Celebrating Labor
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday that takes place on the first Monday in September. The first observance is believed to have been a parade on Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City, probably organized by Peter J. McGuire, a Carpenters and Joiners Union secretary.
McGuire had suggested a September date in order to provide a break during the long stretch between Independence Day and Thanksgiving.
By 1893, more than half the states were observing a “Labor Day” on one day or another, and a bill to establish a federal holiday was passed by Congress in 1894. President Grover Cleveland signed the bill soon afterward, designating the first Monday in September as Labor Day.
Who Are We Celebrating? 149.1 million. Number of people age 16 or older in the nation’s labor force as of May 2005. Among the nation’s workers are 80.0 million men and 69.1 million women. These men and women represent 66 percent of the civilian noninstitutionalized adult population.
For many decades, Labor Day was used by workers not only to celebrate their accomplishments, but also to air their grievances and discuss strategies for securing better working conditions and salaries.
Nowadays, the holiday is associated less with union activities and protest marches and more with leisure. For many it is a time for family picnics, sporting events, and summer’s last hurrah.
“If any man tells you he loves America, yet hates labor, he is a liar. If any man tells you he trusts America, yet fears labor, he is a fool. — Abraham Lincoln
Photo by Detroit Publishing Company.
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