Labor Day

Celebrating Labor Day

Here is some history to help us remember the true meaning of this special day in the year.

Labor Day is often considered the unofficial “end of summer” as we celebrate it on the first Monday in September. 

Labor Day was credited with celebrating the everyday men and women who work to create “all the grandeur we behold”.  Created as a holiday to celebrate the laboring classes, it honors workers and workers’ rights, like paid sick days, 40-hour work weeks and fair working conditions, as well as their contributions to “America’s strength, prosperity and well being”. 

The very first Labor Day was on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, when 10,000 workers took unpaid time off in New York City to march in a parade from City Hall to Union Square.  After that, 23 states followed with their own Labor Day celebrations until President Grover Cleveland officially made it a federal holiday in 1894.

So, whether you spend Labor Day firing up your BBQ grill, taking a vacation, or just enjoying a day off work, reflect on all those workers in the late 1800’s who helped forge the way for our current work benefits.

Kim and I will be spending our Labor Day week in the mountains of Georgia north of Atlanta.  We will be taking our motorcoach up there and work remote throughout the work week and play some golf on the weekend.