Looking at the history of Labor Day

Every year the first Monday of September is a holiday that allows for a threeday weekend, but many do not know the reason why? Some may just look at it as a three-day weekend. Others may see it as the end of summer. This particular three-day weekend is more than that.

Labor Day is a holiday to honor the American Labor Movement. The holiday is also aimed at recognizing the contributions and achievements of American workers.

To understand Labor Day, you will first have to know what the Industrial Revolution was. The Industrial Revolution was a time period in the 1800s where handmade goods transitioned to machine-made goods. During the transition, workers were working 12-hour days every day of the week just to get by and live. Children, as young as five, were working the exact same hours as the adults, but earning so much less. During the Industrial Revolution workers were faced with unsafe work conditions, no breaks, no bathrooms, and getting severely underpaid. All of this caused the workers to riot which ended with many police officers and workers to be killed.

On Sept. 5, 1882, employees took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square in New York City. They wanted to make a statement because they were still dealing with unsafe conditions all while still being under paid. This march is looked at as the first Labor Day parade. Congress legalized Labor Day as a holiday 12 years later, and on June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed it into law.

Because of the law, more holidays; President’s Day, Columbus Day, and more, were moved to Mondays every year so employees had additional three-day weekends.

Today, people celebrate this holiday by having parades, barbecues, and get togethers with family and friends.

“Labor Day is a day to give people time off of work becacuse of the bad working environment before. For Labor Day weekend, my family used to go to Grand Lake in Tulsa and spend time at my nana’s lake house,” Zoey Smith said.

On a local level, the City of Guymon offices will be closed, as well as many other businesses and bnaks in town.