THE HISTORY OF LABOR DAY
Celebrated on the first Monday in September, Labor Day was created in honor of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. The yearly holiday pays tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our nation.
In the late 1800s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, the average American worked 12-hour days and seven-day weeks in order to scrape out a living. Incidents of children as young as 5 or 6 toiled in mills, factories and mines across the country, earning a fraction of their adult counterparts’ wages in some states. People of all ages, the very poor and immigrants, often faced unsafe working conditions, with insufficient access to fresh air, sanitary facilities and breaks.
As manufacturing increased, labor unions, became more prominent and vocal. They began organizing strikes and rallies to protest poor working conditions and attempted to persuade employers to renegotiate hours and pay, many of these events turned violent.
THE FIRST LABOR DAY
Planned by the Central Labor Union, Labor Day was first celebrated in New York City on Tuesday, September 5, 1882 where 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square in New York City. The Central Labor Union held a second Labor Day holiday exactly one year later.
The first Monday in September was selected as the “official” holiday in 1884. Other cities with similar organizations as the Central Labor Union were urged to celebrate the holiday for the “working man” on the same date. With the growth of labor organizations across the country, the holiday became quite popular and by 1885 was celebrated widely.
WHO THOUGHT IT FIRST
More than 130 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some controversy regarding who first proposed the holiday for workers.
There are records that indicate 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 role in the creation of Labor Day has not gone unchallenged. A machinist named Matthew Maguire, has been labeled the creator of the holiday as well. 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. No matter which of the Maguire’s actually created the holiday, the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.
CHANGES IN THE CELEBRATION
In the beginning, the holiday was celebrated by street parades featuring different labor and trade organizations, followed by a festival enjoyed by workers and their families. Speeches by politicians and prominent individuals within a community came later. In 1909, Labor Sunday was adopted and focused on the educational and spiritual aspects of the labor movement.
The celebration of Labor Day has changed in recent years though you’ll still hear of speeches by prominent individuals being given in the media.
The workingman has ensured the success of this nation with their labor and added to our high standard of living and production of goods and services, some of which are the highest in the world.
This Labor Day, hats off to the American Worker!
Sources
http://www.dol.gov/laborday/history.htm
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