Happy Labor Day!

As we look to LABOR DAY in 2024 (September 2), I thought we would explore a brief history

and some special tidbits surrounding this unique holiday which began in the 1880s.

By the way, we tease each other that at a staffing company, every day is a LABOR DAY.

At Express Employment Professionals, we interview roughly two million applicants annually and

put 600,000 talented individuals to work serving our 65,000 customers worldwide. We are

proud to have a place in America’s workplace – connecting job seekers to business builders – so

as to sustain this great country as a strong and prosperous leader.

The US Labor Department, the Library of Congress, and other sources remind us of why and

how we celebrate LABOR DAY on the first Monday in September.

1.  Labor Day started as a part of the labor union movement, to recognize the

contributions of men and women in the US workforce. In September 1882, the unions of

New York City decided to have a parade to celebrate their members being in unions, and

to show support for all unions. At least 20,000 people were there, and the workers had

to give up a day’s pay to attend.

2. On May 4, 1886, a bomb exploded at a union rally in Chicago’s Haymarket Square,

which led to violence that killed seven police officers and four others. The incident also

led to May 1 being celebrated in most nations as Workers Day.

3. The New York parade inspired other unions. Other regions started having parades, and

by 1887, Oregon, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Colorado made Labor Day

a state holiday.

4. The New York parade inspired other unions. Other regions started having parades, and

by 1887, Oregon, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Colorado made Labor Day

a state holiday.

5. Grover Cleveland helped make Labor Day a national holiday. After violence related to

the Pullman railroad strike, President Cleveland and lawmakers in Washington wanted a

federal holiday to celebrate labor - and not a holiday celebrated on May 1. Cleveland

signed an act in 1894 establishing the federal holiday; most states had already passed

laws establishing a Labor Day holiday by that point.

6. The holiday has evolved over the years. In the late 19th century, celebrations focused

on parades in urban areas. Now the holiday is a celebration that honors organized labor

with fewer parades, and more activities. It also marks the perceived end of the summer

season.

7. Can you wear white after Labor Day? This old tradition goes back to the late Victorian

era, where it was a fashion faux pas to wear any white clothing after the summer

officially ended on Labor Day.

8. Labor Day is the unofficial end of Hot Dog season. The National Hot Dog and Sausage

Council says that between Memorial Day and Labor Day, Americans will eat 7 billion hot

dogs.

 Notables:

9. Americans worked 12-hour days seven days a week during the 19th century!

10. The Adamson Act was passed on September 3, 1916 to establish an eight-hour work

day.

As I’ve watched millions of people eagerly go to work, I’ve learned that hard work and a

positive work ethic equal success in America. Americans put more hours in our jobs than almost

every other nation. We take fewer vacation days than our European counterparts and our

productivity is always among the top in the world.

In my 84 years, I’m proud to have helped so many people land jobs. I believe there is no smile

like the smile on the face of someone who opens that first paycheck knowing it will help

support their family and lead to independence, accountability and self-reliance.