Labor Day: Celebrating the History of the American Worker
Most people consider Labor Day an end-of-summer three-day weekend. It’s back to school, cooling temperatures, and the start of football season. Of course, Labor Day was actually created in the late 19th century to honor the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
The exact date of the first Labor Day celebration is something historians still cannot agree on, but most accounts credit a parade of 10,000 workers in New York City on September 5, 1882, organized by the Central Labor Union. It was a day to applaud the contributions of the strong and resilient American worker. After years of working 12-hour or more days with no real safety laws, it was a day for the labor movement to celebrate the social and economic achievements won through organization. Soon, local and state governments began declaring the first Monday in September as a holiday to be observed. In 1894, Congress declared it a national holiday, allowing workers to march in Labor Day parades without forfeiting a day’s pay.
In the late 1800s, as the United States emerged as an industrial giant, our society was forever transformed. The way we worked and the way we lived dramatically changed. The U.S. Department of Labor says that Labor Day recognizes workers who have created the “highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known.”
One hundred years after the first Labor Day parade, Ralph “Buck” Cates founded Precision Plus, and our mission was “Be the very best you can be and others will follow.” It is something that stands true today for our team. Our skilled craftsmen and women take pride in what they do every day and strive to deliver exceptional results to our partners and clients.
As you celebrate this holiday weekend, take a look around. Look at the buildings, the bridges, the automobiles and other machinery. Think about the work, skill, persistence, and talent that went into building our country, and still does today. Successful people embrace hard work; they don’t run from it. As President Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is a chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
Precision Plus wishes you a safe and happy Labor Day weekend!
