Labor Day has always been a meaningful and steadfast day of tribute across this region, a region that has been built on and where we have long honored a deep-rooted respect for so many of the foundations of this nation: agriculture and craftsmanship, manufacturing and small business, tourism and hospitality, outdoors and recreation, education and health care, and on through the anchors of the modern high-tech economy in research and development, and technology.

It is a remarkable local history of working men and women, and a great source of pride for all of us.

In July, for example, I welcomed the opportunity to join a number of my state and local legislative colleagues, and other community leaders, to help celebrate the amazing 175th Anniversary of Corning Incorporated! Together with area Assemblymen Phil Palmesano and Chris Friend, I sponsored a Legislative Resolution (J2134) during the 2026 session of the New York State Legislature, approved unanimously by the Senate and Assembly, paying tribute to Corning Inc. and all of the company’s employees, past and present, for all that they have done and continue to do to strengthen the quality of communities here at home, throughout state and nation, and around the world.

Our resolution reads, in part, “As Corning Incorporated marks its 175th Anniversary, it stands as a powerful example of New York State's enduring role in American innovation and manufacturing leadership; from its headquarters in Corning, New York, the company has helped light the world, connect it through global communications, advance renewable energy, protect public health, and enable the technologies of the future while remaining deeply rooted in the communities that helped shape its success.”

That’s just one example of the numerous occasions we have to help celebrate our regional industries and manufacturers, local small businesses, and, most importantly, the local workforces who help these enterprises succeed and ensure the ongoing strength and pride of so many local communities. 

We do well every year to recall and pay tribute to all of the workers across the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions, throughout New York State, and all across America who day after day, year after year, generation after generation, build, care for, educate, grow, manufacture, protect and serve and strengthen our communities in so many different ways through so many different walks of life.

We are grateful for your dedication, your perseverance, and your excellence. The first Labor Day celebration in the United States was a parade in New York City in 1882. In 1887, New York was one of the first four states to establish a Labor Day holiday.

In its overview, the U.S. Department of Labor frames the historical significance of Labor Day this way, “The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pays tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation’s strength, freedom, and leadership – the American worker.”  

At the turn of the 20th century, President Theodore Roosevelt said, “Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”

That is the opportunity that we seek to keep building. As legislators, it means that government faces a particular challenge and responsibility moving forward to help workers and local economies continue growing and prospering. This sense of responsibility is held together with so many colleagues, at every level, to pursue the goals we share for the future of the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes.

Without question, it demands a renewal of New York State government’s commitment to economic growth, job creation, and fiscal responsibility – in other words, to opening the doors to a stronger future for workers. This fundamental focus has lost its way in recent years in New York -- and remains at risk -- however the pledge continues this Labor Day to keep working to ensure that it finds its proper place again in this government in the months and years ahead.