Happy Labor Day 2021

Happy Labor Day everyone! I have been really busy these past couple of months and suspect it will remain this way throughout the rest of the year – but thought I’d drop a line or two real quick discussing the sanctimonious holiday that is Labor Day. For reasons I hope to touch on below, Labor Day is a very special day in the eyes of those out in the field – especially those who know about working conditions from history only a 150 years ago. And the old maxim “those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it” is indeed true. So without further ado, let’s have a quick review of this great day set aside to celebrate America’s Labor Movement and all the strides that have been made.

A brief history of Labor Day

The Department of Labor has a decent synopsis of Labor Day and it becoming a holiday – first at the state level for many and then nationally – which you can find here. However, it really only deals with the actual founding of the holiday – and even then there is some missing information. Like how much of the world that celebrates Labor Day in the industrialized world does so May 1st and not the first Monday in September. Why is this? and how did it come to be? Moreover, the DOL article does give a nod to unionized labor but in reality, the perks we now take for granted – 8 hour workday, weekend, OSHA and jobsite safety, no child labor, etc. – were all hard fought and are directly attributed to organized labor.

May 1st – The Haymarket Affair

The Haymarket Affair, a demonstration planned for May 1, 1886, was organized to be the beginning of a nation wide movement calling for an 8 hour workday. Slogans like “Eight Hours for Work, Eight Hours for Rest, Eight Hours for What We Will!” seem strange to us today given that it is the law but remember: everything we enjoy now someone once fought to get. On May 3rd, the police had attacked picketing workers at McCormick Reaper Plant and a counter demonstration, to protest the police and their strike breaking, was set to begin May 4th. Illinois Labor History has an excellent article on the Haymarket Affair and how it has changed Labor across the world. That article can be found by clicking here.

I won’t repeat it verbatim but a few things I’d highlight: often, textbooks mention the use of a bomb on May 4th but leave it at that. They don’t mention how the police attacked what remaining demonstrators were there first and then someone used a bomb. I’m not condoning the use of a bomb AT ALL, but the truth is, the way history is framed can give us a different picture than what is often true.

That the police and/or government (think National Guard) were complicit in strike breaking or intimidation of organized labor is not a stretch; in fact, they, along with the Pinkertons (a for hire detective agency) often exerted force to break up peaceful demonstrations in favor of business owners. Remarkably, even though the Mayor was pro labor and had told the police at the Haymarket Affair to leave, they instead waited for him to leave and then confronted the group who remained, attempting to disperse the crowd.

The second thing I’d like to highlight is how being a crafty wordsmith can alter a persons perception right from the get go. For example, what connotations do you have if I instead called it “The Haymarket Riot” as opposed to “The Haymarket Affair?” If we are honest, we can certainly see how just calling something it is not has the ability to alter someone’s perception – which is exactly what textbooks, websites, and “historical authorities” like History.com do!

The third thing noteworthy is the trial of various labor leaders afterwards. Several had alibis, the Chicago Tribune offered to pay the jury money if those tried were found guilty, and some arrested were not even there – their selection was due to their connection with organized labor and not the actual incident.

All in all, it’s highly unfortunate textbooks and various publications edit, alter, or omit important details that frame the whole affair. Indeed, for one to unearth the truth they have to do some digging to simply get to the facts. As someone who loves history, I suspect this is more common that most know, but it’s unfortunate nonetheless.

Why Labor Day is celebrated in September and not May

As noted above, much of the rest of the industrialized world celebrates Labor Day on May 1st – the beginning of The Haymarket Affair – and the United States celebrates it in September. Why?

This sounds strange – and really simplistic – but when the idea of Labor Day was proposed here in the United States the date was selected just because it fell between July 4th and Thanksgiving. That is to say, there was no national holiday between July 4th and Thanksgiving when proposed (Columbus day didn’t become a national holiday until 1937). See I told you: it really is a simplistic notion. The online Encyclopaedia Britannica (you’re showing your age if you remember them on the bookshelf) has a brief article on this very thing right here.

Labor Day Remembered

As you enjoy the day off, as well as the comforts of modern life, we would do well to remember the blood, sweat, and toils of many who came before us. They sacrificed a lot – many their own lives – to gain better conditions for future generations. They knew from experience that no one would give them that which we take for granted: no child labor, 8 hour workday, 40 hour work week, wrongful termination laws, jobsite safety and OSHA, overtime, FMLA, weekends – all are a product of organized labor pushing for better conditions for workers everywhere. And, as I’m sure you are aware by now, having a better understanding of the troubles labor has had in the past helps our modern understanding.

Know your history – and Happy Labor Day my friends.