Labored Days

The lower Manhattan sidewalks were full on the morning of September 5, 1882 - from City Hall to Broadway. Many came early for the Labor Day parade, hoping to claim the best views. A newspaper account of the day described "...men on horseback, men wearing regalia, men with society aprons, and men with flags, musical instruments, badges, and all the other paraphernalia of a procession."

By 10:00 AM, or so Department of Labor records show, the Grand Marshall William McCabe, his aides and their police escort were all in place for the start of the parade. There was only one problem: none of the men had moved. The few marchers that had shown up had no music. According to McCabe, the spectators began to suggest that he give up the idea of parading, but he was determined to start on time with the few marchers that had shown up.

Suddenly, Mathew Maguire of the Central Labor Union of New York (and probably the father of Labor Day) ran across the lawn and told McCabe that 200 marchers from the Jewelers Union of Newark Two had just crossed the ferry — and they had a band! And this was just the beginning of what is now a century plus tradition - Labor Day.

Today it's hard to find anything approaching the size and scale of that first parade - and today's observances are often more often a family event acknowledging the end of summer. Lost, too, are thoughts of the many workplace improvements we have seen since that time.

My Industrial Heritage

The factories where my Georgia ancestors worked during that first Labor Day weekend are now being turned into loft apartments, but there was a time when they were centers of opportunity for many. During the 1880s widows with children, assured of decent housing, arrived at the Georgia's mills in large numbers. Many of my relatives were among them.

Because widespread poverty still existed in Georgia, obtaining a mill job was often the best means of employment. Often mothers would tend the home while the children worked at the factory. In 1890 men accounted for just 37 percent of textile mill workers, women 39 percent, and children 24 percent. By 1910 Georgia's 116 mills employed more than 27,000 people, many living in company housing. 

With the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, smaller Georgia mills were forced to shut down, leading to significant unemployment for many mill families. In 1933 passage of the National Industrial Recovery Act, part of U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, required mill operators to follow rules related both to hours in a workday and to employee wages and benefits. Children under the age of sixteen could no longer be employed. Safety improvements and mechanization followed - but still factory life could be harsh.

Visiting modern factories across the country I know that working conditions are better, safer and more sustainable today. So are corporate attitudes and cultures - which strongly support safety and environmental awareness. As we celebrate Labor Day this year - let's keep the progress going and make every day safer and our work smarter. That will clearly be a reason to cheer! Happy Labor Day.

Sources: https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/business-economy/textile-industry

https://www.dol.gov/general/laborday/history