Labor Day Origins

Labor Day in the United States is celebrated on the first Monday of September every year. It is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. Labor Day commemorates the strengths and achievements of workers, and what they have done to propel the country to success.

There is speculation that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was the first to propose a day to honor laborers. However, others stand behind Matthew Maguire as the creator. He was the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., and many believe he proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York.

The first official Labor Day was held on September 5, 1882 in New York City, under the guidance of the Central Labor Union. Two years later the first Monday of September was chosen as the day Labor Day would be held.

Through the subsequent years, individual states adopted state legislature to recognize Labor Day. On June 28, 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.