Labor Day

Note: Underlined words have definitions at the end of this article provided by The Basic Newbury House Dictionary. Definitions with an asterisk (*) are supplied by the author, Bill Perry.

Labor Day respects working people of all kinds and their different jobs. People in the US, Puerto Rico and Canada celebrate it on the first Monday in September. Labor Day means that the summer season has ended.

The history of Labor Day starts in the 1700’s. At that time factories made many products cheaper and faster that those made at home by hand. People quickly learned that work in factories was different from work at home. They worked for longer hours. Many factories were dirty and unsafe. Even young children worked in factories. Many factory workers wanted to improve the place where they worked. Thus in the 1800’s they created groups of workers called unions.

The idea of a holiday for workers developed slowly. Two factory workers, Matthew Maguire from Paterson, NJ, and Peter J. McGuire from New York City, organized the first workers’ day parade in New York City in September 1882. In later years, more working people liked the idea of a holiday that recognized them and their work. They wanted the government to call it “Labor Day.” In 1887 Oregon became the first state to make Labor Day an official holiday. One by one other states made the same holiday for their workers.

However, Labor Day was not yet a national holiday. In 1894 workers for the Pullman Railroad Company stopped working. The company did not agree to improvements the workers wanted. This is called a strike against the company. It caused many problems for people around the country. One problem was that some US mail was not being delivered. Then a court ruled that the workers must return to work.

President Grover Cleveland then sent soldiers to help stop the strike. Many Americans agreed with the President, but people in unions were angry with him. Therefore he made Labor Day a national holiday in the US to help make peace with the workers.

Today some unions have Labor Day activities, but there is no national custom for this holiday. Since Labor Day is on a Monday, it makes a three-day-weekend. Since this weekend comes at the end of summer, many Americans go on a short trip and go camping, fishing, or visiting other parts of the country. Others have picnics, play sports and games, or do other outdoor activities.

Sometimes you may hear Americans speak badly about their jobs, but most are probably glad to have their jobs. They know their paycheck provides the money they need to have a comfortable life.

Many American holidays and customs come from traditions in the Bible. The idea of a weekend is one example. In the Bible God made one day a week to be a day of rest. For Jews that day is Saturday; for Christians it is Sunday. Most people from these faiths try not to work on these two days. They attend church services and worship God and rest. That is how the weekend in America began. Labor Day gives one day off from work each year; the weekend gives one day off each week.

Vocabulary

official (adjective) – of or related to a position of power or authority.

paycheck (noun) – a salary or wage check.

product (noun) – anything that is manufactured or grown to be sold.

strike (noun) – a work stoppage because of disagreements with management.

*three-day-weekend (noun) – Saturday, Sunday and Monday when Monday is a holiday.

union (noun) – an organization of workers.

weekend (noun) – Saturday and Sunday.

©Bill Perry. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author.