Celebrating Labor Day, past and present

Fort Scott, Kan. -- Most people know that Labor Day was established to honor the contributions made to this nation's strength and prosperity by its workers.

What they may not know, however, is that there is some contention about who first conceived the idea of a Labor Day holiday.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Web site, Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Jointers and co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, is credited in some records with suggesting a day to recognize the working people of the United States. However, the Web site also says recent research indicates that Matthew Maquire, a machinist who eventually became secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., actually proposed the holiday in 1882 when he was secretary of the Central Labor Union in N.Y. It has been established that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and formed a committee to plan a celebration, which took place on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City.

About 10,000 workers turned out for that first Labor Day Parade, marching from City Hall to Union Square, then assembling in Reservoir Park for a picnic and to listen to speeches and a concert, according to the Library of Congress Web site.

A second Labor Day celebration took place a year later. Then, in 1884, organizers decided to celebrate Labor Day on the first Monday of every September. Other labor unions and other cities took up the idea and, by 1885, Labor Day had spread across the country. Labor Day gained in popularity in 1885 and 1886 as more and more city governments passed municipal ordinances recognizing it as a holiday. The New York Legislature introduced the first state Labor Day bill, but Oregon was the first state to pass such a bill on Feb. 21, 1887. New York, New Jersey, Colorado and Massachusetts soon followed. Within seven years, 23 more states adopted Labor Day as a holiday and in 1894, Congress passed a bill to make Labor Day a national holiday, including in the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories.

For years, union workers not only celebrated Labor Day with parades, banquets and speeches, but also chose that day to express their grievances and formulate plans of action to bring about better working conditions and higher pay.

Over the years, however, Labor Day has become less of a solemn acknowledgement of this country's laborers. While some cities still have Labor Day parades, for most people, the holiday has come to be known as a day of respite from work, the third day in a three-day weekend when they can enjoy leisure activities with family and friends at the end of summer.