Labor Day, for a lot of people, is a day of rest before the fall weather hits, one last day of summer. But there are some people that don’t get a day of rest. They work to satisfy the needs of those who do get the day of rest.

A lot of the bigger chains like Wal-Mart, Target, and Dairy Queen are open on Labor Day and most other holidays. It’s usually the smaller, local businesses that get the day off. But even with the other businesses closed, some of the bigger ones don’t get as much business as they would like to.

“Today was a surprisingly slow day for Dairy Queen,” said Tara Savage, a manager at the local Dairy Queen. “But I don’t mind working on the holidays, it gives me something to do.”

And that’s the case with a lot of employees these days. With the economy in a bad spot, most of the employees are just glad to be working.

Tommy Foulkrod, an employee at Gander Mountain and a full time student, is just happy to be bringing in some cash.

“With college starting up again, working is keeping me busy and able to pay for school and rent,” he said. “I don’t mind working Labor Day at all. I’ve worked on Christmas before so this is just another day.”

That’s the response from a lot of other employees, that it’s just another day. While Labor Day is a day for those who work, a lot of people spend the day working. And for them, that’s how they pay the bills.