Why we love Labor Day

Aug. 31, 2005

Ah, Labor Day. Always a three-day weekend (sometimes a four-day weekend, for those with generous bosses or self-directed schedules). In Northern Michigan, often time for the annual Mackinac Bridge Walk or a big day out on the lake, with hopes of hot temperatures and sunny skies. Across the U.S., it’s considered the last gasp of true summer. But Labor Day - kind of like Flag Day, or Arbor Day - is one of those holidays that are somewhat blindly celebrated by many otherwise well-meaning folks. We know it’s a holiday, we know that we get time off of work - but what’s really behind it all?
Labor Day actually has its origins in something called the Eight Hour Day movement, which was a result of efforts of the Labour Union Movement, advocating, as British social reformer Robert Owen and other workers (particularly in Australia) put it, Eight Hours Labour, Eight Hours Recreation, Eight Hours Rest.
In 1856, stonemasons and building workers in Melbourne, Australia stopped working and joined a march in order to achieve an eight hour day. Why? Well, keep in mind that most laborers in those days were moving from agricultural labor to taking part in the height of the industrial revolution. They usually worked on their feet all day, built things, worked with rough materials and in dangerous situations, took no vacation days and minimal sick days. Not a walk in the park.
Luckily, their protest was a success, marking them as the first organized workers in the world to make the eight hour day standard. This served as the initial inspiration for both Labor Day and May Day.
SIX-DAY WORK WEEKS
In Britain in the 1800s, working conditions were mostly unregulated, leaving the health and welfare of working folk very much in question. The average workday - often even for children - could range anywhere from 10 to 16 hours a day, and the work week was six days, with often only Sunday being spared.
So the eight-hour day was a more than welcome achievement that would soon spread to other parts of the world. Building trades in New Zealand achieved the eight hour day in 1857. In Europe, the eight hour day acceptance was scattered across the land - France achieved it in 1921, Spain and Portugal in 1919. And South America’s eight hour workday went into effect in 1915.
So, where was the U.S. standing during all of this turmoil?
Carpenters in Philadelphia actually started the eight-hour-day wheels turning back in 1791, when they went on strike for the cause. Different regions of the country - and different workingman groups - handled the cause in various ways and at various times.
The Chicago Labor Movement made the eight hour day a demand in 1864 - but it didn’t go into active effect until 1868. And the eight hour day proposition would go through many more conflicts before it would “stick” for good.
In Michigan, The Ford Motor Company, in 1914, cut shifts from nine hours to the eight hour day - a move not popular with rival carmakers. By 1916, the Adamson Act established an eight hour workday for railroad workers - and the eight hour day wasn’t realized for the majority of U.S. workers until 1938 - not that long ago in perspective - when the Fair Labor Standards Act under the New Deal made the eight hour day legal throughout the nation. But, oddly, Labor Day, as a holiday, was established long before.

KNIGHTS OF LABOR
Labor Day in North America can be traced back to the U.S. Knights of Labor, who organized a Labor Day parade on September 5th, 1882 in New York City. 1884 saw them hold another parade, and the Knights decided to make this an annual event, passing resolutions to solidify the event as an annual one. It eventually morphed into an actual holiday, finally being signed into law in 1894 by President Grover Cleveland, after it had been established as an official holiday by an act of Congress.
The International Labor Day chose May 1 as its date back in 1889. The Socialist Party also decided to hold a similar working class celebration on that date - so May 1st became known as May Day, and was celebrated by socialists and communists in commemoration of the working man.
Both the U.S. and Canada were encouraged to adopt this date for their Labor/Labour Day events, as well - but we decided to celebrate on the first Monday in September, along with our Canadian neighbors, in order to reject any identification with communism - and our September date has been the North American Labor Day standard ever since.

EASY DOES IT
In contrast to its name, Labor Day is generally seen as a day of rest from all of that hard work, and a tribute to everyone who “labors,” whether that work is manual labor, a desk job, freelance pursuits, or corporate endeavors. Families with kids still in school often take Labor Day weekend as their last chance to travel before school starts, while young adults usually see it as the last weekend on which they can get all their friends together.
In the northern half of the U.S. - especially in Northern Michigan - “Summer Vacation,” otherwise known as “Tourist Season” or “Fudgie Season,” begins with Memorial Day and ends with Labor Day. So what to do to celebrate the end of summer? Well, much like 4th of July - another celebration of independence - picnics, hitting the beach, fireworks, fairs, and festivals are all popular pursuits.
And you’d better make sure you get good use out of your white clothes and shoes for the weekend - you’re not supposed to wear them after Labor Day, a tradition that some think stems from the fact that white clothes were seen as a status symbol for the ridiculously wealthy, due to the difficulty one would experience trying to clean them of winter mud and dirt.
All ridiculously wealthy folk aside, Labor Day is more of a conservative American holiday these days, not as much of a soapbox for workers’ rights or labor revolutions. And it’s more a tribute to those still toiling in 9 to 5 jobs than those who have already made their fortunes and are enjoying the proverbial good life. But it’s a holiday that has plenty of significance beyond barbecues and bridge walks - it celebrates our history as a working nation. And everyone who works hard can definitely always use an extra day off.