As the AFL-CIO's 2013 quadrennial convention kicks off in Los Angeles, we take a moment to recognize and thank the working men and women who make this movement great. 

Check out a slide show after the jump of some of the AFL-CIO affiliates. 

We don’t use the term “viral” lightly, but these guys earned it. This note written by Journeys’ workers to their boss “Jamie” was posted to Reddit on Saturday and has zipped across the Internet today. “Niki, Jess and TJ” can now see their note in The Huffington Post, Gawker, msn.com and Yahoo! News, as well as thousands of posts, tweets, pins and tumbls.

An article in today's Los Angeles Times reports that U.S. commuters take more than 200 million trips every day across bridges that are structurally deficient.  At least 8,000 bridges across the country are in danger of failing if even a single component breaks. The cost to update these bridges has risen to $20.5 billion a year, according to the Federal Highway Administration. After years of budget cuts, the Great Recession and the job-killing sequestration, funding for transportation projects has declined significantly.

In the months leading up to the 2013 AFL-CIO Convention, we've been listening to people online and in our communities during listening sessions, hearing your ideas on how we can build a more robust movement for working people now and in the future. 

Check out this new video in the post to see what happened during these sessions, and don't forget to leave your comments online at aflcio2013.org. 

The 2013 AFL-CIO Convention will feature a series of action sessions conducted by and for delegates, community members and other stakeholders each day of the convention. More than just the traditional panel discussions, these sessions will offer the opportunity to learn and develop action strategies about the key issues facing working families and building a broader, stronger labor movement.

Thomas E. Perez, the U.S. secretary of labor, sends you this message on Labor Day:

Brother and Sisters,

From the U.S. Department of Labor, where I proudly work in a building named for my great predecessor Frances Perkins, let me wish all of my friends in the AFL-CIO and your families—wherever you are—a safe, happy and healthy Labor Day. This Labor Day feels special in many ways: we’re celebrating 100 years of the Labor Department’s tireless efforts on behalf of American workers, and last week we celebrated the March on Washington 50 years ago—a transformational moment in our history that was just as much about labor rights as it was about civil rights. Today, let’s remember that these two movements remain inextricably intertwined, their interests converging time and time again, their goals essentially the same. 

Today, on Labor Day, we celebrate the incredible contributions of America’s working people. If you're celebrating at home or want to see what's going on in your area, check out the “You Work Hard. You’ve Earned It” Labor Day website.

Labor Day is an opportunity to take stock of the ways workers are honored and respected, writes the Most Rev. Stephen E. Blaire, bishop of Stockton, Calif., in the annual United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Labor Day statement.

Here are excerpts from the bishops’ message. Read the full message here.  

Earlier this year, Pope Francis pointed out:

Work is fundamental to the dignity of a person....It gives one the ability to maintain oneself, one's family, to contribute to the growth of one's own nation.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wants to say "thank you" this Labor Day weekend to the working men and women who make this country great. 

Watch her video message in this post. 

President Barack Obama will be one of the keynote speakers at the AFL-CIO 2013 National Convention in Los Angeles from Sept. 8–11. Here are 12 key quotes from him that highlight his commitment to working families.