While some working Joes in the Bradford area got to spend their
Labor Day Monday barbecueing with family and friends or snoozing on
the couch, many area residents put in their time on the clock
despite the holiday.
“It’s a little bit slow today,” Bradford City Fire Department
Capt. James “Boo” Coder said Monday. “But that can change at any
second.”
Coder said there’s no difference in pay on Labor Day than any
other day. The department had the same number of firefighters on
duty as any other day.
“It’s just another day for us here at the fire station,” Coder
said. “It’s not a big deal. We work 24-hour shifts…365 days a year.
Today’s just another day. It’s what we do.”
Other volunteer fire departments in the area are also on-call on
Labor Day and any other holidays during the year.
Police in the area are another group of people that have to work
on Labor Day.
“We’re in public service,” Foster Township Police Officer Tom
Munn said Monday. “We’re here to serve and protect, and that
doesn’t stop on a holiday.”
The same number of police are on duty on Labor Day as any other
day, he said.
“Traffic seems to be busy, as it is with all the holidays,”
Bradford Township Police Officer Rob Shipman said Monday. “It’s our
priority to keep people slowed down and keep accidents down.”
“I would say it’s just an average day,” Munn said. “It’s not
busier or slower.”
“Christmas and weekends and nights are all kind of the same,”
Shipman said. “I guess you just get used to it. There’s not really
such a thing as holidays in law enforcement.”
But working the holiday does have its benefits for police.
Shipman and Munn said Labor Day is considered a “paid holiday,” so
police working the day receive extra pay those days.
Mark Stonebraker, manager at Bradford’s Pizza Hut for the last
23 years, said Monday the restaurant was operating normal business
hours and that he had the same number of employees on as usual.
Having worked his share of holidays over the last 23 years, he
said, he thought business this year was up just a bit compared to
last year on Labor Day.
Shannon Button, second assistant manager at McDonald’s
Restaurant, said Monday there was no reprieve for her employees on
Labor Day, with the restaurant also operating normal hours -ðopen
24 hours a day.
Button went on to say the traffic at McDonald’s was typically
pretty slow on holidays, which is beneficial in that it gives the
employees a chance to do extra detail cleaning.
Geri Duncan of Hutchins was working the counter at the Chestnut
Street Uni-Mart Monday, and said there were no changes at the
convenience store for employees working the holiday.
“It’s just another day,” Duncan said, adding business was a
little slower than usual, however.
Niki Baker of Bradford, shift manager at Country Fair on West
Washington Street, said Monday that all employees there work
four-hour shifts on the holidays, to allow everyone an opportunity
to have some time off.
Country Fair employees do receive time and a half pay on
holidays, as well, she said.
Employees of The Bradford Era were, of course, in the office and
pressroom Monday putting out today’s edition. The Era, puts out a
daily newspaper (with the exception of Sundays), but does not
publish an edition the day after Christmas Day or the day after the
Fourth of July.
