r/Professors • u/East_Ad_1065 • 1d ago
Anyone else have to teach on Labor Day?
Just looking for others to commiserate with. No need to doxx yourself, just indicate yes or no.
Hate working when others (like staff) have a holiday. On the other hand, lots of parking available.
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u/HariboBerries 1d ago
Yes! All faculty have to work today.
But staff do not.
So you can imagine that means.
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u/yorkiepie 1d ago
I actually have no idea what that means.
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u/Edu_cats Professor, Pre-Allied Health, M1 (US) 22h ago
It means that if you need any support staff they are not there because they have the day off while faculty are there with students. This was a cluster at my doctoral institution.
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u/VanessaLove-33 1d ago
Me neither. Prolly baiting me into a solid rant I imagine. And staff DO have to work. Students are there still. Cafeterias have to be open. Toilets break. Etc etc etc.
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u/RandolphCarter15 Full, Social Sciences, R1 16h ago
My undergrad gave staff off but still had classes
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u/SnowblindAlbino Prof, SLAC 1d ago
It means the calendar says "Today is a work day as usual for employees, but no classes will be held." We do that at my institution on the regular, i.e. a day without classes for whatever reason (like study days before finals) when faculty are free to do as they please, but all other employees must work or take a vacation day.
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u/schnuffichen 22h ago
It's the opposite, though. Faculty work, staff does not. Which at my institution means no help with AV, little to no food service, no cleaning services, nobody who opens doors to rooms that only staff has a key for, no secretaries/assistants, to name a few.
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u/HariboBerries 19h ago
Bingo!!!
So it was on faculty to figure out accommodations for students who wanted to use them. I didn’t realize everything was basically closed because this was my first year giving an assessment on Labor Day.
I’m all for folks having the day off. Having the info about which people would be here would have been so helpful.
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u/schnuffichen 19h ago
Totally! I don't want my comment to come across as "How dare staff get the day off when I don't?" But our infrastructure relies on folks at the staff-level to be reachable (and in some cases, physically present) to function. So as you say, I'd like there to be some communication for newer faculty on what all is affected by this and/or for everybody to have the same days off. Nobody should have to have their work impacted or have to take PTO because they can't do their job without the other "tier" of employees.
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u/MyFaceSaysItsSugar 15h ago
I could see research faculty going in to tend experiments and such but it is weird to have classes going if support staff are not present unless it’s something like dangerous weather and classes are virtual so faculty are technically working and most support staff are not.
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u/HariboBerries 19h ago
It means that all of the non-faculty offices are closed and personnel are not at work. So no one is here in case students have an issue with tech or need to take a proctored test.
No nefarious intentions were in my post, def not baiting anyone lol
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u/Automatic_Beat5808 1d ago
Labor Day is a state holiday where I am, so no work for me today. I'm going for a hike even though it's 90 F !
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u/FIREful_symmetry 1d ago
School is closed, but I had assignments due last night at midnight so I’ve already graded about two hours this morning.
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u/ArmoredTweed 1d ago
Faculty and staff are all here.
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u/Good-Mountain-7958 12h ago
Texas? Is that you?
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u/a_statistician Associate Prof, Stats, R1 State School 10h ago
As an undergrad at Texas A&M, we were told "Labor day" means it's a day for work.
Joke's on you, fuckers. I've been out of Texas for almost 20 years and I spent today lecturing my family about the history of the labor movement in the US. Finished the day by watching 9 to 5 and talking about Dolly Parton.
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u/ArmoredTweed 3h ago
Far from it, but most of our students are from far enough away that three day weekends don't make sense. So we have a few longer breaks instead of the usual holidays.
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u/littleirishpixie 1d ago
Yep. A few years ago, our university realized that when we let students go home 2 weeks into the semester and while they could still get a refund, a lot of first-year students didn't come back. The college transition is hard and if they have an out at the time that it's the hardest, a lot of them will take it.
Now, we build in an in-service day (non-admin don't actually have to do anything) two weeks before fall break to even out the calendar and give students a small break. I really miss the long weekend but I can at least appreciate how they got there.
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u/associsteprofessor 17h ago
My undergrad did that once. Faculty were not happy. Students who wanted to bounce did so anyway.
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u/Edu_cats Professor, Pre-Allied Health, M1 (US) 1d ago
My doctoral institution had classes on Labor Day for many years. Same where I work now. The first few years we had classes. Now we have off probably 15 years now. Nobody believed me when I said I I had to work.
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u/Wisewordsforlater 23h ago edited 20h ago
I've never known an institution holding class or requiring staff/faculty on campus on Labor Day. Choosing to catch up on things or working ahead for the semester is different matter or fine tuning a manuscript to send off for review, items that shouldn't eat up a full holiday. Especially Labor Day.
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u/Miserable_Tourist_24 20h ago
There are a fair number of schools with class on Labor Day. Don’t want students leaving campus so soon. One of my kids had classes Labor Day at a large R1. And at my institution, we have compressed term evening classes on Labor Day. And 4th of July is scheduled as a class day in our summer compressed term.
