The workforce speaks their mind on Labor Day 2017

Ed Brown of Spots on Lots, applies sealcoat do the parking lot of Milton Hardware Monday afternoon. (Rochester Voice photos)

If he's not working his full-time job down in Portsmouth, or running his part-time business sealcoating and line painting business parking lots, you just might - if you're lucky - find Ed Brown enjoying some leisure time.

That wasn't the case on a sun-splashed gorgeous Labor Day, though, as Brown, of Rochester, spent much of the day sealcoating and filling cracks on the parking lot at Milton Hardware.

"Yesterday it rained, so that was my day off," joked Brown as he sprayed sealcoating.

Brown not only runs his own business, Spots on Lots, but also works full time for the Portsmouth Highway Department.

He said today's job market is pretty darn good if you want to work.

"If I didn't have a job, I could get one tomorrow no problem," he said.

While the jobs picture is getting better, he said, that doesn't mean there aren't a lot of folks out there that just don't want to work.

"Me, I'd rather work a $10 or $15 an hour job than sit around, pick up my government check and then drive off in my Audi," he quipped.

While he's happy with his job and his part-time business, he said he has noticed that companies are taking away more and more from their workers.

"Business owners are taking away more stuff like benefits from their workers, which is bad, but now as a business owner I see their plight," he said.

He added that he doesn't think the American worker is as appreciated as he or she used to be.

"It's rare when a boss will see something you did well and say, 'Nice Job,'" he added. "It just doesn't happen."

Kris Enis, the owner and chef at Fresh Vibes restaurant in downtown Rochester, also lamented that so many people don't seem to be instilled with the work ethic that made America great.

"It's hard finding people that want to work," she said as she stood near the front door of her North Main Street restaurant, formerly the site of the Cannon Lounge and before that Slims.

Asked what her feelings were about the state of American labor on the holiday that celebrates it, she shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm working so hard I don't even have time to think about it," she said.

Can Duong said his workers would only be putting in a few hours on Monday, and get the rest of the day off. He said he thinks the economy is slowly improving.

Meanwhile, over at DC Nails in the Lilac Plaza, owner Can Duong said he thought business was getting better.

In this country from his native Vietnam for more than 30 years, Duong said the economic downturn the country suffered on the heels of the banking and real estate crisis of 2008 is finally getting behind us.

He said he felt the jobs outlook and the economy were finally looking up.

While Labor Day is often used as a time to reflect on the American labor force and the progress it has made, for many it's just another holiday, which is how 15-year-old Rana Gregory of Milton looks at it.

Gregory, who was spending her Labor Day at the entry kiosk to Milton Beach, looked around at all the families enjoying the beach for perhaps their final summer swim and over at the playground where kids and their parents were playing.

Rana Gregory, 15, of Milton, who is home schooled, worked at the Milton Town Beach entry kiosk on Monday.

"It's a nice day to have off, but for those of us who have to work, it's just more work for us," she said.