Labor Day is celebrated annually on the first Monday in September, this day always falls somewhere from September 1 through September 7. This year, in the United States and Canada it is September 5. However, the majority of countries celebrate this day on May 1.
History
If you get an eight-hour workday, weekends off work, lunch breaks, paid vacation, and social security then you should be grateful to labor unions and the U.S. labor movement for it. Many of the most basic benefits we enjoy at our jobs today are the result of years of hard battles, and the ensuing legislation they inspired. In September, on the first Monday, we take the day off to celebrate this day and honor the American worker’s contributions to our country.
There is a controversy over how the holiday started. According to the first version, the largest and one of the most important American labor organizations at the time, the Knights of Labor set the day in September 1882. With the help of the fledgling Central Labor Union (CLU) of New York, the Knights in New York City held a public parade featuring various labor organizations on September 5. In order to mark this successful public demonstration, Central Labor Union’s Secretary Matthew Maguire proposed that a national Labor Day holiday be held on the first Monday of each September.
In the second version, a vice president of the American Federation of Labor, Peter J. McGuire, proposed Labor Day be celebrated in September. McGuire reportedly suggested a “general holiday for the laboring classes” to the Central Labor Union, In spring 1882, which would commence with a street parade of organized labor solidarity and close with a picnic fundraiser for local unions. McGuire proposed the first Monday in September as a perfect date for Labor Day because at that time of the year, the weather is great, and it falls between the 4th of July and Thanksgiving. The first U.S. state to make it an official public holiday became Oregon. In 1894, by the time the federal government declared it a federal holiday, 29 other states had joined as well.
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What is the Haymarket Affair?
At a time when most American laborers worked 18 or even 20 hours a day, tens of thousands of workers protested in cities all across the United States to demand an eight-hour workday, it happened on May 4, 1886. Police in Chicago attacked both those peaceful protests and workers who were planning meetings two days later. Police randomly shot and beat the planning group and killed six people. Police advanced on the crowd again, when outraged Chicagoans attended an initially peaceful protest the next evening in Haymarket Square. An unidentified person detonated a bomb that killed a police officer, this action led cops to open fire on protesters and incite violence that resulted in the deaths of about a dozen workers and police.
The Pullman Strike
In 1894, Chicago was also the scene of the bloody Pullman strike which accelerated the establishment of an official Labor Day holiday in the United States on the first Monday of September.
The strike happened at the factory location established by luxury railroad car manufacturer the Pullman Company, in May in the company town of Pullman, Chicago. The inequality in the town was more than obvious. While most laborers stayed in barracks-style dormitories, company owner George Pullman lived in a mansion. In 1893, when a nationwide depression struck, Pullman made a decision to cut costs the way many executives at the time did. He lowered wages by almost 30% while keeping the rent on the dormitories he leased to his employees at the levels before the depression began.
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Railroad Boycott
On May 11, 1894, these conditions eventually led workers to strike which gained the support of the nationwide American Railroad Union (ARU) declaring that its members would no longer work on trains that had Pullman cars. That national boycott would result in bringing the railroads west of Chicago to a halt and led to 125,000 workers throughout 29 railroad companies leaving their jobs rather than disregarding the boycott.
Strikers also took various actions to stop the trains when the Chicago railroad companies hired strikebreakers as replacements. The General Managers Association (this association represented local railroad companies) opposed inducing U.S. Attorney General Richard Olney, a retired railroad attorney, to intercede. Federal courts of Indianapolis granted Richard Olney an ultimatum against the strike, a move that authorized President Grover Cleveland to send in federal troops to break it up.
Several days after, President Cleveland realized that he had to operate fast to pacify the country’s increasingly heated labor movement. But he did not want to honor the incident in Haymarket with a May holiday that would evoke radical worker sentiment. Cleveland went back to the first established September 1882 holiday and signed into law that Labor Day in the United States would be marked on the first Monday in September.
Labor Day vs May Day
May 1st was chosen by communist and socialist factions worldwide as the date to mark the Haymarket affair. A plea was issued by the 1904 conference, that trade unions stage rallies on the first of May, insisting to make the eight-hour workday norm. They managed the action in the name of “universal peace.” In many countries across the world, the 1st of May is a national, public holiday commonly known as “International Workers’ Day,” “Labour Day,” or an equal name. However, some countries celebrate Labor Day on other dates meaningful to them, such as the United States and Canada celebrating this day on the first Monday of September.
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Timeline of Labor Day
1882 (It’s Unofficial) – 10,000 labor workers marched through Union Square in New York to protest low wages and poor working conditions.
1884 (A Date was Set) – With the Central Labor Union pushing other organizations to follow suit and celebrate, the first Monday of September officially became Labor Day.
1894 (Congress Approved) – Labor Day was approved as a national holiday by Congress, and President Grover Cleveland signed it into law.
2009 (Let’s Not Overlook Women in Labor) – With the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, President Obama restored the rights of women to sue over pay discrimination.
Traditions of Labor Day
This dayy, generally signifies that the summer season has ended, even though the calendar says otherwise, much like Memorial Day, which marks the traditional beginning of summer. Travel, holiday sales, and barbecues tend to rule the day, while children eventually adapt to the rough reality of the “back-to-school” season. As far as United States sports are concerned, Labor Day weekend indicates that pennant races of baseball have entered their final stretch, and tennis fans get an additional day to watch the season’s final Grand Slam event – the U.S. Open in New York City. NFL regular-season games generally start following Labor Day.
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Activities on Labor Day
Read the history of Labor Day
The rich history of Labor Day directly influences the working conditions we experience today. So in between your Labor Day celebration, find the time to discuss the U.S. labor movement and its great contribution to our country’s present work culture.
Buy an American-made product
Take the time to read the labels when you are doing your Labor Day shopping. In order to show your support for American workers, consider buying products that say “Made in the USA.”
Watch a movie about labor unions
What is a better way to relax than to stretch out on the couch and watch a movie about the American labor movement on Labor Day? There are lots of union-themed movies to select from.
5 Interesting Facts about Labor Day
It is on May 1 in other countries
The majority of countries throughout the world celebrate Labor Day on May 1, and it is called International Workers’ Day.
Stores remain open
Retail workers and shopkeepers do not get a break on this day, as the holiday is huge for sales and shopping. On the other hand, most schools and offices are closed on Labor Day.
3rd most popular holiday for outdoor cookouts
Labor Day is the most popular holiday for barbecues and cookouts right after the Fourth of July and Memorial Day.
Labor Day marks the unofficial NFL kickoff
The NFL’s first official game of the season, 99.4% of the time, is on the Thursday following Labor Day.
Union members today
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2017, there were 14.8 million union members, while in 1983, there were 17.7 million.
Why We love Labor Day
We are hard workers – we deserve the day off
Statistics show that Americans work longer hours than citizens of most other countries – 499 more than France, 260 more per year than the U.K. 137 more hours per year than Japan. And our productivity is high – 400% higher than it was in 1950, to be precise. So, we fully deserve that day off.
It is one last chance to grill
Labor Day is widely regarded to be the unofficial final day of summer. It is our last chance to grill some steaks and to wear shorts before the air turns cold and the leaves start to fall.
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It is the reason we can say TGIF
Labor Day is a time to observe the advantages we relish at our jobs – including weekends off. The idea of American workers taking days off dates back to 1791 when a group of carpenters in Philadelphia went on strike to require a shorter workweek (to be more precise, 10-hour days). It was not until 1836 that workers began demanding eight-hour workdays.
