The unofficial end of summer, sales, and family barbecues are probably how you picture Labor Day.
The long weekend gives most Americans a much-needed chance to catch up with friends and family and offers a final celebration before the beginning of fall.
The holiday on Monday, however, has a deeper significance that dates back to the struggle for just working conditions in the 19th century. Initially, the purpose of Labor Day was to celebrate the contributions of workers to the American organized labor movement.
When Did Labor Day Start
According to the US Department of Labor, Labor Day was first observed informally by labor activists and particular states in the late 1800s.
Although Oregon was the first state to codify Labor Day into law in 1887, New York was the first state to introduce a bill recognizing the holiday. By the end of 1887, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York had adopted a similar strategy.
According to labor historian Joshua Freeman, emeritus professor at the City University of New York, the holiday came into existence as unions were starting to regain strength following the 1870s recession.
In New York City, two events converged that contributed to the formation of Labor Day, Freeman says. First, the Central Labor Union, now defunct, was established as an “umbrella body” for unions from all trades and racial backgrounds.
In addition, the city hosted a convention of the Knights of Labor, the then-largest national labor convention, complete with a sizable parade. However, because the parade was on a Tuesday at the beginning of September, many employees were unable to go.
The convention was a huge success, and at the beginning of September, unions all over the country began hosting their labor holidays, typically on the first Monday of the month.
At the beginning, “it was a somewhat daring move to participate, because you could get yourself fired,” Freedman said. But over time, states began to recognize the holiday, and it became more common for employers to give their employees the day off.
Congress didn’t enact a law making the first Monday in September a legal holiday known as Labor Day until June 28, 1894.
According to Freeman, President Grover Cleveland dispatched the military earlier that year to put an end to the Pullman railway strike. Days after the strike ended, Cleveland pushed through legislation to recognize Labor Day as a “gesture towards organized labor,” according to Freeman.
Labor Day’s significance
Unions were battling for “very specific improvements in their working conditions” at the time Labor Day was established, according to Freeman. The majority of workers today enjoy an eight-hour workday, but workers had to fight hard for it. Additionally, they had a chance to get together on Labor Day to talk about their priorities.
But, according to Freeman, the Labor Day celebration also had a more radical political undercurrent. He claimed that the Knights of Labor were investigating the notion that “the industrial or capitalist system was fundamentally exploitative.”
“It introduced kind of inequities and inequalities, not just in wealth, but also in power. So they wanted a greater say in society for working people.”
“Back when Labor Day began, there were a lot of voices that were fundamentally challenging this emerging system,” Freeman added. Labor leaders at the time advocated for alternatives to the “capitalist wage system,” like collective ownership of corporations or socialism.