the history of Labor Day Labor Day weekend is seen as The Unofficial end of summer and many Americans celebrate this holiday by going to barbecues picnics parades and other social Gatherings this year marks the 130th anniversary of the Labor Day holiday which is recognized on the first Monday of September member to celebrate workers and their achievements the first Labor Day celebration in the United States took place in New York City on September 5th 1882 approximately 10,000 workers who took unpaid time off marching the parade that was organized by the central labor union and the kns of Labor in the in the late 1800s the average American worked 12 hours a day 7 days a week many people worked in inadequate overcrowded conditions with poor ventilation and in some parts of the country children as young as five or six worked in Mills factories and mines earning much less than adults who worked in similar positions workers and unions began demanding shorter work days and better work conditions by participating in worker strikes and rallies some of those events resulted in violence such as the Hay Market riot in Chicago on May 1st 1886 when thousands of workers demanded an 8-hour work day on May 11th 1894 workers at the pulman palace car company which manufactured railroad cars went on strike to protest with page Cuts long 16-hour work days and the firing of Union Representatives the workers later were joined by the members of the American Railway Union the aru because the aru members refused to move Pullman cars rail traffic across the country was brought to a standstill to break the Pullman Strike the federal government sent troops to Chicago which resulted in riots and the deaths of more than a dozen workers between 1885 and 1894 labor activists and individual states recognized Labor day before it became a Federal holiday as a result Municipal ordinances that were passed in 1885 and 1886 created a path to obtain State legislation in numerous States New York was the first state to introduce a Labor Day bill but on Fe February 21st 1887 Oregon was the first state to pass a law to recognize Labor Day later in 1887 Colorado Massachusetts New Jersey and New York passed laws to make Labor Day a holiday several years later Connecticut Nebraska and Pennsylvania also passed state laws by 1894 an additional 23 States made Labor Day a holiday labor activists fought for workers to get better working conditions and shorter work days thanks to their pursuit to create a Federal holiday to recognize and celebrate the contributions and economic achievements of American workers on June 26th 1894 the US Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday holiday president Grover Cleveland signed the ACT into law on June 28th 1894 to learn more about Labor Day please visit the sites below also an American Labor Day American worker paper dolls kit is available at lvk paper dolls. etsy.com thank you for