I feel that Labor Day is one of those that we don’t truly get. We understand that Memorial Day honors fallen soldiers. We understand that President’s Day, which happens to be in February around George Washington and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays, honors our Presidents. But Labor Day always seemed different, and more focuses on the end of summer than honoring the men, women and children that literally built our country during the Industrial Revolution. Here are 4 facts about Labor Day to think about…
1.) During the Industrial Revolution some laborers as young as 5 years old worked for 12 hours a day 7 days a week to barely make enough money to get by. Matthew is a carpenter and occasionally works a shutdown at a local refinery. This shutdown period can last 30-90 days, where he works 7 days a week, 12 hour days, most of the time on nights. I understand what 7/12s are like as a wife and mother at home. It is tiring, it seems endless. There is barely any time together as a family. I can only imagine what he goes through. How tired he is. How he goes to bed exhausted and wakes up only to repeat it again and again. But he does it to support our family. He does it so the refinery can run effectively and get oil to gas to our consumers. I can only imagine what this was like in the 1800’s, where safely and sanitary conditions were not what they were today. We are reaping the benefits of their experiences and efforts. That is why I honor Labor Day.
2.) Grover Cleveland signed Labor Day into a National Holiday on June 28. 1884. To this day, the true founder of Labor Day has yet to be identified. I think this is fitting. So many men helped build this country and revolutionized where we are today. To give credit to one man would seem selfish. I think it is fitting that Labor Day honors all of these people, who fought for safer work conditions, without one face representing this movement. If it weren’t the collective work and sacrifice, where would we be?
3.) Because of Labor Day, we have Monday Holidays. In 1968 congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which was inspired by the fact that Labor Day always fell on the first Monday of September; therefore, the act changed when we celebrate Memorial Day, Columbus Day, and President’s Day, and also gave federal employees a uniform holiday three day weekend.
4.) The first Labor Day parade occurred on September 5, 1882 when 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march across New York City from City Hall to Union Square. Today thousands of cities across the country hold parades and other ways to celebrate Labor Day.
To this day, men and women continue to build, install, and work tireless hours to allow America to be America. Let’s honor all our workers today. Thank You for making America a special place to call home.
