History:

The Central Labor Union planned and “organized” a parade to take place on September 5, 1882, in Lower Manhattan near City Hall to show the spirit and strength of the unions. However, the first Labor Day parade was a bit of a fiasco and a near disaster. City Hall was surrounded by rows of policemen and club-wielding officers on horseback because it was expected that riots would erupt. The police escort in place as well as the Grand Marshal of the parade, William McCabe, and his aides were ready to lead the parade, but the few marchers who showed up had no music. The parade was almost canceled until Matthew Maguire of the Central Labor Union of New York reported that 200 marchers from the Jewelers Union of Newark Two, New Jersey, crossed from the ferry and they had a band. When they arrived, the music and the march began. Spectators followed, and reports were that the number of marchers were between 10,000 and 20,000 men and women. After the parade, Reservoir Park (now Bryant Park) was filled with nearly 25,000 union members and their families to celebrate the very first Labor Day.  

The second Labor Day holiday was celebrated by the same unions on September 5, 1883. Twenty-three additional states embraced the holiday by 1894, and on June 28, 1894, President Cleveland signed a law stating the first Monday in September of each year would be a national holiday to celebrate the contributions workers have made to our country’s strength, success and welfare.  Labor Day festivities would continue to take place for decades afterwards in Union Square, New York, New York.

This all took place nearly 20 years before the creation of the Labor Department. On March 4, 1913, in his final hours as president, President William Howard Taft signed an act that created the U.S. Department of Labor. The department has supported the interests of workers, those seeking work as well as retired Americans. As a result, workplace injuries and fatalities have been reduced and billions of dollars of stolen or withheld pay and benefits have been reclaimed. Interestingly, the Labor Department was originally led by a woman, Secretary Frances Perkins. Secretary Perkins helped with the institution of the 40-hour work week and minimum wage, which became law with the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938 that has been enforced since that time.

Attached is a photo of the celebration in Union Square in 1909 (courtesy of the Library of Congress), as well as a photograph of Children at the Union Square Labor Day parade, 1909 (NYPL).

Today:

As we know, Labor Day is still celebrated by Americans on the first Monday of September and the weekend before is known as Labor Day Weekend. We still have parades, speeches, political rallies and, more privately, parties, barbecues and weekend getaways. An extra day off is always a reason to celebrate and an excuse to get away to a beach location just before the cool weather comes in depending on location, or to get together with friends and/or family. However, we should also take some time to think about the reason for the holiday.

We, the workers, have helped raise the nation’s standard of living, which is something we should be proud of as we enjoy paid time off work (for those of us who are lucky enough to have both the work and the time off).

Quotes by Bertrand Russell (a British philosopher/mathematician) regarding work and time away from work:

“No great achievement is possible without persistent work.”

“Work hard in silence, let your success be your noise.”

“The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”