Happy Labor Day! But hey wait… why are we having this bar b que?

 

As we celebrate Labor Day, it is very easy to forget about what the day really means and how it was started (especially when you might have a beer or hot dog in your hand). Some people think it is the celebration of the end of summer, before the kids go back to school. But for those of us who do work and even for those don’t it is an important day for us to learn how the holiday started, and why we celebrate today.

First some history:

During the Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s, the average American worked 12-hour days, and six or seven days a week in order to survive.   Children also typically worked, as they provided cheap labor to employers, and laws against child labor were minimal and not strongly enforced.   With long hours and terrible working conditions, American unions became more prominent and voiced their demands for a better way of life. On Tuesday, September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers marched in New York City, from City Hall to Union Square, holding the first-ever Labor Day parade.  Participants took an unpaid day off to honor the workers of America, as well as vocalize issues they had with employers. As years passed, more states began to hold these parades. 

On May 11, 1894, workers of the Pullman Car Company in Chicago struck to protest wage cuts and the firing of union representatives. They sought support from their union, led by Eugene V. Debs, and on June 26 the American Railroad Union called a boycott of all Pullman railway cars. Within days, 50,000 rail workers complied and railroad traffic out of Chicago came to a halt. On July 4, President Grover Cleveland dispatched troops to Chicago. Much rioting and bloodshed ensued, before the strike and boycott ended.   The strike brought worker’s rights to the public eye and Congress declared, in 1894, that the first Monday in September would be a holiday for workers, known as Labor Day.

Now for some present day perspective. . . 

People are still working long hours in the 21st century, and exploitation still exists, from minimum wage violations to overtime abuses to Child Labor and even Human Trafficking.  People lose their jobs and their benefits every day, often illegally.  They’re paid off-the-books, hurting the social security and tax rolls.  And even employers – law abiding, complying employers – are adversely affected as they cannot compete with those who operate illegally. 

That is why the Labor Department and our labor laws are so important. . . not only to workers, but to employers, the overall economy, and yes, to American society as a whole.  

That is a good thing to remember on Labor Day.  So while you are passing the potato salad, or eating that 2nd hamburger thank the people who are working hard every day, and the unions that protect them.

Check out the Secretary of Labor’s message on Labor Day, sent 9/2/210, and the Department’s Labor Day webpage at www.dol.gov/laborday

Information gathered with help from: 

IRV  MILJONER
District Director U.S. Department of Labor
Wage and Hour Division, Long Island District Office

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  • Unicorn

    A timely reminder though I am in the uk. Have been a Trade Union Branch Secretary though : ) It saddens me that after certain governments have promoted the ‘there is no such thing as society’ line, that we now bemoan the ‘I’m all right, Jack’ attitude it spawned.
    Unions are about much more than publically making life difficult… the very fact that folk know what a not difficult life is, is much indebted to unions. Unions are only as strong as their members and it saddens me when employees gladly accept hard won safety protections and remuneration whilst sneering at the very concept of union membership. My union is involved in lots of important work and initiatives well outside of the vague notion of conflict with employers…including research, international development, bringing learning opportunities to those here who face many barriers and don ‘t see themselves as learners etc.
    To leap on a famous phrase, ask not what the union does for you, but what you do for the union : ) Remember, many are losing their lives around the word fighting for things we now take for granted but which were won by our former colleagues and their families sacrifice. Thanks.

  • I feel very strongly on this subject. Thank you for posting this. It’s not celebrating a past war or something, it’s celebrating a current issue that still needs action and attention everywhere in this country.

  • Lorilei

    Thanks for the refresher =)

  • Kris

    Thank you for this. I was wondering what Labor Day was all about this weekend!