In honor of Labor Day, let’s kick off a month of laboring to elect Democrats in November!

Perhaps now is the time for history to, if not repeat itself, begin to rhyme.

Rise Up!

The History of Labor Day: New unions proliferated and established unions expanded in a wave of activism during the early 1880s as the U.S. arose from the economic depression of 1873. While workers turned to unions to improve working conditions and challenge the growing power of capitalists, independent labor parties also grew across the political landscape. Two workers’ holidays, Labor Day and May Day, emerged from the rise of industrialism and the growth of the American labor movement. Labor Day initially became the more celebrated workers’ holiday in America, while European unions adopted May Day more widely.

The Central Labor Union (CLU) was founded in NYC as several small unions joined together, uniting workers from myriad ethnic backgrounds and language groups; most CLU leaders were socialists or radicals, but their members represented a wide range of political views. The CLU hoped not only to unite and inspire workers, but also to impress the public and politicians with organized labor's power. Their first Labor Day “monster labor festival” was planned in NYC for September 5, 1882, a Tuesday that conveniently required participants to miss a day’s work to attend... and it was a huge success! Workers’ rights then became a national focus. Here are a few key events from the early labor movement:

• 1883: Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions (FOTLU) was founded

• 1884: the Federation simultaneously promoted Labor Day celebrations as well as May Day demonstrations and strikes

• 1885: national May Day strikes demanded an 8-hour workday

• 1886, May 3rd: a bomb exploded during Chicago’s Haymarket Square rally, killing eight policemen. Eight anarchists were convicted of conspiring to commit the violence, and four of them were hanged, even though there was little evidence against them, specifically. Subsequently, May Day took on a more political tone, becoming an occasion to protest the arrests of socialists, anarchists, and unionists, while still pushing for shorter hours. In response, city officials moved to distance Labor Day celebrations from radicalism, instead associating the holiday with national traditions. Red flags, radical speakers, and internationalist slogans, all common at early Labor Day events, became forbidden following the Haymarket riots.

• In 1886: the FOTLU morphed into the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and called for all workers to celebrate Labor Day on the first Monday in September.

• In 1885-1886: a few city governments made Labor Day an official holiday

• In 1887: Oregon was the first state to declare Labor Day a state holiday

• In 1894: 23 other states also recognized Labor Day as a state holiday

• In 1894: President Grover Cleveland, who had just used federal troops to squash a nationwide railroad workers’ strike, officially made Labor Day a “legal public holiday” as an act of conciliation. Ironically, most employers did not give workers the day off on Labor Day; federal law mandated the day off only for federal employees and workers in D.C.

The deradicalization of Labor Day following the Haymarket riots made it easier for the union movement to win its designation as an official holiday and to force businesses to shut for the day. This success, though, shifted the day's focus away from organized labor, as more and more non-unionists were also given the day off. During the 1920s, attendance at Labor Day events tended to be modest; the events became increasingly conservative, with union leaders inviting middle-class and business organizations, like the Chamber of Commerce and the Lions Club, to participate. The focus began to slip away from workers and working conditions as Labor Day celebrations, ironically, began to celebrate business instead.

The revival and expansion of the union movement during the 1930s refocused Labor Day on organized labor. Gradually, though, attendance at Labor Day events began declining again as unionists moved to the suburbs and interest in parades on city streets dwindled. As attendance at Labor Day events diminished, unions in many cities stopped sponsoring them.

Today, Labor Day no longer has strong ties to organized labor. Some Presidents have issued statements extolling workers, but these are given little public attention (and are not likely to be repeated by the current administration, which has made clear it cares very little about ensuring safe working conditions or preserving workers’ rights). Instead, private leisure is the main order of the day, and we honor Labor Day with major shopping sales, barbeques, and perhaps waving a flag or two. What happened to honoring labor on Labor Day? While the establishment of Labor Day reflected the growing power of organized labor in Gilded Age America, its decline in formal celebration marks the waning power of labor and the broader privatization of American life.

Perhaps it is time for a change. Perhaps we should focusagain on workers’ rights, including decent working conditions, a living wage, and job benefits that include affordable health care. Perhaps we should recognize and appreciate the fruits of laborers’ labor. Perhaps to do this, we must reverse the GOP's demolition of government services, environmental protection laws, and labor laws by reclaiming a Democratic majority in the Legislative Branch. Perhaps we should honor the original intent of Labor Day by vowing to work to take back both the Senate and the House on November 3rd and again prioritize American workers over big business.

(See “Turn Outrage into Action” further down in this publication to see how you can help build momentum for the November BLUE WAVE)