Wearing of the Black

I have a friend who just retired from teaching. She mentioned that this is the first year that she has not worn black the last week of August. Wearing black was her way of protesting that she had to go back to school. I shook my head as I heard this. What was the big protest about? Having a great paying job? Accruing a huge pension as a Tier one worker? Having healthcare from the city? Having a job that gave you 13 weeks off a year? I wanted to tell her to try working a regular job. No huge payout and 2 weeks off a year. What would she do then? Go Naked?