Labor Day

Every first Monday of September Americans have a day off from work and school. It's the last day swimming pools are open and the last day of the three-day Labor Day sales. From here on out, white is not quite an appropriate color to wear. Is this the reason for Labor Day? 

Labor Day in America came from celebrations and successes of working people in other countries. In Canada, it came about when workers fought for a 58 hour work week. The holiday was first proposed in the US in 1882 and by 1894, Oregon had adopted the idea as a state holiday.

The Pullman Strike in 1894 helped to make Labor Day a national holiday in the US. The large scale strike caused many US railways to shut down because the workers who built the train cars for Pullman went on strike after their wages were reduced. In order for the Pullman Company to listen to the workers, a boycott of all Pullman cars was called and effectively halted trains. 

The US Army was called in to stop the workers from obstructing trains, since the boycotters weren't letting even mail trains pass. Riots broke out between the workers on strike and other groups that opposed the boycott and several people were killed. The violence allowed President Cleveland and Congress to quickly pass a bill declaring the first Monday in September as a national holiday that honors laborers and their contribution to the US economy.