What does Labor Day celebrate?

Labor Day celebrates the contributions of American workers to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of the country. Originally proposed by the labor movement in the 1880s, the holiday was designed to recognize the working people whose labor built the railroads, factories, mines, ports, and farms of the industrial United States, and to draw attention to demands for the eight-hour workday, fair wages, an end to child labor, and the right to organize.

The first Labor Day parade was organized by the Central Labor Union in New York City on September 5, 1882, and drew between 10,000 and 20,000 workers who marched from City Hall to Union Square carrying banners with slogans such as Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, eight hours for what we will. Two men are credited with proposing the day: Peter J. McGuire, co-founder of the American Federation of Labor and head of the Brotherhood of Carpenters, and Matthew Maguire, a machinist and secretary of the New York Central Labor Union.

State adoption began in 1887 with Oregon, followed by Colorado, New York, Massachusetts, and others. Congress made the first Monday in September a federal public holiday on June 28, 1894, when President Grover Cleveland signed the Labor Day Act, in part to repair relations with the labor movement after federal troops had broken the Pullman Strike. The holiday is codified at 5 U.S.C. section 6103.

Labor Day differs from May Day (May 1), the international workers' day observed in most other countries and tied to the Haymarket Affair of 1886 in Chicago. American leaders deliberately chose September to avoid associating Labor Day with the radical labor movement of the late nineteenth century.

Today, Labor Day's original meaning persists in union parades and rallies, but the day has also become a broader national holiday marking the unofficial end of summer, the start of the school year, the close of the federal fiscal calendar (the federal fiscal year ends September 30), and a major shopping weekend. Customary observances include union parades in major cities, family picnics and barbecues, college football season openers, the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon (held annually from 1966 to 2010), public service ceremonies recognizing workers in essential industries, and political speeches that often kick off the fall campaign season.