Monday is Labor Day. For many it marks the unofficial end of Summer, a return to work and school, and end of vacation. The first Monday in September is a holiday, and everyone rejoices at the three-day weekend. It marks the start of fall sports and of course, Labor Day sales.
Why exactly IS the first Monday in September
called Labor Day? It has roots in the Industrial Revolution and in the
oppression of women, children, and men with dreadful working conditions. Workers
had no other option if they wanted to earn even a meager amount to feed
themselves and their families. They were often immigrant, poor, or people of
color who endured 12-16 hour days for six days a week. There were sweatshops
where workers were crammed together and paid by how many pieces they produced,
as well as dangerous or even deadly conditions in mines and mills for which
there was no recourse.
In the late 1800’s labor unions started to form, demanding
better working conditions and pay. A parade in New York City on September 5,
1882, was organized by unions to recognize workers (and to promote unions). Two
years later it was an established NYC event for the first Monday in September.
Oregon was the first state to make the first Monday of
September an official holiday in 1887. Gradually other states followed, until
thirty (of the 44 in the union) celebrated Labor Day even before it was named a
national holiday in 1894.
A bill was introduced in the Senate by James Kyle of South
Dakota in August of 1893 to designate Labor Day as the first Monday of
September. Nothing happened until a May 1894 strike by workers at the Pullman
Palace Car Company and the American Railway Union crippled the railroad
industry and stalled transportation. The strike galvanized action and the bill
passed on June 22, 1984, ratified by the House four days later, and signed by
President Grover Cleveland on June 28, 1894. Despite designation of the
holiday, working conditions didn’t really improve until the 1938 Fair Labor
Standards Act which established a minimum wage, shorter work week, and
limits to child labor.
As we think about of national story, we can too often forget
that the wealth of the few was raised on the working backs of the many. It is
true that names like Carnegie, Ford, Morgan, Astor, Vanderbilt, Hearst,
Rockefeller, and others ring with enterprise and the American mythos which says
anyone can gain wealth and prominence. These men expanded the power and
prestige of the nation, and of themselves. Many left legacies of libraries,
cultural, civic, and philanthropic projects as well as the systems of
transportation and industry they created. They were true visionaries of their
time.
The darker side is the lives lost, hopes destroyed, land raped, and rights ignored. The poor, the immigrants, the women, the children, the people of color were all the voiceless victims of the men whose drive and vision for expansion and advancement made them rich beyond counting. It took standing together for change to finally happen. However, there are still major inequities in pay, opportunity, education, and housing that need to be addressed in our nation.
The ongoing pandemic has highlighted the reality that there are women and men forced to decide whether to work, despite the health risk, or to be unemployed. Front line workers, store clerks and public employees are just some of those who have had to make that choice. Many of those least able to bear the burden, lost their jobs, and even homes, because of the necessity of closed businesses. Even as places reopen, some hesitate to return to work, or find that their employment no longer exists. We learned that something many of us take for granted, internet, is too expensive, incomprehensible, or even unavailable for families trying to connect to schools or jobs. Medical costs for those hospitalized by COVID will strain or bankrupt some trying to recover their health.
As you celebrate this Labor Day, pause for a moment to
consider how your actions on a day-to-day basis have a ripple effect on the
earth both the land and people around the globe.
