What is Labor Day?
September 6, 2012
We hope everybody had a great Labor Day. Ever wonder what Labor Day is, besides just a day off? Here are some cool and interesting facts about this day.
Labor Day is always celebrated on the first Monday in September. It pays tribute to the myriad of achievements by American workers. It was created in the 19th century by the labor movement. It became an official federal holiday in 1894.
The Industrial Revolution, in the late 1800’s, was a very dismal time of life. The average American worked 12+ hour days, seven days a week just to make ends meet. Child labor was also rampant at this time and often children as little as five or six years old worked as well. Work conditions were often unsafe and extremely hazardous.
Labor Unions started cropping up and becoming more vocal. They started organizing strikes and rallies to combat these conditions. Sept. 5th, 1882, marked the first Labor Day, when 10,000 New York City workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square. This practice of taking a day off as a workingmen’s holiday grew and started spreading. Many states started passing legislation recognizing it but Congress had not yet done so until another movement took place.
On May 11th, 1894, workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago went on strike when pay cuts were issued and some union representatives were fired. The American Railroad Union, June 27th boycotted all Pullman railway cars, which halted all railroad traffic nationwide. To answer this, the federal government sent troops to Chicago and started a huge wave of riots that resulted in many worker deaths. Congress passed an act making Labor Day a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories to repair this situation with the workers.
In honor of all of the workers that risked their lives to battle the inequality that existed then, we salute you!
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