TO KNOW WHOSE labor is actually being honored on Labor Day, consider these facts, drawn from recent data from by the Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy, the Economic Policy Institute, the American Sociological Review, and the new book ''Raise the Floor,'' published by the Ms. Foundation for Women:

If the minimum wage had risen at the same pace as American productivity since 1968, it would be $13.80 an hour.
If the minimum wage had risen at the same paces as domestic profits since 1968, it would be $13.02.
If the minimum wage had risen at the same pace as profits in the retail industry, it would be $20.46.
If the minimum wage had risen at the same level pace as executive pay since 1990, it would be $25.50 an hour, not $5.15.
If the average pay for production workers had risen at the same level as CEO pay since 1990, the annual salary would be $120,491, not $24,668.
You cannot tell that children are our most precious resource by how we pay child-care workers. The median wage of child-care workers is $6.91 an hour. The median wage of parking lot attendants is $6.89. Preschool teachers average $9.43. Animal trainers average $12.39.

thanks to wood s lot