On the first Monday in September, the United States observes Labor Day, a celebration of its workers and their contributions to the successes of the United States.
In the words of President Joe Biden, the middle class built the United States, and labor unions built the middle class. There is a lot of truth to that statement.
In the late 1860s, machines began to replace manual labor in rural areas but created new jobs in the industrial cities of the country’s northeast. And so, men returning from Civil War battlefields abandoned the countryside to find work in fast-growing industrial cities. At the same time, wave after wave of immigrants arrived, primarily from Europe, looking for work and new opportunities.
But those opportunities proved elusive as industrial workers by the thousands labored in factories, steel mills and mines 12 hours per day, 7 days a week, frequently under harsh, even dangerous conditions. And at the end of the day, their wages were barely enough to make ends meet.
So, they joined labor unions. As membership grew, so did the unions’ ability to negotiate better salaries and improved working conditions. They organized marches and when necessary, strikes.
In preparation for one such demonstration of strength in numbers, which took place on September 5, 1882, 10,000 New York City workers took unpaid leave and marched from City Hall to a nearby park, thus taking part in the first so-called Working Man’s Holiday.
This idea, of a day to celebrate everyday workers, gained traction, and similar marches continued every year. Finally, twelve years later, on June 28, 1894, the U.S. Congress enacted a law to make Labor Day a national holiday, to be observed on the first Monday in September.
In the words of President Grover Cleveland, who signed the bill into law, “A truly American sentiment recognizes the dignity of labor and the fact that honor lies in honest toil.”
“On Labor Day, we honor that essential truth and the dedication and dignity of American workers, who power our Nation’s prosperity,” said President Biden in a written statement.
“On Labor Day, we stand in solidarity with all the workers who lift our Nation to new heights and all the labor unions who give all workers power and voice.”
