Jay Marsh, Sales Development, CenterCircle Creative
By the time you read this, summer 2024, will officially be over. Students are back in school, fall conferences have started and the smell of pumpkin spice is in the air. This past week the United States celebrated Labor Day. On this day we honor the American worker. Throughout the decades, the holiday has changed from its original origin.
“Labor Day is its own unique holiday,” explained Angelica Gianchandani, M.A., practitioner in residence at the Pompea College of Business at the University of New Haven. “Labor Day honors the achievement and contributions of the American workers.”
The exact beginnings are a bit complicated. One story says that the event’s origin can be traced back to the Knights of Labor, an American labor federation that promoted the social and cultural uplift of workers. The group reportedly held a public parade with other labor organizations on September 5, 1882. Soon after, the secretary of the Central Labor Union of New York, Matthew Maguire, proposed that a national Labor Day holiday would be held each year on the first Monday of September.
Another story tells that a different man, Peter J. McGuire – no relation – vice president of the American Federation of Labor had seen labor parades in Canada on May Day of 1882, and suggested that a similar parade be held in New York. Regardless of whether it was Maguire or McGuire, history agrees that the first parade took place in New York in 1882. Some 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square.
The event caught on and many states passed legislation that would recognize the day off for workers.
“This was a time when people were working seven days a week, and even young children worked long hours,” Gianchandani stated. “The holiday that gives us a break at the end of the summer was thus born out of the poor working conditions that existed in the urban centers at the end of the 19th century. It was meant to acknowledge the American worker by giving them a break.”
It was Oregon in 1887 that became the first state to make Labor Day an official public holiday. Within a few years, 30 states officially celebrated the holiday, and in 1894 Congress passed a bill recognizing the first Monday in September as Labor Day. But when President Grover Cleveland signed the bill into law that year, it was a holiday for federal workers. Even until the 1930s it was still just another day on the factory floor or assembly line.
Over time the day was one that universally honored the worker, but even then, there is some irony that more people than ever work over the weekend – at least in the retail and service industries. For those who have a three-day weekend it is a time to head to the movies, take a road trip and most notably go shopping!
“From a marketing standpoint, it is has become a big shopping weekend, and is now only second to Black Friday in terms of retail sales – but we need to consider too that Black Friday is spread out with Local Saturday and Cyber Monday dividing the overall sales,” said Gianchandani. “But Labor Day has become an important economy booster as it helps drive sales.”
As far as the origins are concerned, it is likely that few may know how it was created. What we do know is that Labor Day honors the contributions and achievements of workers and the labor movement, so it is a day to recognize and celebrate all individuals who work hard in their jobs. This Labor Day, we hope you enjoy the fruits of your labor and celebrate with a well-deserved rest!
