Labor Day rooted in controversy

Before this three-day weekend fun begins, let’s take a look at why we’ve got it.

Most Americans know the first Monday in September is meant to give workers a day off and remember their contribution to a healthy economy which supports us all.

But did you know:

- The idea for Labor Day is attributed to union leader Peter J. Maguire (although research suggests it might have been his brother, Matthew), who proposed it in 1882.

- The September date was simply “convenient,” according to Maguire, as a halfway point between Fourth of July and Thanksgiving holidays.

- In 1882, well before it became official, the first Labor Day celebration was organized by local unions in New York City, including a parade displaying the fruits of their work, a festival, and speeches.

- Oregon was the first state to declare a Labor Day holiday in 1887. After 29 other states followed its example, it became a federal holiday in 1894.

- In other countries “International Workers Day” is on the much more historically significant May 1, when U.S. reforms were set to begin (but didn’t). Labor movements were fighting against some truly harsh conditions not only here, but in other newly industrialized countries.

Why isn’t it May here? Socialistic associations with labor movements in Europe, which grew partly in reaction to the “Haymarket Massacre” in Chicago, apparently made the May date unpalatable.

On May 4, 1886, protests turned deadly at a rally near Chicago’s Haymarket Square after someone threw a homemade bomb and 11 people died. Despite reports of insufficient evidence against the specific defendants, eight labor activists were convicted in connection with the bombing and became perceived martyrs to the movement.

Fallout from the Haymarket Riots was a setback for newly organized labor, then fighting for what we now consider basics, such as an eight-hour day and safe work environments (conditions were generally dismal and dangerous in the early industrial age).

For those changes may we remain grateful.

“Nothing ever comes to one that is worth having except as a result of hard work.” — Booker T. Washington

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Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Contact her at [email protected].