THE FIRST LABOR DAY
The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September
5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor
Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year
later, on September 5, 1883.
In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the
holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar
organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a
"workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth
of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial
centers of the country.
A NATIONWIDE
HOLIDAY
The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should
take was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to
exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and
labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the
recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the
pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women
were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic
significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American
Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was
adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects
of the labor movement.
The character of the Labor Day celebration has undergone a
change in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass
displays and huge parades have proved a problem. This change, however, is more
a shift in emphasis and medium of expression. Labor Day addresses by leading
union officials, industrialists, educators, clerics and government officials
are given wide coverage in newspapers, radio, and television.
The vital force of labor added materially to the highest
standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has
brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and
political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute
on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and
leadership — the American worker.
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