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#GoodJobsForAll: This Labor Day, let's get real about 'good jobs'

Americans have always worried about their jobs. With Labor Day approaching, it's time to start a national conversation about what it means to have a "good job."
Edward Roberson is a baby boomer and armed forces veteran that continues to struggle to find his place in the job market of today. (Photo by Balarama Heller)
Edward Roberson is a baby boomer and armed forces veteran that continues to struggle to find his place in the job market of today. As someone who has overcome many of life’s challenges, including incarceration, deaths in the family, and substance abuse, Edward is a hard worker who wants to excel and build a better future for himself and his family. Unfortunately too often the jobs available to him are dead-end and lacking the dignity of work that he can be proud of.

Twenty-five-year-old single mother Achol Akuar dreams of taking her four children to Disney World. As a preschool teacher who just got off of welfare, she knows that dream may be far off.

“I want to be a good mom, but how can I when I live paycheck to paycheck?” said Akuar. “I am struggling, but what am I supposed to do?”

From the New York Times exposé on Amazon's cutthroat workplace to fast food workers protesting across the country, Americans like Akuar have always been concerned with their jobs. Now, with Labor Day approaching, there is an opportunity to reflect and start a national conversation about what it means to have a “good job.”

Leading up to Labor Day, MSNBC and more than 50 other organizations are joining Workshift online to start that conversation, using the hashtag #GoodJobsForAll, so that we can build an America where all jobs are good jobs.

Hundreds of people – from New York, Iowa and Florida – have already started the conversation by sharing their stories and are putting a human face to the millions of families who are seeking better opportunities in America.

As Akuar said, “I am good at my job, it should be good for me.”

If we can have #GoodJobsForAll, we can hopefully build towards a brighter future -- and maybe even a trip to Disney World. 

Nyaisha Lee, 21, was born and raised in the Bronx. She is currently a Data Collection Analyst/ Technician for Xerox and is proud to have a job that enables her to provide some support for her parents. (Photo by Balarama Heller)
A young millennial striving to be the best worker she can be, Nyaisha is resilient and passionate about finding opportunity to grow and develop a career that enables her a comfortable, stable life for herself and her family. Nyaisha Lee, 21, was born and raised in the Bronx. She is currently a Data Collection Analyst/ Technician for Xerox and is proud to have a job that enables her to provide some support for her parents.
Working as a preschool teacher, Achol Akuar, 25, is a single mother who struggles to find the flexibility necessary to be there for her four children. (Photo by Balarama Heller)
Working as a preschool teacher, Achol Akuar, 25, is a single mother who struggles to find the flexibility necessary to be there for her four children. She strives to be self sufficient, off of welfare and no longer borrowing money from her family, living paycheck to paycheck and is looking for greater stability and opportunity.