.