Labor Day facts and history to share with your kids

Photo credit: winterpark-info.com

Labor Day is more than just a day off from school and work. It’s a great time to talk to your kids about the history of the national holiday and its importance in American history. Not only is it a day to enjoy picnics, festivals and barbecues; it’s a national dedication to the social and economic achievements of American workers.

The first Labor Day was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882 in New York City. Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, is said to be the founder of Labor Day. However, others point to Matthew Maguire, a machinist from Patterson, New Jersey. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic in 1882 and 1883.

President Grover Cleveland introduced a bill to Congress making Labor Day a national holiday in 1884. It was unanimously passed and signed into law in an attempt to quell harsh feelings after the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the US military and US Marshals during the 1894 Pullman Strike.

Today, Labor Day is symbolic of the end of summer, and often celebrated with festivals, parades and rest. It also signals the beginning of the NCAA college football season. However, for many it remains a national tribute to the American worker who made this nation what it is today.

Here are a few interesting facts about Labor Day to get your family into the spirit of the holiday:

• 10,000 workers took an unpaid holiday to march in the first Labor Day parade.
• Labor Day was founded when many in America worked 16-hour days in harsh work environments.
• “No white after Labor Day” was the old-fashioned style rule. Today’s fashion rules now shy away from this outdated policy.
• The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that as of May 2009, there were over 155 million people, age 16 and older, in the U.S. labor force.
• Labor Day celebrations have shifted from parades and demonstrations to speeches and picnics.
• Labor Day in now celebrated, not only in the United States, but also in Canada and other industrialized nations. 
• The American labor force today is a far cry for where it began in the 1800s. Although an eight hour work day and a minimum wage may seem standard today, this was not so when Labor Day was first celebrated.
• In 1938, Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act making the minimum wage $0.25 an hour and a maximum of 44 hours in a workweek. The Act has been revised multiple times, eventually raising the minimum wage and cutting down workweeks.
• In 1962, the Work Hours Act provided time and a half pay for days worked over eight hours or weeks worked over 40 hours.

It is the hope of many that America's currently unemployed workers will once again find employment in this tough economic environment. A working America is a strong America.

Sources: About.com, Wikipedia, Content4Reprint

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• Atlanta Labor Day Guide: Top 12 family-friendly events
• ESPN’s College GameDay rolls into Atlanta
• Free Chick-fil-A for all sports fans!

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