Well, if Labour Day is indeed the time of the year when labour and workers get the most media attention, we might as well take advantage of it and take a quick look at some of what was said.

– A very thoughtful, if somewhat pessimistic, opinion piece by Thomas Walkom in the Toronto Star

– A good overview of the state of Canada’s unions in 2012, and the effects of the decline in private sector union membership, by Toronto Star columnist Antonia Zerbisias

– Another perspective on the state of unions from the Canadian Press

– An interesting piece on encouraging young workers’ interest in unions by using social media

– A rousing blog post from my friend Harvey Oberfeld on the power of unions

– A reminder that the Labour Day holiday started in Canada

– Predictable union bashing from the Fraser Institute

– A very busy #unionmember Tweet-a-thon on Twitter, with accompanying videos of writers and athletes explaining why union membership is important to them

– And, although the Conservative federal government hasn’t exactly been union-friendly this past year, good for them for acknowledging the workplace contributions of unions in Labour Minister Lisa Raitt’s Labour Day press release.