U.S Labor Day

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.

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 these, a movement developed 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.

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.

Learn more about the founder of Labor Day

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.

A Nationwide Holiday

The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take was 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.

DOL Celebrates 100 Years

We turned 100! March 2013 marked the Department of Labor's first 100 years of service. We launched a year's worth of educational events outlining the Department's history. When you see our centennial icon, expect to find out some tidbit of history, or about an event or activity celebrating our first century of service to America's workers.

Labor Day History

In the United States, Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a celebration 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 their country.

In many countries, the working classes sought to make May Day an official holiday, and their efforts largely succeeded. In the United States and Canada, however, the official holiday for workers is Labor Day in September. This day was promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor, who organized the first parade in New York City. After the Haymarket Massacre, US President Grover Cleveland feared that commemorating Labor Day on May 1 could become an opportunity to commemorate the affair. Thus, in 1887, it was established as an official holiday in September to support the Labor Day that the Knights favored.^[1]

History[edit source | editbeta]

In 1882, Matthew Maguire, a machinist, first proposed the holiday while serving as secretary of the CLU (Central Labor Union) of New York.^[2] Others argue that it was first proposed by Peter J. McGuire of the American Federation of Labor in May 1882,^[3] after witnessing the annual labour festival held in Toronto, Canada.^[4] Oregon was the first state to make it a holiday on February 21, 1887. By the time it became a federal holiday in 1894, thirty states officially celebrated Labor Day.^[3]

Following the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals during the Pullman Strike, the United States Congress unanimously voted to approve rush legislation that made Labor Day a national holiday; President Grover Cleveland signed it into law a mere six days after the end of the strike.^[5] The September date originally chosen by the CLU of New York and observed by many of the nation's trade unions for the past several years was selected rather than the more widespread International Workers' Day because Cleveland was concerned that observance of the latter would be associated with the nascent Communist, Syndicalist and Anarchist movements that, though distinct from one another, had rallied to commemorate the Haymarket Affair in International Workers' Day.^[6] All U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the territories have made it a statutory holiday.

Pattern of celebration[edit source | editbeta]

The form for the celebration of Labor Day was 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",^[2] followed by a festival for the workers and their families. This became the pattern for Labor Day celebrations. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the civil 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.^[2]

The holiday often marks the return to school, although school starting times now vary.

Retail Sale Day[edit source | editbeta]

To take advantage of large numbers of potential customers free to shop, Labor Day has become an important sale weekend for many retailers in the United States. Some retailers claim it is one of the largest sale dates of the year, second only to the Christmas season's Black Friday.^[7]

Ironically, because of the importance of the sale weekend, some of those who are employed in the retail sector not only work on Labor Day, but work longer hours. More Americans work in the retail industry than any other, with retail employment making up 24% of all jobs in the United States.^[8] As of 2012, only 3% of those employed in the retail sector were members of a labor union.^[8]

End of summer[edit source | editbeta]

Labor Day has come to be celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer. In high society, Labor Day is (or was) considered the last day of the year when it is fashionable to wear white^[9] or seersucker.^[10]^[11]

In U.S. sports, Labor Day marks the beginning of the NFL and college football seasons. NCAA teams usually play their first games the weekend of Labor Day, with the NFL traditionally playing their first game the Thursday following Labor Day. The Southern 500 NASCAR auto race was held that day from 1950 to 1983 in Darlington, South Carolina. At Indianapolis Raceway Park, the National Hot Rod Association hold their finals to the U.S. Nationals drag race. Labor Day is the middle point between weeks 1 and 2 of the US Open Tennis Championships held in Flushing Meadows, NY.

In the U.S., most school districts that started summer vacation 1-2 weeks into June will resume school the day after this day (see First Day of School), while schools that had summer vacation begin on the Saturday before Memorial Day in late May will have already been in session since late August. However this tradition is changing as many school districts end 1-2 weeks into June and begin mid-August.^[12]

appy Labor Day, in eight charts!

By Sarah Kliff, Published: September 2 at 9:17 amE-mail the writer

Today is Labor Day, an occasion often marked by beach trips and barbecues. While that’s all well and good, we here at Wonkblog would be remiss if we let the long weekend go by without a few good charts that show what it means to be a worker in America today and how that has changed over the years.

Labor force participation is way higher today than it was in the 1940s — but significantly lower than a decade ago.

This chart comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which began keeping track of how many Americans older than 16 participate in the labor force in 1948. There was a big climb through the ’60s and ’70s, as women began to increasingly work outside the house.

The biggest group outside the labor force are the retired.

If you’ve ever wondered who, exactly, are the 37 percent of Americans outside the labor force, wonder no more! Bloomberg Businessweek put together this graphic showing who works, who doesn’t and why.

Back in 1940, the biggest workforce sector was manufacturing. Now it’s education and health care.

This piece from Ezra Klein offers a great explanation of why health care and education have become increasingly dominant sectors in the American workforce.

Over the past four decades, the government and financial service sectors have become increasingly female. Others, like manufacturing, barely budged.

Last year NPR’s Planet Money took a long look at how women’s entry into the workforce changed the composition of different sectors. Some, such as financial activities and hospitality, became increasingly female. Others, particularly manufacturing, have hardly changed in four decades.

Foreign-born Americans are increasingly overrepresented in the workforce.

(Source: Migration Policy Institute)

About one in five workers describe themselves as “actively disengaged” in their jobs.

This is from a regular Gallup survey and instantly brings to mind a quote from one Peter Gibbons: “It’s not that I’m lazy; it’s just that I don’t care.” Baby boomers, per Gallup, are the least engaged demographic at work.

Professionals are seeing their workweeks get longer. Lower-income Americans aren’t.

: (Mother Jones)

The 50-hour week has become increasingly common since the 1970s. This is especially true among high-earning men and women, but less common in lower-income demographics.

Even if some Americans are working longer, wages as a percent of the overall economy are at an all-time low.

Tim Fernholz, in a post aptly titled “Two charts to ruin Labor Day,” shows Bureau of Economic Analysis data on wages as a percent of gross domestic product. Things do not, in short, look good.

“Blame robots and offshoring, but also the mysterious fact, attributed to everything from de-unionization to tax policy to a lack of investment of education, that gains in productivity haven’t translated into higher wages,” Fernholz writes.

Labor Day

Monday, September 2, 2013