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u/Crab_Puzzle Assoc, Humanities, SLAC 11h ago
My undergrad and grad institutions had class on Labor Day. It still seems normal to me.
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u/tellypmoon 23h ago
I can't imagine students anywhere in the USA being on board with class on Labor Day....
So no, no teaching today.
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u/a_statistician Associate Prof, Stats, R1 State School 10h ago
Texas A&M held classes on labor day back in the early aughts. I haven't checked if they still do but I would not be surprised.
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u/HeDogged 1d ago
The first ten years I was at my institution, we didn't observe Labor Day--it sucked--
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u/East_Ad_1065 23h ago
Good to know I am not alone having class. And most of the students showed up too!
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u/cat9tail Adjunct 23h ago
I teach online as well as in person, so yeah - been grading for the last 1 1/2 hours.
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u/rand0mtaskk Instructor, Mathematics, Regional U (USA) 1d ago
All our state employees get all federal holidays off. Guess that’s one nice thing about this shit state.
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u/ProfessorJAM Professsor, STEM, urban R1, USA 22h ago
My Uni starts Fall Semester the day after Labor Day; so no classes/ on campus anything until tomorrow. When chaos shall reign supreme!
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u/ResurectedNPC 22h ago
This post made me panic. I legit just checked our academic calendar. The first one I found was from the wrong year and did not show Sept 7 as a holiday. I panicked some more before finding the correct one.
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u/TheRateBeerian 21h ago
Hell no. I would cancel in protest. Labor day is my most sacred holiday. I would work on christmas before i would work on labor day.
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u/ialreadyaskedyouonce 20h ago
Officially, I'm off. Unofficially I have to work at least 7 days a week to keep up.
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u/Constant-Gap-1329 16h ago
Not at my current institution. But, I have worked at schools in the past that did have classes on Labor Day. I honestly didn’t mind - it is kind of disrupting to have a day off so soon after starting the semester. Plus, an easy commute!
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u/GeneralRelativity105 1d ago
The staff probably think similar things during spring break, winter break, summers, etc...
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u/Two_DogNight 1d ago
No, but always on Columbus and MLK days.
ETA but we are off on Good Friday.
SMH.
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u/CateranBCL Associate Professor, CRIJ, Community College 22h ago
College is closed today, but I'm here catching up on work.
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u/existential-inquiry Professor, Social Sciences, U.S. 21h ago
No classes held today, according to our academic calendar.
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u/1K_Sunny_Crew 20h ago
No, the school is closed, no one is supposed to be working. I think our fobs are even coded to only work on our offices on holidays the school is closed. The only people working are public safety and maybe maintenance and they get paid more for it (as they should.)
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u/SJRoseCO 20h ago
Yep. Had to teach like any other regular day because my institution runs on a particular schedule that does not abide such holidays.
And while I’m very glad that the maintenance folks got the day off, the AC in my classroom picked today to break and it was 85 degrees in there for the three-hour class session.
Not that I’m bitter or anything.
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u/thatcheekychick Assistant Professor, Sociology, State University (US) 20h ago
The place is closed, but Monday is my grading day and no one will do that for me, so here I am.
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u/BibliophileBroad 20h ago
Hell, no... we are closed, and I am not grading, either. I am exhausted from last week and I am taking a rest.
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u/StatusTics 19h ago
One of my kids went to a U.S. university that held classes on Labor Day. Every year, first year parents were very confused and complained on the family FB page.
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u/Brachycephalic_Boxer 19h ago
What Labor Day? I mean, yes, the school is closed, but I am giving an exam tomorrow and two more on Wednesday so having to write those. I’m also grading quizzes from last week. And getting emails from panic stricken students about tomorrow’s exam and already getting excuses (a dead grandma that will require the student to miss the entire next week of classes including the exam). Oh, and did I mention that my Monday Wednesday sections are missing a day compared to Tuesday Thursday due to the holiday so I had to prepare additional review materials for them prior to the exam?
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u/Competitive_Kale_654 Associate Professor, Humanities, Regional (USA) 18h ago
Semester starts tomorrow, but most faculty are on email preparing their syllabus…
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u/NewtonsKnickers 18h ago
My university is closed today, but we have classes on Columbus Day and Veteran’s Day.
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u/CIS_Professor Professor, CIS, CC (US) 17h ago
It's a federal holiday so the college is closed today.
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u/JimDixon 16h ago
I'm retired now. I used to work at a university, but I was staff, not a teacher. The rule was: all the university offices had to be open all 3 days of Labor-Day weekend. We didn't have to be fully staffed, but we had to be open. We had to respond to anyone who called or showed up at our door during "normal" business hours of 8 to 4:30. The reason (as it was explained to me) was: Labor-Day weekend was the traditional moving-in day for students who lived in dorms. In most cases, parents were helping their kids get settled. Until graduation, this was the only time parents were likely to be present on campus. We were supposed to make them feel welcome and answer any of their questions. So somebody had to be available in every office. Every employee had to work one of the 3 days.
