Labor Day 2021 is the last care-free summer holiday of the year. In fact, it is the last 3 day holiday until Thanksgiving. Additionally, it is the last major celebration of the summer. No wonder, we’re likely to have “too much fun.”
So, Consolidated Waste Systems brings you this special holiday edition of their blog. We will delay our usual waste management and ecological topics this week. Instead, we dedicate this blog to working Americans. We want to recognize them–and you–on this special Labor Day 2021 Holiday.
First, we take this opportunity to send out Happy Labor Day congratulations to the millions of American workers who enrich our country today.
The Balance: Work, Life, Family
Barbeques, Family, Friends, and Good Times are Important Parts of Holiday Celebration.
The Labor Day holiday has become an important time. It is a time to renew, refresh and re-invigorate family members and friends. Today, we embrace the philosophy of a Balance between Work, Family, and Play.
Having time for work, for play, and for the family is the secret of life. Labor Day focuses on “play.” It is ironic that it is called “Labor Day?” After all, the entire objective of the day is not to work?
In 21st century America, we are drawn to outdoor activities for this holiday. So, Family fun is planned to engage every age. And, because of this holiday, there is time for us to connect with family and friends.
We will share camping, boating, sight-seeing. You will find us picnicking, hiking, swimming, and even going on shopping excursions. Labor Day provides healthy moments of refreshment for the mind, spirit, and body. Consolidated Waste Management would feel remiss if we did not mention that we hope you leave the forest or beach like you found it. Take your waste with you for proper disposal.
Labor Day 2021: A Forgotten Story of Revolution
But there is more to Labor Day 2021 than picnics, parks, parades, and barbecues. In fact, it is a mysterious and misunderstood holiday. So, we depart from our usual topics to bring you some special Labor Day history, facts, stories, and statistics.
A Forgotten History
Most Americans only vaguely know the details of Labor Day. And, it is true that picnics, parties, and parades will consume our nation’s energy this coming long weekend.
Sometimes we get very involved with just having the freedom of a three-day holiday. Then we forget the reason the Labor Day holiday was nationalized.
And if we, as adults, forget, how can we expect future generations of children to remember?
History, Labor Movements, Protests: The First Labor Day Celebration in New York City
To begin, we transport back to the time of the Industrial Revolution. It seems the first American Labor Day was in New York City. And it’s quite a story.
10,000 marching men in 1882 instigated the entire idea. And they had plenty of labor problems to protest.
However, on the day of September 5, 1882, the laborers created a peaceful demonstration. Why did they demonstrate? People, of that era, men, women, and children, worked 10 plus hour days. This was part of the daily routine. Some worked even longer hours.
Our Holiday Was Born from Labor Reform
Workers Before Labor Reform Endured Unbearable Work Conditions. Even Children Were Forced into Labor.
Imagine the working conditions of that time period. There were unsafe working environments in almost every factory. (No wonder fire was feared. No laws existed for sprinkler systems in those days.)
There are labor stories from this time in history that melt the hardest hearts. For example, let’s look at the story of the March 25, 1911, Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory fire in New York City.
We remembered one of the most infamous incidents in American industrial history.
148 people died. The “deaths were largely preventable”…”Most of the victims died as a result of neglected safety features and locked doors” in the factory building.”
Life Before Reform
The lives of workers during that time period before the birth of unions were nothing like ours.
Child labor (Child-care was just no problem. This is because a 5-year-old could work right beside her mother in a sweatshop. Of course, both mother and child would have quotas.)
Low pay was the standard. Labor was the company’s cheapest resource.
10-16 hour workdays exhausted families. Family time was non-existent.
But on that day, in 1882, the first Labor Day Celebration occurred. The protesting and speeches erupted in massive picnicking instead of violence.
Undoubtedly, Fun abounded… “But, that is another story.”
Slow Growth of Reform and a Change We Still Enjoy
That’s right, massive picnicking followed the massive picketing on that first NYC Labor Day. (Now you know where the cook-out custom originated!) All of this happened on September 5, 1882.
However, incredible as it seems, our society had to wait until 1916 for the 8-hour work-day to become law.
What Does the Adamson Act Mean to You? (The Pullman Story)
Adamson’s Act Set New Labor Standards with Maximum 8 Hour Day and a 40 Hour Work Week. Over-Time Pay was Also Established.
This important labor law occurred with the authority of the Adamson Act in 1916. The Adamson Act was the first legislation that mandated a 40-hour work-week. The act also established additional pay for overtime.
And there is more behind the story of the 8 hour day in the eyes of history. The story begins a year after the NYC peaceful demonstration and celebration of the first Labor Day.
It began when an 1883 economic depression caused a downturn in the purchase of rail cars for passenger trains.
“Railroad company owner George Pullman cut workers’ wages. Then, he refused to lower their rents. A nation-wide labor strike ensued…” To squelch the rebellious behavior, President Grover Cleveland called in military muscle.”
And violence ensued. Real Violence. The unfortunate statistics from that clash included “30 deaths, 57 injured, and $80 million dollars in property damage.”
President Cleveland Makes Amends
So we can understand the reason that President Cleveland was eager to make Labor Day a federal holiday one year later. Oh, yes, he rushed Congress into creating the official holiday. However, it was not until 23 years later, with the Adamson Act, that we actually established the 8-hour workday and 40-hour work-week.
Happy Holiday
Thank you for reading our blog. And again, Consolidated Waste Systems wishes you a happy Labor Day Celebration with a reminder. Don’t have too much fun! Return rested and please return safely.
And for those who may not have read our previous blog, we urge you to do so. Algae Blooms and the condition of our Florida Beaches are of vital concern.
