ASPPA Connect Returns Sept. 7

Labor Day, the annual national tribute to the contributions workers have made to our country, is observed in the United States on the first Monday in September. In observance of the holiday, ASPPA Connect will not appear on Labor Day and will resume publication on Wednesday, Sept. 7. To note the event, here are some facts related to it.

• Matthew McGuire a machinist, and Peter McGuire, a carpenter, (coincidence — not brothers!) were among the first to propose a day to celebrate workers’ contributions.
• Americans worked 12-hour days, seven days a week during the 19th century. On Sept. 3, 1916, the Adamson Act was enacted, establishing an eight-hour workday. The Fair Labor Standards Act, enacted in 1938, established the 40-hour work week and the minimum wage. 
• The Department of Labor was the first cabinet agency led by a woman: Frances Perkins, during the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.