Summer is drawing to a close, and we’re all eagerly awaiting the cooler days and colors of Fall. But first – Labor Day Weekend!
Labor Day has evolved and changed since I was a child, and now seems to be an opportunity to close out the summer with a bang. Last minute trips to the lake or beach abound, as do cookouts. When I was growing up in Western Kentucky, Labor Day was a very different affair than it is today. First – it was the last weekend to wear those white shoes. (No self respecting Southern girl would be caught wearing white ANYTHING after Labor Day Monday). And second, it was the time to celebrate the working people who kept our community going. There was always a parade and cookout, and all of the working folks were celebrated and honored. My dad, two uncles, my brother and a cousin were electricians working out of the local union hall, and the Labor Day Parade honoring the various trade unions and following picnic were not to be missed. I look back on those days with nostalgia and pride – and I miss the celebration of the folks who truly are the backbone of our communities.
To appreciate the meaning of Labor Day, it helps to know the history. The first Labor Day “parade” took place on September 5, 1882 when 10,000 workers in New York City took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square – in the midst of worker unrest and exploitation, and unsafe and unsanitary working conditions. Workers were beginning to organize and strike – hoping for better pay and better lives. The first “parade” didn’t settle matters – exploitation of workers continued, with 12 hour workdays and 7 day work weeks, low pay and dangerous, unsanitary working conditions. Especially vulnerable were children and recent immigrants in the northeast and newly freed African American former slaves in northern states. Labor unions became more vocal, and began to organize and rally – trying to compel employers to renegotiate hours and pay. Strikes became the leverage used by labor unions, and helped shape what we now know as the 40 hour work week. Two prominent strikes were the Haymarket Riot of Chicago in 1886 and the Pullman Railway Strike of 1894. Both were violent affairs, and caused loss of life for both striking workers and law enforcement. The Pullman Railway Strike left a wake of massive unrest among workers, and in an effort to repair its relationship with American Workers, Congress passed an act making Labor Day a legal holiday – which President Grover Cleveland signed into law on June 28, 1894.
Labor Day is so much more than just a day off. The American work force – regardless of trade or profession – owes a debt of gratitude to the labor unions of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. We who enjoy safe and sanitary working conditions and a living wage stand on the shoulders of the brave men and women who stood up not only for themselves, but for their families and those of us who would follow. This Labor Day, let us not forget that men and women fought and died for the 40 hour work week. And remember – it’s up to us to pay it forward to those vulnerable folks at risk of exploitation today. They’re still out there.
Happy Labor Day, all!