Happy Labor Day!

[SexyButler]

The History of Labor Day

Labor Day: How it Came About; What it Means

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Founder of Labor Day

More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.

Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."

But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.

The First Labor Day

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

Labor Day Legislation

Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From them developed the movement to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

A Nationwide Holiday

The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take were outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.

The character of the Labor Day celebration has undergone a change in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass displays and huge parades have proved a problem. This change, however, is more a shift in emphasis and medium of expression. Labor Day addresses by leading union officials, industrialists, educators, clerics and government officials are given wide coverage in newspapers, radio, and television.

The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.

[Birddog]

Happy Labor Day to all! Of course, I have to work...and a midnight shift no less! I hope everyone is able to enjoy time with friends and loved ones.

[Mael Coluim]

Nice history on Labor Day, SB! Off from both jobs. I labored doing yard work and now relaxing with a Boca burger and a Yuengling.

[DTrain]

Thank you for the background info. On a serious note, let us keep everyone in the path of Hurricane Gustav in our thoughts and prayers as it batters Louisiana, sends tornadoes through Mississippi and Alabama, and generally wreaks havoc from the Florida panhandle to Texas.

[WBurns]

Amen Dtrain, I am off till Thursday

[Canuck]

Happy Labour day to all. (Started in Canada first in September) Still working in the shop getting kilts out...
Cheers
everyone
Robert

[Jack Daw]

I'm off today, but cancelled plans for a BBQ pending knowing the storm direction. Instead, I'm watching Rob Roy (1995) on dvd and having a beer or twae.

[george7]

Here's to Canuck, fighting to cure the Jonesin virus on labor day.

[Retro Red]

Thanks for the cartoon, MC. It’s funny, but sadly true, too.

And yes, that is a good history about Labor Day, SB, but there’s some background missing from your story that a lot of folks don’t know about. The following is a condensed adaptation of the Wikipedia entry for International Worker’s Day.

Most countries of the world also observe a worker’s holiday, International Worker’s Day or May Day, on May 1st, to celebrate the social & economic achievements of their working people. International Worker’s Day is not observed in the U.S.A. or Canada, even though it is based on an American event - the commemoration of the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago in 1886, when Chicago police fired on workers during a general strike for the eight hour day, killing a dozen demonstrators. In solidarity with their American counterparts, the international labor movement called for international demonstrations on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago protests. These were so successful that May Day was formally recognized as an annual event.

In countries other than the United States and Canada, resident working classes sought to make May Day an official holiday & their efforts largely succeeded. For this reason, in most of the world today, May Day is marked by massive street rallies led by workers & their trade unions.

In the United States, however, the official Federal holiday for the "working man" is Labor Day, the first Monday in September. This day was promoted by the Central Labor Union & the Knights of Labor organized the first parade in New York City on September 5, 1882. The Knights began holding it every year & called for it to be a national holiday, but this was opposed by other labor unions who wanted it held on May Day (as it is everywhere else in the world). After the Haymarket Square riot in May, 1886, President Cleveland feared that commemorating Labor Day on May 1 could become an opportunity to commemorate the riots. Thus he moved in 1887 to support the Labor Day that the Knights supported.

For me, Labor day is a bittersweet reminder of the many workers killed fighting for things that we take for granted now - 8 hour work days & 40 hour work weeks, no child labor, safe working environments & more. If you aren't familiar with the shockingly bloody struggle of the labor movement of the late 19th & early 20th century, you should take this holiday as an opportunity to learn about it.
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[Carolina Kiltman]

And, I might add, there are still far too many "sweat shops" where children are exploited for their cheap labour. That is one reason I always try to buy things that are made in countries that have decent labour laws. (Obviously I am not always successful). But it is still worth working for I'll climb down now.