LABOR DAY

 

Today is Labor Day 2026... 

Sometimes I think the general public has no idea what this holiday is all about or why we celebrate it.  Sure, it's the last hurrah of summer--even for those who have already started a new school year.  But it's also more than just a Monday holiday businesses devote to the hopes of drawing consumers to the marketplace.

Perhaps I have already posted this little history which I used to share with my kids when they were growing up.  I wanted them to know that as the future "meat and potatoes" of our country, the "cog in the wheel" of industry in the United States, they were important to our country.  

I hope you realize that YOU are, too!

(Sorry, I don't remember where I originally copied this informative piece.)

Labor Day is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

During the Nineteenth Century, the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From these, a movement developed to secure state legislation. 

By 1894, 31 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.

The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families.

The vital force of labor in the United States added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.