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HISTORY

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• As the Industrial Revolution took hold of the nation, the average

American in the late 1800s worked 12-hour days, seven days a week, in
order to make a basic living.

• Children were also working, as they provided cheap labor to employers

and laws against child labor were not strongly enforced.

• With the long hours and terrible working conditions, American unions

became more prominent and voiced their demands for a better way of
life.

• On Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1882, 10,000 workers marched from City Hall to

Union Square in New York City, holding the first-ever Labor Day parade.

• Participants took an unpaid day off to honor the workers of America, as

well as vocalize issues they had with employers.

• As years passed, more states began to hold these parades, but Congress

would not legalize the holiday until 12 years later.

• On May 11, 1894, workers of the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago

struck to protest wage cuts and the firing of union representatives. They

sought support from their union, led by Eugene V. Debs, and on June 26,
the American Railroad Union called a boycott of all Pullman railway cars.

• Within days, 50,000 rail workers complied and railroad traffic out of

Chicago came to a halt.

• On July 4, President Grover Cleveland dispatched troops to Chicago.
• Much rioting and bloodshed ensued, but the government's actions broke

the strike and the boycott soon collapsed.

• Debs and three other union officials were jailed for disobeying the

injunction.

• The strike brought worker's rights to the public eye, ultimately

compelling Congress to declare Labor Day as a national holiday for
workers.

• The founder of Labor Day remains unclear, but some credit either Peter

McGuire, co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, or Matthew
Maguire, a secretary of the Central Labor Union, for proposing the
holiday.

Fashion & Labor Day

• An old custom prohibits the wearing of white after Labor Day.

The custom is rooted in nothing more than popular fashion
etiquette.

• In actuality, the etiquette originally stated that white shoes

were taboo while white or “winter white” clothes were
acceptable.

• This custom is fading from popularity as it continues to be

questioned and challenged, particularly by leaders in the
fashion world.

• Fashion magazines are jumping on this growing trend, calling

people who “dare” to wear white after Labor Day
innovative, creative and bold.

• Slowly but surely, white is beginning to break free

from its box, and is becoming acceptable to wear
whenever one pleases.

• This etiquette is comparable to the Canadian

fashion rule against wearing green after
Remembrance Day.

• In the world of western attire, it is similarly

tradition to wear a straw cowboy hat until
Labor Day.

• After Labor Day, the felt hat is worn until

Memorial Day.

Overview

• Labor Day is a national legal holiday that is over 100 years old. It is the

celebration of the value and dignity of work, and its role in the American
way of life.

• The holiday grew out of a celebration and parade in honor of the working

class by the Knights of Labor in New York City.

• In 1884, the Knights held a large parade celebrating the working class. It

was held on the first Monday in September.

• The Knights passed a resolution to hold all future parades on the same

day, designated by them as Labor Day.

• The Socialist Party held a similar celebration of the working class on May 1.

Eventually known as May Day, it was celebrated by Socialists and
Communists outside the U.S. in commemoration of the working man.

• In the U.S., the first Monday in September was selected to reject any

identification with Communism.

• In the late 1880s, labor organizations began to lobby various state

legislatures for recognition of Labor Day as an official state holiday.

• The first states to declare it a state holiday in 1887 were Oregon,

Colorado, New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey.

• By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and

on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday
in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and
the territories.

• Today, Labor Day is observed not only in the U.S. but also in Canada, and

in other industrialized nations.

• In addition, the holiday has come to be recognized in the U.S. not only as

a celebration of the working class, but even more so as the unofficial end
of the summer season.

• Many colleges and some secondary and elementary schools begin

classes immediately after Labor Day.

• State parks, swimming pools and campgrounds are all quite busy on

Labor Day, as vacationers take one last advantage of the waning hot
season.

Background

Celebrating Labor Day

• Labor Day is often regarded simply as a day of rest and, unlike the May 1 Labor Day

celebrations in most countries, parades, speeches or political demonstrations are
rare.

• Forms of Labor Day celebration in the U.S. include picnics, barbecues, fireworks

displays, water sports and public art events.

• Families with school-age children take it as the last chance to travel before the end

of summer (in areas where the school year begins after Labor Day).

• Some teenagers and young adults view it as the last weekend for parties before

returning to school.

• A prominent Labor Day event in the United States, since 1966, is the annual telethon

of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Hosted by Jerry Lewis to fund research and
patient support programs for the various diseases grouped as muscular
dystrophy, the telethon raises tens of millions of dollars each year.

• From 1950-2003, the NASCAR Southern 500, the oldest and most traditional super

speedway race, and one of the crown jewels of the circuit, was held on Labor Day
weekend in Darlington, South Carolina.

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National Work Status

• 151.8 million—number of people age 16 or older in the nation’s labor force

as of April 2007. Among the nation’s workers are 81.6 million men and 70.1
million women.

• 60%—percentage of full-time workers ages 18–64 covered by health

insurance.

• 77%—percentage of workers in private industry who receive a paid

vacation as one of their employment benefits.

• 77%—percentage of workers who receive paid holidays.
• 14%—percentage of workers who have access to employer assistance for

child care.

• 11%—percentage of workers who have access to long-term care

insurance.

• Fewer than 10%—percentage of workers who have access to subsidies for

commuting, telework opportunities and adoption assistance.

• $39,403 & $26,507—the annual median earnings, respectively, for male and

female full-time, year-round workers ages 25 or older in 2006.

• 7.3 million—number of workers who hold down more than one job. So-

called “moon-lighters” comprise 5% of the working population. Of these
moon-lighters, 3.8 million work full-time at their primary jobs and part-
time at their other jobs, and about 293,000 work full-time at both jobs.

• 10.3 million—number of self-employed workers.
• 20.3 million—number of female workers in educational, health and social

services industries. More women work in this industry group than in any
other. Manufacturing is the most popular industry among men, with
11.3 million workers.

• 28%—percentage of workers 16 or older who work more than 40 hours a

week. 8% work 60 or more hours a week.

• 15.8 million—number of labor union members nationwide. About 13% of

wage and salary workers belong to unions, with New York having among
the highest rates of any state (25%). North Carolina has one of the lowest
rates (3%).

• 4.5 million—the number of people who work at home.
• 24.3 minutes—the average time it takes to commute to work.
• More than 100 hours—the amount of time the average American spends

commuting to work each year. (This exceeds the typical two weeks of
vacation time taken by many U.S. workers over the course of a year.)

10 occupations with the highest median earnings:

• Physicians & Surgeons

• Dentists

• Chief Executives

• Podiatrists

• Lawyers

• Engineering Managers

• Optometrists

• Petroleum Engineers

• Natural Sciences Managers

• Actuaries

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