Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 2014)
Labor Day: How it came about and what it means “Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year in any coun- try,” said Samuel Gompers, founder and longtime president of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). “All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man’s prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one na- tion over another. Labor Day ... is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation.” Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the American labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achieve- ments of workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. As unemployment remains stubbornly high, people con- tinue to watch their spending. But don’t be penny-wise and pound foolish. If and when you buy anything, look for union-made in the USA. It’s the patriotic thing to do. F OUNDER OF L ABOR D AY 9955 SE WASHINGTON STREET, SUITE 305 • PORTLAND, OREGON • 503-235-9444 PAGE 2 More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers. Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpen- ters and Joiners and a co-founder of the AFL, was first in suggesting a day to honor those “who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold.” But Peter McGuire’s place in Labor Day his- tory has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the Interna- tional Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and ap- pointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic. T HE F IRST L ABOR D AY The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City, in ac- cordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on Sept. 5, 1883. In 1884, the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar or- ganizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a “workingmen’s hol- iday” 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. L ABOR D AY L EGISLATION Through the years, the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From them devel- oped the movement to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York Legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on Feb. 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachu- setts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade, Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 (Turn to Page 3) AUGUST 15, 2014
