Little-Known Labor Day Facts

Quick, when you think “Labor Day,” what immediately comes to mind? Sales? Grills? Football? Before firing up the grill, driving to the mall, or donning your team’s colors, take a look at some facts about Labor Day from Sheehy Nissan of Mechanicsville that might surprise you.

Tuesday

The first Labor Day was actually a Tuesday. Tuesday September 5, 1882 in New York City, to be exact. The holiday didn’t officially move to the first weekend of September until 1884.

McGuire or Maguire?

The subject of Labor Day’s father is a little controversial. Historically, carpenter and cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, Peter J. McGuire, has been credited for suggesting the holiday to honor the working man. Others claim that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, was the real founder. Maguire fans cite research that shows he suggested the holiday in 1882 as secretary of the Central Labor Union in NY.

Average American worker

The average American worker in the late 1800s deserved a break much more than the average American worker today. Typical work weeks involved 12-hour days, seven days a week, just for basic living wages. Some factories and mines even employed children as young as five or six-years-old.

The Parade That Almost Wasn’t  

The first official record of Labor Day recorded it as a celebration that should host a street parade to show to the public “the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations” of the community, then a festival for recreation and amusement. The first parade’s turnout was so paltry that it was almost cancelled, until two hundred marchers from the Jewelers Union of Newark Two showed up with a band and saved the day.

Canada was first

Yes, Canada coined the first Labor Day in 1872, ten years before the U.S., but it was more of a large demonstration for workers’ rights than a celebration of laborers.

White

Sorry folks, but it’s time to put away your crisp white linen suits and white leather pants, if you have them. Technically, it’s no longer in fashion to wear white or seersucker after Labor Day because summer is officially over.

Oregon Originals

Oregon was the first state to make Labor Day a holiday in 1887, making Oregonians the original Labor Day hipsters.

Good Old Grover

Labor Day wasn’t a national holiday until President Grover Cleveland made it so in 1894. As a result, many resident hipsters of Portland, Oregon stopped celebrating Labor Day around this time, because it had become too mainstream.*

Whether you find yourself snooping out sales, blazing up some burgers, or watching the first pigskin game of the season this Labor Day, we hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about the workers’ holiday.

*This is a joke, not a fact.