LABOR DAY
American labor has raised the nation’s standard of living and
contributed to the greatest production the world has ever
known and the labor movement has brought us closer to the
realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political
democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pays
tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's
strength, freedom, and leadership – the American worker.
Happy Labor Day
Here is a short history of how Labor Day started.
Labor Day, an annual celebration of workers and their achievements, originated
during one of American labor history’s most dismal chapters.
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 eke out a
basic living. Despite restrictions in some states, children as young as 5 or 6 toiled in
mills, factories and mines across the country, earning a fraction of their adult
counterparts’ wages.
People of all ages, particularly the very poor and recent immigrants, often faced
extremely unsafe working conditions, with insufficient access to fresh air, sanitary
facilities and breaks.
As manufacturing increasingly supplanted agriculture as the wellspring of American
employment, labor unions, which had first appeared in the late 18th century, grew
more prominent and vocal. They began organizing strikes and rallies to protest
poor conditions and compel employers to renegotiate hours and pay.
Many of these events turned violent during this period, including the
infamous Haymarket Riot of 1886, in which several Chicago policemen and workers
were killed. Others gave rise to longstanding traditions: On September 5, 1882,
10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square
in New York City, holding the first Labor Day parade in U.S. history.
The idea of a “workingmen’s holiday,” celebrated on the first Monday in September,
caught on in other industrial centers across the country, and many states passed
legislation recognizing it. Congress would not legalize the holiday until 12 years
later, when a watershed moment in American labor history brought workers’ rights
squarely into the public’s view. On May 11, 1894, employees of the Pullman Palace
Car Company in Chicago went on strike to protest wage cuts and the firing of union
representatives.
On June 26, the American Railroad Union, led by Eugene V. Debs, called for a
boycott of all Pullman railway cars, crippling railroad traffic nationwide. To break
the Pullman strike, the federal government dispatched troops to Chicago,
unleashing a wave of riots that resulted in the deaths of more than a dozen
workers.
Over the years, particularly as the influence of unions waned, the significance of
Labor Day in the United States changed. For many people it became an end-of-
summer celebration and a long weekend for family get-togethers. At the same time,
it has continued to be celebrated with parades and speeches, as well as political
rallies, and the day is sometimes the official kickoff date for national political
campaigns.
