Labor Day In The USA
According to the New Jersey Historical Society, after President Grover Cleveland signed into law the creation of a national Labor Day, the Paterson (N.J.)?Morning Call?published an opinion piece entitled, "Honor to Whom Honor is Due," which stated that "the souvenir pen should go to Alderman Matthew Maguire of this city, who is the undisputed author of Labor Day as a holiday."
This editorial also referred to Maguire as the "Father of the Labor Day holiday."
This years three (3) day Labor Day holiday is tap-rooted back to the late 19th century, when labor activists pushed for a federal holiday to recognize contributions of workers who have made possible - America's strength and prosperity.
Labor Day is traditionally celebrated in cities / towns across the USA with parades, picnics, barbecues, fireworks displays and other public gatherings.
Since 1883, Labor Day had actually been celebrated at locals and selected state levels.
Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., had proposed the holiday to his union in 1882, while serving as secretary of the New York - based Central Labor Union.
It adopted Maguire’s idea, sponsoring the first such holiday way back on Sept. 5, 1882.
From 1887 to 1894, 23 states passed a Labor Day holiday, opting for the first Saturday or first Monday of September.?
{President Grover Cleveland (1837-1908), by the way, was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897, is the only president in USA history to serve two (2) non-consecutive terms in office.}
As a staunch Democrat, President Cleveland made reconciliation with a then - troubled labor movement. He also sought to distance the new federal holiday from existing international May Day celebrations - with their perceived socialist connotations.?
领英推荐
Moreover, the holiday was passed in the middle of the violent nationwide Pullman Strike?, which in July would cost the lives of several workers after President Cleveland dispatched 12,000 federal troops and U.S. marshals to break up the walkout.?
On June 26, 1894 Rep. Lawrence McGann, a Chicago Democrat and chairman of the House Labor Committee, called on the House to adopt the Senate bill, replacing an earlier version introduced by Rep. Amos Cummings (D-N.Y.).
The House voted unanimously to do so.?On June 28, 1894, President?Cleveland signed the new national holiday into law.
At the 1st official Labor Day parade in Chicago, McGann had stated: “Let us, each Labor Day, hold a congress and formulate propositions for the amelioration of the people. Send them to your representatives with your earnest, intelligent endorsement, and the laws will be changed.”?
Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer. Politicians use it to make political speeches. For many Americans in 2022, particularly children and young adults, it represents the end of the summer and the beginning of the back-to-school season.
And finally, the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill?Act of 1968 changed several holidays to ensure they would always be observed on Monday's so that federal employees could have more three-day weekends.
The Act was signed into law on June 28, 1968 and moved Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, and Columbus Day to fixed Mondays each year.?
Labor Day is in good company too.
Other holidays that always fall on Mondays include:
Have a good holiday weekend everyone - and - I hope to see you at the beach - surf is gonna be up this weekend!
Currently, Steve Sayer is a workplace safety consultant to OSHA, EPA, GFSI, USDA and FDA, and a technical writer for multiple industries, as well as a part-time maintenance worker for California State Beaches.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog are strictly those of the author.
WORD OF THE DAY
"My only critique of that play is that the peripeteia in the third act seemed terribly contrived, like some obvious deus ex machine to give us a happy ending."