We know Labor Day as an opportunity to take a day off from work or school, but how much do you know about the history of this official holiday? This year, use the first Monday in September as a chance to learn about the history of U.S. workers. Read on for a snapshot look at the story behind this hard-won holiday.
Standing up to the status quo
At the end of the 19th century during the height of the industrial revolution, working conditions for many were dismal. As manufacturing surpassed agriculture as the nation’s largest employer, the average American worker endured twelve-hour days, seven days a week, to make a basic living. And though some states did restrict child labor, often children as young as 5 or 6 suffered through shifts in mills, mines and factories, earning a tiny portion of an adult wage. All workers — especially immigrants — faced unsafe working conditions. Fresh air, breaks and sanitary facilities were the exception, rather than the rule.
As a result, workers began to organize strikes and rallies against bad conditions, long hours and low pay. The history of this period is at times a violent one, with incidents such as the Haymarket Riot of 1886, in which several Chicago policemen and workers were killed.
The first holiday
The very first “Labor Day” event in this country was observed on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, when 10,000 workers took unpaid time off and marched from City Hall to Union Square to demand an 8-hour work day.
Two years later, the Central Labor Union adopted the first Monday in September as the official day for the holiday. It encouraged other labor organizations in cities across the country to celebrate a “workingmen’s holiday.” The idea took root in other industrial areas and, by 1885, Labor Day was celebrated in cities across the U.S. On February 21, 1887, Oregon became the first state to make the holiday law.
The federal decision to make Labor Day a holiday came a month after the American Railroad Union, led by Eugene V. Debs, led a boycott of all Pullman railway cars to support striking employees in Chicago who were protesting wage cuts and the firing of union representatives. The boycott crippled the nation’s railroad traffic, triggering the use of federal troops to break the strike. A wave of riots ended in the death of more than a dozen workers.
In part as a conciliatory gesture toward American workers after this tragedy, Congress quickly passed the act that declared Labor Day a federal holiday on June 28, 1894.
Today’s gains
The environment for most modern American workers is a paradise compared to their 19th century counterparts. Now many enjoy a set work week, compulsory breaks, workers’ compensation, and paid time off as a given. But the struggle for those conditions took many years and a lot of lives. This is the history lesson of the holiday that represents a hard-won day off.
Standing up to the status quo
At the end of the 19th century during the height of the industrial revolution, working conditions for many were dismal. As manufacturing surpassed agriculture as the nation’s largest employer, the average American worker endured twelve-hour days, seven days a week, to make a basic living. And though some states did restrict child labor, often children as young as 5 or 6 suffered through shifts in mills, mines and factories, earning a tiny portion of an adult wage. All workers — especially immigrants — faced unsafe working conditions. Fresh air, breaks and sanitary facilities were the exception, rather than the rule.
As a result, workers began to organize strikes and rallies against bad conditions, long hours and low pay. The history of this period is at times a violent one, with incidents such as the Haymarket Riot of 1886, in which several Chicago policemen and workers were killed.
The first holiday
The very first “Labor Day” event in this country was observed on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, when 10,000 workers took unpaid time off and marched from City Hall to Union Square to demand an 8-hour work day.
Two years later, the Central Labor Union adopted the first Monday in September as the official day for the holiday. It encouraged other labor organizations in cities across the country to celebrate a “workingmen’s holiday.” The idea took root in other industrial areas and, by 1885, Labor Day was celebrated in cities across the U.S. On February 21, 1887, Oregon became the first state to make the holiday law.
The federal decision to make Labor Day a holiday came a month after the American Railroad Union, led by Eugene V. Debs, led a boycott of all Pullman railway cars to support striking employees in Chicago who were protesting wage cuts and the firing of union representatives. The boycott crippled the nation’s railroad traffic, triggering the use of federal troops to break the strike. A wave of riots ended in the death of more than a dozen workers.
In part as a conciliatory gesture toward American workers after this tragedy, Congress quickly passed the act that declared Labor Day a federal holiday on June 28, 1894.
Today’s gains
The environment for most modern American workers is a paradise compared to their 19th century counterparts. Now many enjoy a set work week, compulsory breaks, workers’ compensation, and paid time off as a given. But the struggle for those conditions took many years and a lot of lives. This is the history lesson of the holiday that represents a hard-won day off.
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