What you need to know about Labor Day and its history

DALLAS – From barbecues to getaways to shopping and sales, many people in the US are marking Labor Day – the federal holiday that celebrates the American worker – by finding ways to relax.

This year marks the 130th anniversary of the feast, which is celebrated on the first Monday of September. While union actions in recent years to advocate for workers are a reminder of the holiday’s activist roots, the three-day weekend it creates has become a touchstone in American life that marks the unofficial end of summer.

Here’s what you need to know about Labor Day:

How did Labor Day become a federal holiday?

Its origins date back to the late 19th century, when activists first attempted to establish a day to pay tribute to workers.

The first Labor Day celebration in the US was held in New York City on September 5, 1882, when approximately 10,000 workers marched in a parade organized by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor.

Workers saw their quality of life decline as they moved from artisanal jobs to factory jobs, even as the quality of life for factory owners “just skyrocketed,” said Todd Vachon, an assistant professor in the School of Management and Relations of Labor from Rutgers.

In the years that followed, a handful of cities and states began passing laws recognizing Labor Day. President Grover Cleveland signed an act of Congress in 1894 making it a federal holiday.

That was the same year that workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company went on strike after the carmaker cut wages without cutting rent in the company-owned town where the workers lived near Chicago, Vachon said. More than 12 workers were killed after Cleveland sent in federal troops to crush the strike, he said.

Cleveland’s move to establish Labor Day as a federal holiday is seen by some historians as a way for him to “make peace” with the working class afterward, Vachon said.

What do Americans do on Labor Day weekend?

For the three-day weekend created by Labor Day, travelers pack airports and highways for late-summer getaways, and backyard chefs prepare cookouts for family and friends.

Barbecue has been a part of Labor Day celebrations since the beginning, said Robert F. Moss, food writer, culinary historian and author of “Barbecue: The History of an American Institution.”

He said it was already such an ingrained tradition in the US that when labor movements developed in the late 19th century, it was only natural to celebrate as large groups gathered. In the 20th century, holiday barbecues moved more toward gatherings of friends and family in backyards, he said.

“It still has a lot of that communal feel, gathering around the grill, eating together,” he said.

Vachon said whether the origins of the labor movement are on the mind during the celebration, it depends on whether they live somewhere with a large union presence.

In Chicago, a parade and festival takes place over Labor Day weekend in what is now the Pullman neighborhood, home of the holiday’s roots. Bob Reiter, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, said the parade and festival they host brings union members and their families from all over the area.

How has the labor movement evolved over the decades?

When Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894, U.S. unions were largely challenged and courts often declared strikes illegal, leading to violent disputes, Vachon said. It was not until the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 that private sector employees were granted the right to join unions.

Later in the 20th century, states also began to pass legislation to allow public sector unionization. But even today, not all states allow collective bargaining for public workers.

In recent years, Vachon said, there has been a resurgence in labor organizing, activism, interest and support.

“Many millennials and Gen Zers are entering the workforce at a time not too dissimilar from that time in the 1880s, when there was a lot of labor unrest,” Vachon said. “Jobs just don’t pay. enough for people to realize the American dream.”

What is the connection between fashion and Labor Day?

The saying that you shouldn’t wear white after Labor Day is a “rule” that’s been broken with very fashionable results, but where did it come from?

Fashion experts say it probably dates back to the Gilded Age — the same period in the late 1800s that gave birth to Labor Day. The cool, white dresses worn by wealthy New Yorkers during the summer in places like Newport, Rhode Island, would be packed away upon their late summer return to the dirt-lined city.

Christy Crutsinger, a professor of merchandising and digital retail at the University of North Texas, has heard the saying from generations of women in her family. But “the fashion world doesn’t work like that anymore,” she added.

“People think, they say, but don’t respect him,” she said.

With back-to-school shopping and many business people switching from a more relaxed summer dress code, fashion is on the minds of many around Labor Day, said Daniel James Cole, assistant professor of fashion history at the Fashion Institute of Technology. and co-author of The History of Modern Fashion.

The holiday, he said, “is kind of the hinge” between summer wear and the fun of getting back “to more serious pursuits.”

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Associated Press reporter Wyatte Grantham-Philips contributed to this report.