Labor Day, always celebrated on the first Monday in September, is dedicated to the achievements of the American Worker and the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City through the Central labor Union. In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country. Over the years, more than 20 states passed legislation honoring workers and on June 28 of 1894, the US Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.
The original legislation set forth the outline of how to observe the holiday: a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. Today's celebrations tend to be much less formal and, unfortunately, with little acknowledgment of the American Worker's contribution to the nation's development as a world economic power.
"The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker." -the US Department of Labor.
The original legislation set forth the outline of how to observe the holiday: a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. Today's celebrations tend to be much less formal and, unfortunately, with little acknowledgment of the American Worker's contribution to the nation's development as a world economic power.
"The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker." -the US Department of Labor.
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