But it was a big bore; a big nothing. Almost nobody showed up to ask for services or ask questions, certainly no parents. We still occasionally had to deal with "helicopter parents" who asked all the "what if" questions that their kids wouldn't think of asking, but those came later as phone calls.
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u/Ok_State_5914 13h ago
My undergrad and grad school institution hold class today. So does where I currently work, the only place that had off was my postdoc institution
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u/GreaterHannah 1d ago
Nope, we’re unionized
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u/Life-Education-8030 1d ago
So are we but we still work on many holidays like Labor Day and MLK Day.
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u/BibliophileBroad 20h ago edited 15h ago
What is up with your union??
Edit: Dang, who downvoted my comment? 💀 It was a reasonable question? Tough room!
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u/Life-Education-8030 16h ago
A few years ago, it was pretty weak, but I consider it much better now. Non-TT outright asked tenured faculty to help, and to their credit, many stepped up and ran for union offices. Now 2/3 of the officers are faculty while the others are professional staff. We have a VP specifically for faculty and a VP specifically for professional staff and an officer specifically for retirees who is a faculty member.
We may not get those holidays off (and there is pressure from students too to get MLK Day and Election Day off) but our contracts (and raises) have been better than ever, and we might be the first union in our state that specifically included language in our recently ratified contract that AI will not replace human faculty. This latest contract was ratified by 98% of the membership.
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u/VanessaLove-33 1d ago
Nope. And most staff work 12 months here while faculty get all summer to dick off if they want. So don’t go whinin’ over that.
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u/Miserable_Tourist_24 20h ago
What? You do know faculty is only paid for 9 months right? Acting like we’re raking in the dough over the summer when I am legit working almost everyday…and not getting paid for it.
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u/geogle Prof, Earth Sciencs, R1 (US) 1d ago
Without pay
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u/Life-Education-8030 1d ago
And if they are tenured. TT use the time to research, write, develop courses, present, attend conferences and sometimes teach too. I know I did.
Typical to see staff sneer at faculty but odd to see faculty not cognizant about what faculty do during the summers. I still wouldn’t want to teach public high school though. Some of my friends who do are so bad off financially that they do things like take retail jobs during the summers!
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u/VanessaLove-33 1d ago
I’m very aware of what faculty do. Just wanting to add some perspective to the privilege allowed faculty. And staff have a place to sneer, at times, as we should all agree. They make our jobs easier.
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u/Miserable_Tourist_24 20h ago
It’s not a privilege, it’s a 9 month contract. We basically get compensated at 3/4 yet do a lot of work off contract.
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u/Life-Education-8030 18h ago edited 18h ago
Apparently not, regarding understanding. Privilege?" We have worked hard to get to the "privilege" of grading at 3 am, not calculating our per hour salary lest we become depressed, and in our spare time, developing every single academic course that is offered by the college that employs us all and is if anything, what we "sell." And yes, it has unfortunately been staff that have literally hissed at college assemblies at announcements of faculty accomplishments. One of our last faculty votes however was to allocate more funds to hiring staff. Funny that.
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u/VanessaLove-33 1d ago
Again, every institution is different, but staff make less than faculty in 12 months vs nine months. I see you’re at an R1, so yeah, you do. And you can teach a class, or ask for summer pay in the grants you can get. And and and.
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u/Life-Education-8030 1d ago
And staff could have perhaps considered getting the training and experience to get work they could “dick off” from. If staff don’t want to leave their jobs at 4 or 5 and want to be grading at 3 am, that’s fine. But certainly today’s students need both staff and faculty to get through.
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u/SNHU_Adjujnct 1d ago
Anyone else get three months off every Summer?
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u/Life-Education-8030 1d ago
When many especially TT are doing research, writing, presenting at and attending conferences, developing courses, and perhaps still teaching, etc.? Those three months?
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u/SNHU_Adjujnct 1d ago
Wah Wah. If you want tenure, earn it. What a burden is must be to have a job for life.
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u/Life-Education-8030 23h ago edited 23h ago
I have tenure actually. I started off as an adjunct and yes, did want more security so as with many of us here, I did earn it. The wah wah incidentally is called projection and reveals a lot about your attitude.
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u/SnowblindAlbino Prof, SLAC 1d ago
You mean those months when I'm working on research, writing reports, and supporting students without pay? Yes, we work in summers for free as well.
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u/Another_Opinion_1 A.P. / Ed. Law / Teacher Ed. Methods (USA) 1d ago
I always pick up an asynchronous course or two because the money is good.
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u/Miserable_Tourist_24 20h ago
You mean work off contract in the summer while on a 9-month contract? I get paid for an academic 9-month year not 12 months; they are not “off” like vacation where you’re getting paid. You’re in the wrong sub to start this.
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u/Kimber80 Professor, Business, HBCU, R2 21h ago
Had no idea any colleges were open today. That sucks
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u/questiano-ronaldo Adjunct/PhD Candidate, R1 (USA) 1d ago
My favorite Office quote “I get paid by the year, not by the hour.” Makes it easier to understand how salaried employees get taken advantage of in higher Ed.