Labor Day

Labor Day is now considered the traditional end-of-summer celebration - and the end to wearing white for the summer season.  Before these traditions, however, Labor Day had a deeper meaning. The day has a vital history to the American worker. The first Monday in September marks the creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social & economic achievements of American workers.  It represents an annual national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the United States and beyond. The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. In 1884, the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, and the Central Labor Union urged organizations in other cities to follow its example and celebrate a “workingmen’s holiday” on that date. The idea continued to spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.  

The first governmental recognition of the holiday came from municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature and the first law passed was in Oregon on February 21, 1887. That same year four more states - Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York - created the Labor Day holiday by state law.  By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania followed suit.  By 1894, 23 other states adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28th, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories. For more information about the history and origin of Labor Day and current information on workers’ rights and safety, visit the United States Department of Labor website.  As we relax, barbeque, and celebrate this Labor Day holiday, please remember the history of the American worker and the struggles they endured and survived.   Happy Labor Day!