Labor Day: How it Came
About; What it Means
"Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the
year in any country," said Samuel Gompers, founder and longtime president
of the American Federation of Labor. "All other holidays are in a more or
less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man's prowess over
man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one
nation over another. Labor Day...is devoted to no man, living or dead, to
no sect, race, or nation."
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."
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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.
Above
information taken from the US Dept of Labor website
An Eclectic List of Events in the History of U.S. Labor
This page features a chronology of labor struggles in the U.S. In several
instances, worker protests led to deadly intervention by management or
even the U.S. government. Because the nature of some of the incidents
related, this site is not recommended for young viewers.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
This site offers a good starting point for examining the current state of
the U.S. economy as well as regional job markets. Data is provided for
several months, allowing for comparison and contrast. Many BOL
publications are also available online.
ALWAYS FINISH
Anonymous
If a task is once begun,
Never leave it till it's done.
Be the labor great or small,
Do it well or not at all.
IT COULDN'T BE DONE
Edgar Guest
Somebody said it couldn't be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That "maybe it couldn't," but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing and he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.
Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that;
At least no one has ever done it";
But he took off his coat and he took of his hat,
And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing and he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assailyou.
But just buckle in with a bit of a girn,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That "cannot be done," and you'll do it.
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