Scribd
Upload
58 views5 pages

Labor Day: What It Means?

Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor American workers and their contributions to the country's economic strength and prosperity. The holiday began as a labor movement in the 1880s and became an official federal holiday by 1894. There is some debate over who first proposed Labor Day, with some crediting Peter McGuire and others crediting Matthew Maguire. The first Labor Day was celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City and the tradition of Labor Day parades and celebrations for workers and their families began.

Uploaded by

Edith Reyes
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
58 views5 pages

Labor Day: What It Means?

Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor American workers and their contributions to the country's economic strength and prosperity. The holiday began as a labor movement in the 1880s and became an official federal holiday by 1894. There is some debate over who first proposed Labor Day, with some crediting Peter McGuire and others crediting Matthew Maguire. The first Labor Day was celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City and the tradition of Labor Day parades and celebrations for workers and their families began.

Uploaded by

Edith Reyes
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

Labor Day

Labor Day: What it Means?


Labor Day, the first Monday in September, 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.

Labor Day Legislation


Through the years 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. The first state bill was
introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law
was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four
more states Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York
created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the
end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had
followed suit. 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.

Founder of Labor Day


More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is
still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.
Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the
Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the
American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor
those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the
grandeur we behold."
But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone
unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not
Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to
support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of
Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson,
N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the
Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central
Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a
committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.

The First Labor Day


The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September
5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the
Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor
Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.
In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday,
as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar
organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and
celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread
with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was
celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

A Nationwide Holiday
Women's Auxiliary Typographical UnionThe 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. This
became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by
prominent men and women were introduced later, as more
emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of
the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of
Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was
adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and
educational aspects of the labor movement.

The character of the Labor Day celebration has undergone a change


in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass
displays and huge parades have proved a problem. This change,
however, is more a shift in emphasis and medium of expression.
Labor Day addresses by leading union officials, industrialists,
educators, clerics and government officials are given wide coverage
in newspapers, radio, and television.
The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of
living and the greatest production the world has ever known and
has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of
economic and political democracy. 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.

Da del Trabajo
Da del Trabajo: Lo que significa
El Da del Trabajo, el primer lunes de septiembre, es una creacin
del movimiento obrero y se dedica a los logros sociales y
econmicos de los trabajadores estadounidenses. Constituye un
tributo nacional anual a las contribuciones que los trabajadores han
hecho a la fortaleza, la prosperidad y el bienestar de nuestro pas.
Legislacin Laboral
A travs de los aos la nacin dio cada vez mayor importancia al
Da del Trabajo. El primer reconocimiento gubernamental vino a
travs de las ordenanzas municipales aprobadas durante 1885 y
1886. De stos, un movimiento desarrollado para asegurar la
legislacin estatal. El primer proyecto de ley estatal fue introducido
en la legislatura de Nueva York, pero el primero en convertirse en
ley fue aprobado por Oregon el 21 de febrero de 1887. Durante el
ao cuatro estados ms - Colorado, Massachusetts, Nueva Jersey y
Nueva York - Vacaciones por la promulgacin legislativa. Para el
final de la dcada Connecticut, Nebraska, y Pennsylvania haban
seguido el juego. En 1894, otros 23 estados haban adoptado la
festividad en honor de los trabajadores, y el 28 de junio de ese ao,
el Congreso aprob un acto haciendo el primer lunes de septiembre
de cada ao una fiesta legal en el Distrito de Columbia y los
territorios.
Fundador del Da del Trabajo
Ms de 100 aos despus de la primera observacin del Da del
Trabajo, todava hay alguna duda sobre quin propuso por primera
vez las vacaciones para los trabajadores.
Algunos registros muestran que Peter J. McGuire, secretario general
de la Hermandad de Carpinteros y Carpinteros y un cofundador de
la Federacin Americana de Trabajo, fue el primero en sugerir un da
para honrar a aquellos "que desde la naturaleza grosera han
cavado y tallado toda la grandeza que Mirad."
Pero el lugar de Peter McGuire en la historia del Da del Trabajo no
ha pasado por alto. Muchos creen que Matthew Maguire, un
maquinista, no Peter McGuire, fund la fiesta. Investigaciones
recientes parecen apoyar la afirmacin de que Matthew Maguire,
ms tarde el secretario del Local 344 de la Asociacin Internacional
de Maquinistas de Paterson, Nueva Jersey, propuso la fiesta en 1882
mientras serva como secretario del Sindicato Central de
Trabajadores en Nueva York. Lo que est claro es que el Sindicato
Central del Trabajo adopt una propuesta del Da del Trabajo y
nombr un comit para planificar una demostracin y un picnic.
El Primer Da del Trabajo
La primera fiesta del Da del Trabajo se celebr el martes 5 de
septiembre de 1882 en la ciudad de Nueva York, de acuerdo con los
planes del Sindicato Central del Trabajo. La Central Labor Unin
celebr su segunda fiesta del Da del Trabajo apenas un ao
despus, el 5 de septiembre de 1883.
En 1884 el primer lunes de septiembre fue seleccionado como el da
de fiesta, segn lo propuesto originalmente, y el Sindicato Central
del Trabajo inst a organizaciones similares en otras ciudades a
seguir el ejemplo de Nueva York y celebrar una "fiesta de los
trabajadores" en esa fecha. La idea se extendi con el crecimiento
de las organizaciones obreras, y en 1885 se celebr el Da del
Trabajo en muchos centros industriales del pas.
Vacaciones en todo el pas
Unin tipogrfica auxiliar de mujeres La forma de celebracin y
celebracin del Da del Trabajo qued plasmada en la primera
propuesta de la fiesta: desfile callejero para exhibir al pblico "la
fuerza y el espritu de cuerpo de las organizaciones sindicales y
laborales" de la comunidad, Un festival para la recreacin y
diversin de los trabajadores y sus familias. Esto se convirti en el
patrn para las celebraciones del Da del Trabajo. Los discursos de
hombres y mujeres prominentes fueron presentados ms tarde, ya
que se hizo ms hincapi en la importancia econmica y cvica de la
fiesta. An ms tarde, por una resolucin de la convencin de la
Federacin Americana del Trabajo de 1909, el domingo anterior al
Da del Trabajo fue adoptado como Domingo Laboral y dedicado a
los aspectos espirituales y educativos del movimiento obrero.
El carcter de la celebracin del Da del Trabajo ha sufrido un
cambio en los ltimos aos, especialmente en los grandes centros
industriales donde las exposiciones masivas y los enormes desfiles
han resultado ser un problema. Este cambio, sin embargo, es ms
un cambio de nfasis y medio de expresin. Las declaraciones del
Da del Trabajo de los principales dirigentes sindicales, industriales,
educadores, clrigos y funcionarios del gobierno reciben una amplia
cobertura en los peridicos, la radio y la televisin.
La fuerza vital del trabajo agreg materialmente al ms alto nivel
de vida y la mayor produccin que el mundo ha conocido y nos ha
acercado a la realizacin de nuestros ideales tradicionales de
democracia econmica y poltica. Es apropiado, por lo tanto, que la
nacin pague tributo el Da del Trabajo al creador de tanta fuerza,
libertad y liderazgo de la nacin - el trabajador americano.

You might also like