Think Labor Day Is Just About a Backyard BBQ? Not Quite

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(NATIONAL) By the time Labor Day rolls around every year, Americans have enjoyed several months in the sun, either relaxing in their backyards, splashing at the pool, or camping out in a mountain meadow. What is usually considered the unofficial end of summer, Labor Day closes out this season of cookouts with one final long weekend often filled with fun and sun.

But with roots dating back nearly 130 years, Labor Day is about much more than marking the last barbecue of the year, packing your white outfits away, and sending the kids back to school.

The first Labor Day took place in 1882 in New York City when 10,000 people marched for labor rights in the streets of Manhattan. Below are some facts you may not know about Labor Day.

Who Founded Labor Day?

A union leader named Peter J. McGuire is credited with creating Labor Day. He suggested to the Central Labor Union of New York that there should be a celebration honoring American workers. At the time, the average American worked 12 hours per day, six days per week. With sponsorship from the Knights of Labor, workers marched on Sept. 5, 1882, a date chosen because it fell roughly between Independence Day and Thanksgiving.

The idea quickly spread, and Oregon, Colorado, Massachusetts and New Jersey recognized local Labor Days in the following years. But the national holiday that we know and celebrate today was still a few years away.

Tragedy Led to the Holiday’s Creation

A tragic, historic moment in the labor movement known as the Pullman Strike changed the national conversation and led to the creation of the federal holiday.

Angry about their wages being cut amid a major economic depression in 1894, Pullman Palace Car Company employees joined the American Railway Union (ARU), led by the famous 19th Century labor leader Eugene V. Debs. The union launched a boycott of Pullman cars on all railroads, which led to disciplinary action by the company for the switchmen who refused to use the cars. In retaliation, all ARU members across the country struck the railroads, with 125,000 workers on 29 railroads eventually refusing to work with Pullman cars.

U.S. Marshals were called in, along with 2,000 U.S. Army troops, to break up the strike on the grounds that it was interfering with the delivery of mail. In the chaos that ensued, 13 workers were killed, and 57 were wounded. 

Labor Day Made Official

The Pullman Strike, combined with a series of unemployed workers’ riots in Cleveland, prompted President Cleveland to propose a bill establishing Labor Day as a national public holiday. The bill was signed into law in June of 1894.

But the labor fight continued for years after the federal establishment of Labor Day. For example, the federal law mandating an eight-hour workday with additional pay for overtime work, called the Adamson Act, was not passed until 1916. In the 1960s, Cesar Chavez founded the United Farm Workers union to fight for the rights of agricultural workers in the American West. Even today, national conversations around minimum wage and time off are hotly debated. 

Labor Day Today

As the influence of unions has faded over the decades, the real reason for Labor Day has given way to more festive feelings, with families and friends gathering together to celebrate the unofficial end of summer and the turn of the season toward fall. 

But with the spirit of Labor Day rooted in workers’ efforts to carve out more time to rest and be with their families, it’s appropriate to take a day off work to spend with loved ones as we celebrate the contributions of American workers to the country and its economy.

The Entertainer is presented by Carabelle’s Eats and Treats, food service dedicated to encouraging, inspiring, and strengthening women who have experienced loss to pursue holistic health through the culinary arts, while providing premier quality baked goods and catering services to the community.