labor strike

Labor Day's humble beginnings start in Canada, during the 1870's. The holiday grew out of a labor dispute known as the 'Nine-Hour Movement', where the workers were pushing for shorter work days, rather than the long, grueling days they typically had to endure. This movement was the first time the Canadian work force united in their efforts to implement change for themselves. Ultimately, the Nine Hour Movement failed to secure shorter work days, but it wasn't a complete loss. The workers demanded a voice, and employers and public officials were forced to listen. From the movement, government not only recognized the need for the public to be heard, it also recognized that the workers weren't a bunch of ill-bred, illegitimate people. The Nine Hour Movement paved the way for the creating of the Canadian Labor Union. An annual Labor Day celebration began after the Nine Hour Movement, inspired by the labor strikes and parades held during that time.

Get labor strike security help for your business assets.

The United States as a nation wouldn't celebrate Labor Day for another decade at least, but the first Labor Day celebration was held in New York on September 5, 1882. Peter McGuire was the founder of the holiday in the United States. He organized the first Labor Day celebration after witnessing one of Canada's celebrations.

The events leading up to Labor Day being recognized as a national holiday are long, involved, and tragic. The real story begins in 1893, when the United States went through an economic depression. George Pullman, president of a railroad sleeping car company, was forced to downsize, laying off some workers and reducing the pay of others. However, he owned the homes the workers lived in and didn't reduce the rent. The workers, now struggling to get by, demanded lower rents and higher pay. Of course, they didn't get it.

Frustrated, they finally went on strike. They made the first move, but the American Railway Union soon learned about the strike and came to their aid. The strike quickly spread throughout the country, becoming a national issue. Grover Cleveland called into service twelve thousand men to put down the up-rising. The strike, he claimed, was a federal crime because it was obstructing the movement of U.S. Mail.

When a large force fights back against a smaller force, violence usually crops up. It did in Kensington, Illinois when U.S. marshals were forced to fire into a crowd of protestors. Two men were killed, and the strike, from that moment on, began to fail. It finally ended on August 3, 1894.

The strike that the workers initiated became known as the Pullman Strike because strikers targeted Pullman's cars. They would significantly damage the railroad cars or refuse to ride on the train if the Pullman cars were attached. This is a big reason why President Cleveland had to step in. Railroad executives were unable to handle the strike themselves and had to turn to the president for help.

Grover Cleveland, faced with negative repercussions for his role in squashing the uprising, especially the possibility of losing his presidency (elections were to be held in November of 1894), pushed legislation for a national Labor Day holiday. It was passed on August ninth, six days after the Pullman Strike ended. The president, despite finally recognizing the labor force of the nation, was not elected for a second term.

While the Pullman Strike ultimately led to the forming of a national workers holiday, it wasn't the only event that caused it. United States workers had been pushing for this holiday for some time. New York workers campaigned for the holiday in September 1892. They marched around Union Square, promoting the holiday, after taking an unpaid day off work. They did the same thing the following year. Today that doesn't seem like a big deal, but one hundred years ago workers rights were very minimal, if not nonexistent, and it was a great form of protest for a group of workers to leave work for the day.

In 1894 Labor Day became a national holiday, but some states had already taken initiative by this point and created their own state holidays celebrating their labor force. The first five states to do this were Oregon, New York, New Jersey, Colorado, and Massachusetts. Now, of course, the rest of the nation has followed suit and Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday of September.

For most Americans Labor Day is a symbol of the end of summer, rather than a day to celebrate the work force of America. When Labor Day was first made into a holiday Americans celebrated the day by having parades, giving political speeches, and in some cases protesting. Today we celebrate it with picnics in the park, camping in the mountain or giving summer one last hoorah and going on vacation. So while most of us don't give much though to all that labor day represents, it's truly a symbol of freedom, of perseverance, and of man's ability to stand up for the rights that they deserve.