 Congress declares Labor Day a national holiday, honoring the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of the country. Beginning in the late 19th century, as the union and labor movements grew, trade unionists proposed that a day be set aside to celebrate labor. "Labor Day" was promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor, which organized the first parade in New York City. Following the deaths of workers at the hands of United States Army and United States Marshals Service during the Pullman Strike of 1894, the United States Congress unanimously voted to approve legislation to make Labor Day a national holiday and President Grover Cleveland signed it into law six days after the end of the strike. Observed on the Monday of the long weekend known as Labor Day Weekend, it's considered the unofficial end of summer. – 1894
(From the Folks Who Brought You The Weekend is a sweeping, highly readable history of U.S. labor that will be welcomed by anyone interested in learning more about the struggle of American working people to better their lives through collective action.) The AFL-CIO creates Working America, a nonpartisan, non-profit organization designed to build alliances among non-union working people – 2003 - compiled/edited by David Prosten at Union Communication Services. Comments are closed.
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