The History of Labor Day
Labor Day might be the end of summer, but it does not have to be the end of boating season! This long weekend was created to celebrate workers and their achievements. Morningstar Marinas wants to help you celebrate your hard work all year long, but we understand that there’s something special about Labor Day. Here are a few facts that you may not have known about this laborer’s holiday.
- Labor Day was created by the labor movement in the late 1800s. Back then work days lasted for 12 hours, 7 days a week just to make enough money to cover the basic necessities — boy are we happy that isn’t the case anymore!
- Children as young as 5 or 6 years old could be found working for a fraction of the cost of their adult counterparts. Almost every worker during the Industrial Revolution faced unsafe working conditions and were very likely to get hurt on the job.
- As people moved away from farming and towards manufacturing jobs, labor unions became more vocal. These labor unions began organizing strikes and rallies to protest their poor working conditions.
- Some of these events became incredibly violent, such as the Haymarket Riot of 1886, where policemen and rioters were killed.
- One of these events led to the first Labor Day parade held in New York City on September 5, 1882 when 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square.
- After many more violent strikes and rallies, Congress finally passed an act turning the first Monday of every September into our Labor Day.
We hope to see you out on the water this Labor Day. Stay safe and happy boating!