Labor Day is a national holiday in the United States, celebrated on the first Monday of September. Unlike most holidays in the country, it is a peculiar celebration without specific rituals, except for shopping and barbecues. For most people, it simply marks the last weekend of summer and the beginning of the school year.

However, the founders of this holiday in the late 1800s had a very different vision of what the day would become. These pioneers sought two things: to unify unionized workers and to reduce working hours.

History of Labor Day

The first Labor Day was celebrated in 1882 in New York City under the direction of the Central Labor Union of that city.

In the 19th century, unions represented only a small fraction of workers and were fragmented and relatively weak. The goal of organizations like the Central Labor Union and its modern counterparts like the AFL-CIO was to unite many small unions to achieve critical mass and power. The organizers of the first Labor Day were interested in creating an event that brought together different types of workers so they could meet each other and recognize their common interests.

However, the organizers faced a major problem: neither the government nor companies recognized the first Monday of September as a day off work. The temporary solution was to declare a one-day strike in the city. All striking workers were expected to march in a parade and then eat and drink at a giant picnic.

Why is Labor Day Celebrated?

Labor Day came about because workers felt they were dedicating too many hours and days to work.

In the 1830s, manufacturing workers averaged 70 hours a week. Sixty years later, in 1890, working hours had decreased, though the average manufacturing worker still worked 60 hours a week.

These long workdays led many union organizers to focus on achieving a shorter eight-hour workday. They also aimed to secure more days off for workers, such as Labor Day, and to reduce the workweek to just six days.

Clearly, these early organizers succeeded, as the most recent data shows that the average manufacturing worker now works a little over 40 hours a week, and most people work only five days a week.

Surprisingly, many politicians and business owners were in favor of giving workers more time off. This was because workers who had no free time could not spend their wages on travel, entertainment, or dining out.

As the U.S. economy expanded beyond agriculture and basic manufacturing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it became important for businesses to find consumers interested in buying the products and services being produced in ever-greater amounts. Shortening the workweek was one way of turning the working class into the consuming class.