Work connects us all. The Chicago Federation of Labor's new YouTube video, "Rise," is a powerful reminder that working people built this country and continue to keep it running every day. 

The video states:

We breathe life into every neighborhood every day...separate stories, different voices—but joined together. 

Watch the video in the post or on the Chicago Federation of Labor's YouTube channel.

If you haven’t sent a thank you e-card or video to the people whose work you appreciate, Labor Day is the time to do it.

Ann Hernandez gets up at 4:30 a.m. every day to deliver the Los Angeles Times newspaper to Martin Sheen's neighborhood...and he thinks that’s pretty cool. Hernandez works 365 days a year—even Christmas. Check out Sheen’s thank you video and visit www.aflcio.org/ThankYou to upload your own video or send an e-card, thanking someone whose work you appreciate.

The person who’s flipping burgers and making sure there are enough hot dogs to go around at your Labor Day barbecue deserves a little extra thanks, don’t you think? 

Unions and working families will honor the holiday that celebrates the hard work that has made America strong by doing something special this year: recognizing people for their work.

The AFL-CIO is launching a new online application just in time to reclaim Labor Day as a day to recognize people for their hard work. On the new app, at www.aflcio.org/thankyou, participants can send thank-you cards and videos through Facebook and e-mail to friends and others whose work they depend on. 

As we prepare for Sept. 3, we’re encouraging you to thank your family, friends and neighbors for the work they do each day. Workers don’t always receive the appreciation they deserve. From the baristas who brew your coffee in the morning to the letter carrier who drops off your mail, nearly every aspect of our day is affected by people we work with and alongside.

Here are some brand-new Labor Day cards you can print out at home to give to the workers in your life.

Connect with your friends and co-workers with our new union-made in the USA “Work Connects Us All” T-shirt. It’s a bargain, too, at just $8.50 for most sizes. Just visit the AFL-CIO Online Store—Union Made.^TM

The future of the union movement, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler told some 600 members of the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee (LCC), depends on showing the public that through our actions on the ground we are a:

broad, inclusive, innovative worker-driven organization....We need to build a broader, stronger, more effective movement for all working people—union and nonunion. That means organizing. It means advocacy. It means grassroots mobilization.

Viewers in Austin, Texas, and Pittsburgh are getting the first public look at a new AFL-CIO television spot, “Work Connects Us All: America’s Unions.”