Labor Day

Significance of Labor Day

Labor Day, also known as Labour Day, is a federal holiday observed annually on the first Monday of September. Originally it was a day organized to celebrate various labor associations' strengths and their contributions to the United States economy and presently it is a day that gives workers a day of rest and celebrates their contribution to the American economy. It is the Monday of the long weekend known as Labor Day Weekend and it is considered the unofficial end of summer.
 

History of Labor Day

The history of Labor Day, in the United States and Canada, dates back to late 19th century when the trade union and labor movements grew enormously and resultantly a variety of days were chosen by trade unionists as a day to celebrate labor. The holiday was first proposed in the 1880s by Matthew Maguire, a machinist, while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union of New York in 1882.

It is argued that it was first proposed by Peter J. McGuire of the American Federation of Labor in May 1882, after witnessing the annual labour festival held in Toronto, Canada. Oregon was the first state of the United States to make it an official public holiday in 1887. In June 1894, during the Pullman Strike, which resulted in the deaths of workers at the hands of United States Army and United States Marshals Service, United States Congress unanimously voted to approve legislation to make Labor Day a national holiday and President Grover Cleveland signed it into law six days after the end of the strike.