Covid 19 has brought a whole new appreciation of our essential workers this Labor Day.

Let us all remember in particular our 1st responders, health care workers, teachers, service workers, truck drivers etc. that place themselves in harm's way so that we all are safe. It is good also to thank our fellow workers, friends and family members that have been diligently wearing face masks protecting each other and reminding us to do our part.

Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers and is traditionally observed on the first Monday in September. The holiday was created as a result the labor movement in the late 19th century. America had transitioned from an agrarian economy into the industrial giant of the Gilded Age era with its rapid economic growth. It is incredible to think of it now, but the average American worked 12-hour days and seven-day weeks in order to eke out a basic living. Labor unions, which had first appeared in the late 18th century, grew and became vocal. They began organizing strikes and rallies to protest poor conditions and compel employers to renegotiate hours and pay. Unfortunately, some of these strikes turned violent. Still, other strikes gave rise to longstanding traditions such as the September 5, 1882 event in which 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square in the city of New York and in the process holding the first Labor Day parade in U.S. history.

 

The idea of a “workingmen’s holiday,” celebrated on the first Monday in September, caught on in other industrial centers across the country, and many states passed legislation recognizing it. Since that original parade in New Your took 12 years for Congress to pass an act making Labor Day a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories. On June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed it into law. 

 

It is good to recall such events in history. While the Labor Day holiday event was born out of the labor movement almost 13 decades ago, we still seek to honor America's workers that have contributed to all that makes our country what it is today warts and all. Covid 19 has helped us to realize the importance of the labor of our essential workers that continued to serve us during the pandemic lock down.