A Salute to Labor Day

A Holiday for the Common Man

Nearly everyone today in the United States celebrates Labor Day. To most people, it signifies the end of summer, BBQs and picnics. This holiday should mean more than just celebrations.

In the mid-19th century, labor conditions were extremely poor for most workers, especially those employed in industrial related jobs, the jobs that built this nation's greatness. During this time, factory conditions were extremely harsh. Most workers were required to be at the job for twelve hours per day, six days a week. They were allowed only a very short break for lunch. The work was intensely tiring and uncomfortable. It was also often very dangerous as there were no OSHA regulations, no safety standards or rules. Workers did not receive overtime pay, vacations or holidays. Women and children were also employed by factories, working under the same severe conditions as men.

Then people began to realize that if they wanted working conditions to change, they would have to band together. By the 1870s, workers were rallying together and forming labor unions. Thousands of workers would go on strike at one time, and would proceed to march through the streets demanding better pay, better working conditions and shorter working hours. Many workers were injured by employer hired thugs that tried to disband the workers' marches and protests. Some workers were even killed.

As time passed, organized labor movements became more and more popular, spreading throughout the industrialized cities of the United States.

On September 5, 1882, Labor Day was first celebrated by a giant parade held in New York City. Twenty thousand workers marched in that parade, carrying signs and banners that displayed the ideas for better working conditions. After the march, everyone celebrated with picnics throughout the city and then when night fell, a grand display of fireworks was the finale of the first Labor Day.

Over the years, the idea of an official Labor Day spread throughout the United States and became more popular. It was voted to become an official federal holiday in 1894, and it has been nationally celebrated ever since.

To some, Labor Day may not have the same meaning that it did when it was created, but we can still look back and remember the courageous and spirited people who fought for better working conditions and rights for the average working men and women of this country. If there had not been organized labor, there never would have been a Wall Street, because labor built the buildings and did the back breaking work that created it.

Here is a salute to all the men and women that labor in our United States of America.

Regards,

Paul A Christner