During the late 1800s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, the average American worked at least 60 hours a week to survive. And despite restrictions in some states, children as young as five years old worked in factories and mills doing the same jobs as adults but earning only a fraction of adult wages. Unsafe working conditions were the order of the day. Labor unions, although still in their infancy, were becoming stronger, more vocal, and more violent. Unions were organizing strikes and rallies to protest long hours and poor working conditions in an effort to compel employers to negotiate.
One of these rallies was destined to become the first Labor Day parade in the United States. On September 5, 1882, the Central Labor Union in New York City, a large organization made up of members from many local unions, held a “workingmen’s holiday.” It began with a parade that included 10,000 people—all taking the day off without pay—and ended with a huge picnic in Wendel’s Elm Park, the largest park in New York City at that time. The afternoon included speeches from union leadership and live music provided by the Jewelers’ Union. Newspapers called it “a day of the people.” Labor Day became a national holiday when Congress passed and President Grover Cleveland signed legislation on June 28, 1894, declaring the holiday to be celebrated on the first Monday in September.
