Labor Day 2009. A day of picnics, parades, pool parties, cookouts, no classes (hooray), realizing that summer is long gone and next summer is but wishful thinking (boo), and shoving those white sandals to the back of the closet. And of course, it’s the shopping day that kicks off the holiday season.
But this is not the true Labor Day. Unfortunately, like many meaningful holidays, Labor Day has evolved almost beyond recognition.
Labor Day didn’t start as the day when the nation’s malls were jam-packed with eager shoppers seeking two-for-one deals or 30-percent-off discounts. Labor Day was actually just what it sounds like: A day to honor the workers that hold our country together.
The first Labor Day was organized by the Central Labor Union of New York. Some say Peter J. McGuire, a carpenter, came up with the idea.
Others say it was Matthew Maguire, a machinist (and not Peter’s cousin).
But everyone agrees that the plan was to hold a parade and a picnic to recognize the efforts and contributions of American workers, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. On Sept. 5, 1882, 10,000 union members marched down the streets of New York.
Labor Day in New York happened again the next year, and eventually labor unions in other cities began to jump on the idea. Over the next decade, 23 states led by New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Colorado passed laws making Labor Day official, and in 1894, so did Congress. Labor Day became the first Monday of every September.
Unfortunately, we’ve forgotten the history of Labor Day. Instead of celebrating the years of hard work that have made America a world leader in productivity, we shop. And the retailers are eager to sell as much as possible, because a profitable Labor Day is a great start to the crucial shopping season — think Black Friday and weeks of furious Christmas and Hanukkah gift hunts.
So that means that on the one day of the year dedicated to the American work force, the 14.7 million people who work in U.S. retail don’t have the day off. In fact, they may be working even harder than usual, due to the increased volume of shoppers on the long weekend. How completely ridiculous and hypocritical.
Any day can be a shopping day, but we have a limited amount of holidays during the year when we can take a day off to reflect on our values, realize how fortunate we are to live in this wonderful country and honor those who are making it happen. So in the spirit of celebration, we can keep the picnics and the parades. But let’s close the malls and shopping centers, and let all of America’s laborers stay home and enjoy the holiday meant for them.
Reach Hannah at hannah.wasserman@asu.edu.
