Dennis Hill

Honoring the American Worker – A Labor Day Tradition



Posted: Monday, August 27, 2007

by
Sagacity LLC & Boundless Partners, Inc.

In recent years, Labor Day has signified the end of Summer-time, a grand curtain call on church festivals, county fairs, beach bathing, and mountain vacations. Bountiful barbeques for friends and family and a few fond farewells to young ones headed for college mark the event which has rested on the First Monday of September since 1884.

The Central Labor Union in New York City planned and executed the first commemoration to tradesman on Tuesday, September 5, 1882. The second was held a year later a year later, on September 5, 1883. The intent of the Central Labor Union was to honor the American laborer, a positive encouragement in the midst of one of the countrys greatest economic periods, the Industrial Age.

In 1884, the Central Labor Union urged other unions and trade organizations across the nation to join in the frolic demonstration masked by parades and feasts. The holiday was essentially a walk-out, since such honor could have been as easily bestowed on a weekend. Nevertheless, to celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" found acceptance as labor organizations grew, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated country-wide in major urban centers.

Governmental recognition came through local ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886, which led a movement to secure state legislation. The first state in which Labor Day was recognized as am official holiday was Oregon which passed the law on February 21, 1887. Four more states, Colorado , Massachusetts , New Jersey , and New York , joined Oregon in 1887. By 1890 Connecticut , Nebraska , and Pennsylvania had followed suit with 23 other states adopting the holiday in honor of workers by 1894. (As a matter of authors prerogative and interest, Wisconsin recognized Labor Day in 1893). On June 28, 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

The New York Central Labor Union set the pattern for celebration with a street parade to publicly display "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a picnic for the recreation and entertainment of workers and their families. In 1909, by resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was designated as Labor Sunday to consider the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.

The Labor Day celebration has changed in recent years, supplanting parades with professional baseball games, but the central theme remains unchanged to honor the hard-working, devoted men and women who helped build this great nation. It is a time of reflection and thanksgiving for families, friends, and coworkers, a fitting end to the dog days of Summer.

Happy Labor Day!

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