'For the amelioration of the people'

Before firing up the grill for the three-day weekend, let's take a look at how we got it.

Beyond a day off, September’s first Monday is meant to honor labor’s contribution to a healthy economy and community.

But to struggling workers in the new post-industrial age it was about much more than that.

Twelve years before its official adoption in 1894, Labor Day was attributed to two leaders of newly formed labor unions: Carpenter Peter J. Mcguire and factory worker Matthew Maguire (no relation). The September date was simply a convenient halfway point between Fourth of July and Thanksgiving.

A few local communities began to celebrate workers in early September, but not much changed.

Conditions for the average blue-collar worker remained horrible, nothing like what we take for granted today. Twelve- and 14-hour days, child labor, extremely unsafe conditions, faulty and dangerous equipment, and accidents which maimed or even killed were par for the course.

Those who complained were simply replaced.

But part of the American spirit is not to take things lying down. Protests swelled despite the costs. On May 4, 1886, a workers’ rights rally near Chicago's Haymarket Square turned violent when a homemade bomb killed 11 people.

As too often happened then (and sometimes still does), a rush to justice and a feeling that “someone has to pay” led to the conviction of eight labor activists, despite widespread reports of insufficient evidence. History suspects they were the wrong someones, or at least some of them were.

The risk of making examples of a cause with passion behind it is that it can create martyrs. And martyrs tend to become rallying cries for more passion.

Fallout from the Haymarket Riots was a temporary setback for newly organized labor, but in a way, those events helped focus a spotlight on their cause.

Oregon was the first state to declare a Labor Day holiday in 1887. After two dozen more states followed suit, it became a federal holiday in 1894 to massive popular acclaim. Unions in big cities threw public parades and giant picnics, drawing tens of thousands.

According to History.house.gov, at the first official Labor Day parade in Chicago, Illinois Congressman Lawrence McGann told revelers,

“Let us each Labor Day hold a congress and formulate propositions for the amelioration of the people. Send them to your Representatives with your earnest, intelligent endorsement, and the laws will be changed.”

As years passed, other Members of Congress continued that tradition of using Labor Day events to reach out to constituents. Meaningful legislation to improve conditions finally succeeded after the turn of the century.

For those changes may we remain grateful.

Thanks to reader B.N. for the topic request.

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

Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Contact her at Sholeh@cdapress.com.