The TRUTH of Labor Day

Written by: Vicki Shepard

September 1, 2021

3 min read

In U.S. history, Labor Day is a national holiday that is celebrated on the first Monday in September. It’s an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers. Labor Day is a celebration of the workers in the U.S. for their labor and contributions to the economy. *Link to the DOL article

Today, it is celebrated today with picnics, camping, family gatherings, businesses remaining closed, allowing workers to take a day of rest before the fall season. Although this is the common use for the holiday, it is rooted in much more history than most of the U.S. knows. *Link to the History Channel article

It all started in the late 1890’s when U.S. workers were working 12-hour shifts, nearly 7 days per week and children were commonly working in mines and factories (sounds similar to China’s 996 doesn’t it). And if these long hours weren’t enough, the average working conditions were also very dangerous and unregulated.

This period of time was the prime depression era. Many workers were risking their lives just to make end’s meet. It also doesn’t help that wages were so low that families were forced to work these long hours and days just to remain living in poverty. Leaving them only enough food to barely provide food for their families' bellies.

What signified the holiday was the sorrowful deaths of 13 workers from the American Railway Union (ARU) while they were working for a company called Pullman Palace Car Company. The workers were on strike against the company for slashing their factory workers’ wages. Within 4 days nearly 125,000 workers from 29 different railroads quit their jobs rather than work for this company. When the union workers decided to strike, they were stopped by police and U.S Army troops. This led to a bloody confrontation that ended up getting the 13 union members killed in the process, and another 57 were injured. *Link to an article on Union Plus

Labor Day was founded on the celebration that American workers, mainly unionized, won the right for 8-hour work days with health and safety as a prominent factor. In today’s HR world this would apply to health and safety as well as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Labor Day is a wonderful holiday to celebrate remembering that as a people we are stronger together. Only by working together can we accomplish great things. The 8-hour work day is prominent across the U.S. as a standard for working as well as safe and healthy work environments.

Are you surprised by the history of Labor Day? Were you ever taught this in your history class?

I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

Cheers, LBHR