Labor Day: What Do You Mean?

Updated March 25, 2023

Ah, the bittersweet taste of Labor Day.  It’s the brief moment in time where we are suspended between the long, lazy days of summer and that fresh, back-to-school feeling of fall.  

But do our kids have the slightest inkling why we celebrate Labor Day? We thought not.  

Labor Day: An Overview

Labor Day, typically celebrated the first Monday in September, is a day off in honor of the American worker.  While it officially became a federal holiday in 1894, it was born during the Labor Movement of the 19th century.  

Why It Started

At the height of the Industrial Revolution, many American workers were toiling seven days a week in unsafe conditions for subsistence wages.  In the shift from an economy that revolved around agriculture to one fueled by manufacturing, Labor unions formed to protest inhumane working conditions and demand better hours and pay for their workers.  

During the Industrial Revolution, average adult male factory workers made between $1 and $1.50 per day, while women and children took home even less.  What’s more, children were often forced to work in factories and mines because they provided an even cheaper form of labor and their small size made them well suited for tight spaces. 

Today, workers are guaranteed a minimum wage for their labor and the U.S. Federal Child Labor Law ensures that children must be over 14 for non-hazardous employment, with no work allowed during school hours.

When It Started 

After years of unrest, including the infamous Haymarket Riot of 1886 and the Pullman Railroad Strike of 1894, Congress passed an act making Labor Day a legal holiday.  On June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed the new federal holiday into law.

What It Means

For many, Labor Day will signify the unofficial end-of-summer.  But between the celebratory barbecues, Main Street parades and town fireworks, Labor Day is meant to be an ode to the American worker and a celebration of achievement. 

Extra Credit: A labor union is an organization of workers in a certain industry who come together to negotiate better working conditions and pay.

Why do you think working conditions/hours were so poor during the industrial revolution? How do labor laws and labor unions protect American workers today?