6 Historic Facts About Labor Day

Do you know how this holiday came into being? 

Well, in case you don't, here is a little history and information about the last  "official" day of Summer:

1. Labor Day is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers  and the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

2. This holiday is always celebrated on the first Monday in September.  

3. The First Labor Day celebration was on Tuesday September 5, 1882 in New York City. 

4. On the First Labor Day, 10,000 citizens marched for labor rights down the streets of Manhattan. During this time the average American worked 12 hours a day, six days a week. It wasn't until the Adamson Act passed on September 3, 1916 that our modern eight-hour work day was established.​

5, How Labor Day came into existence and who first proposed it and should be credited with being the founder of a special holiday for workers is still widely disputed.
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.

6.​ In 1887, Oregon was the first state of the United States to make it an official public holiday. By the time it became an official federal holiday in 1894, thirty U.S. states officially celebrated Labor Day.