Labor Day Observance

Labor Day, observed in the United States on the first Monday in September, is a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to our country. ASPPA Connect will not be appearing on Labor Day; however, following are some facts concerning the establishment of this holiday. ASPPA Connect will resume publication on Thursday, Sept. 10.

• In 19th century America, there was a long tradition of having parades, picnics and other celebrations in support of labor issues, such as shorter hours or to rally strikers.

• Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day such as Labor Day. Others believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, founded the holiday.
  

• The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, Sept.5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. Just after 10 a.m., 200 marching jewelers from the Jewelers Union of Newark Two turned onto lower Broadway — their band was playing “When I First Put This Uniform On,” from Patience, an opera by Gilbert and Sullivan. The police escort then took its place in the street. Spectators began to join the march; it coursed through lower Manhattan. Final reports of the total number of marchers ranged from 10,000 to 20,000 men and women.

• The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886.

• The first law establishing a state Labor Day observance was enacted in Oregon on Feb. 21, 1887, and during that year Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York followed suit. By 1890, Connecticut, Nebraska and Pennsylvania had as well, and 31 states had by 1894.

• In response to a groundswell of support for a national holiday celebrating the nation’s workers, Sen. James Henderson Kyle (Populist-S.D.) introduced S. 730 to the 53rd Congress to make Labor Day a legal holiday on the first Monday of September each year. It was enacted on June 28, 1894.