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Labor Day: How the mov't became a national holiday

By Michael Gryboski, Editor Twitter

Disputed heritage

As with other national holidays, Labor Day began as a series of isolated local celebrations and observances rather than as a single nationwide date.

Throughout the 1880s, as unions and socialist organizations formed, various states passed legislation making the holiday official.

Regarding the specific founder of the national Labor Day holiday, an entry on the History Channel website notes that there is no consensus on the matter.

"Many credit Peter J. McGuire, cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, while others have suggested that Matthew Maguire, a secretary of the Central Labor Union, first proposed the holiday," according to History.

The first official Labor Day is widely believed to have been observed in New York City on Sept. 5, 1882, with a parade. Ironically, it was a Tuesday.

"The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union," noted the U.S. Department of Labor. "The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883."

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