The Value of Our Labor

Common Ground Food Co-op is closed only four days a
year:  New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving,
Christmas, and . . . Labor Day.  Okay,
everyone is closed on New Year’s, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, but Labor Day
seems sort of random. 

Actually, for a cooperative business, it is anything
but. 

One of many great things about cooperatives is how we value
the work of our employees and how concerned cooperative owners are about being
good employers.  In our member survey in
January of 2008, one of the highest rated priorities by Co-op owners was the
creation of well-paying, satisfying jobs for our employees.   I’ve
had more than one employee who’s come to Common Ground from working in
traditional retail store say to me, “the weirdest thing happened
yesterday.  This owner came up to me and
asked me if I like my job, if I feel respected, and if I am paid fairly.”    Yeah,
Common Ground owners are just weird like that. 

So its no surprise that Labor Day is an important holiday at
Common Ground.  We close on Labor Day to
acknowledge the vital role that the labor of our employees plays in making
Common Ground the successful community resource it is.  They work to meet the needs and wants of the
Co-op community every day, 360 days a year, and we take this one day a year to
say “thank you” for all their hard work.  A Happy Labor Day to everyone on the Common
Ground staff!