A little pause from our visit to Naomi and Ruth and their decisions to remember Labor Day, and why we have a day off from work. Mostly, now, the day is simply an occasion to get together for end-of-summer picnics or to go camping “one last time this year”. The roots run much deeper and are important to remember. The roots of the holiday are set amid the choices made by business leaders at the end of the 19th century, by laborers and other workers. The decisions each side made at this pivotal moment, changed the appearance of working conditions in factories, mines, and elsewhere and gave the normal working man rights they did not previously have.
Labor Day originated in the midst of a time of upheaval and turmoil
in America. A lot of change was happening in the workforce because of the Industrial
Revolution and the movement of workers from farms to factories. We may not
remember that we learned in school how the late 1800s was a time of oppression
for these workers. The average workday was 12 hours and most worked seven days
a week to earn enough. Children as young as 5 worked alongside the adults to
help bring home enough to sustain their family. Not only that, conditions were
unsafe. Factories and mines were especially unsafe and offered little in the
way of fresh air, restrooms, or breaks. In some cases, workers were locked into
the workrooms for their shift.
In response to conditions, labor unions formed and gradually
became more vocal and powerful. The leadership organized strikes to protest
conditions and pay. There were riots in many places. Often people were killed
on all sides. Police, striking workers, the replacement workers brought in by
management to keep the factories and mines going all fell victim.
On September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers marched from City Hall
to Union Square in NYC to protest conditions (see picture). Slowly the idea of a “workingmen’s
holiday” gained momentum in many states. It wasn’t until the employees of the
Pullman Car company went on strike on May 11, 1894, that it became truly a
national issue. By June 26, a boycott of all Pullman cars caused railroad
traffic to come to a standstill. This was catastrophic because people and goods
moved nearly entirely on the railroads. The federal government sent troops to
Chicago, which led to riots and deaths. Congress then passed an act making
Labor Day an official holiday and President Grover Cleveland signed it on June
28, 1894.
The choices and actions of the unions and the decisions by
the striking workers who were willing to risk their lives to protest conditions
ultimately led to legislation mandating shorter work days as well as improved
working conditions. It is still a work in progress as, too often, the business
bottom line and not the workers get the priority. Recently, Air Canada flight
attendants went on strike for better wages causing massive airline disruptions.
They, like many workers before, made the decision to stand up for their rights.
If your working conditions are good, give thanks for the decisions and choices of the brave men and women who marched and spoke up and challenged those in power. However, there are also still groups of workers who are ignored and mistreated because of their poverty, education, ethnicity, or immigration status. What choices will we make to stand with and for these groups?
