The Workers' Holiday: A History

History of America’s Labor Day

During a controversy over federal efforts to put an end to a railroad workers' strike in 1894, President Grover Cleveland declared it a national holiday.

Many Americans struggled in physically taxing, low-paying jobs for 12 hours a day, seven days a week in the late 1800s. Children also worked in industries, mines, and on farms. It was frequently dangerous and nasty.

On September 5, 1882, laborers in the United States held the inaugural Labor Day procession, marching from New York City Hall to a sizable picnic in an uptown park.

Working Men on Parade

In 1887, a Labor Day procession passed through Union Square in New York, and 10,000 people marched "in an orderly and pleasant manner," significantly fewer than the organizers had planned. Cigar makers, dressmakers, printers, shoemakers, bricklayers, and other artisans were among those employed.

Many in attendance risked their employment by joining the one-day walkout because it wasn't yet a recognized holiday. On their signs, they promoted "Less Work and More Pay," an eight-hour workday, and a prohibition on the use of prison labor. Cheers erupted in response to them.

The Labor Movement In America

At the time, the American labor movement was one of the most powerful in the world, and in the years that followed, states and local governments enacted laws recognizing Labor Day. In 1887, New York did similarly, and The Times noted that despite political unrest over the presence of socialist organizations, that year's procession was the largest ever. The city's parks, shops, and bars were all packed.

Although it had a more significant political purpose, it took the federal government a few more years to declare it a national holiday. The Pullman strike greatly hindered rail travel in the Midwest in the summer of 1894, and the federal government used an injunction and federal troops to put an end to it.

It had begun when the Pullman Palace Car Corporate cut salaries without cutting rents in the Pullman, the company town. Owner George Pullman sacked the staff when they complained in anger. They made the decision to strike, and other members of the American Railway Union followed the activist firebrand Eugene V. Debs' lead and joined the protest. They refused to handle Pullman cars, which stopped all passenger and freight traffic in the Chicago area. Tens of thousands of workers went on strike, there were wildcat strikes, and the police opened fire on irate mobs.

On June 28, 1894, while the situation was tense, President Grover Cleveland signed a bill into law designating Labor Day as a national holiday.