Labor Day and What It Means

L. Donsky-Levine
Sep 3, 2018 · 3 min read

So long summer. It’s been grand.

First Labor Day parade. Pittsburgh. 1882 (source)

Growing up, the summer for me was all about the beach, spending lazy days with friends, backyard barbeques at Uncle Joe’s, and Wednesday nights on the boardwalk watching the fireworks. Labor Day represented an end to all that. An end which I’m quite sure is shared by many as they begrudgingly tuck those bathing suits away and brace for the inevitable gust of falling leaves and snow.

But while these are the things we tend to think about … Labor Day does, in fact, possess a deeper meaning well beyond the parades and play date with our neighbors. It embodies a more pivotal moment in the annals of American history, one that began drenched in blood.

As the population of the United States grew, so too did the labor force. In the late 1800’s working conditions were extremely bleak. Long workdays. Meager pay. Hazardous and deplorable work conditions. Young children toiling away in factories. These harsh livelihoods are what fueled a movement and an evolution of solidarity in the form of labor unions. Like a spark, city after the city began to test the waters, demonstrate, strike, boycott, whatever means necessary to force employers to make those necessary changes, safer conditions, better hours, better pay. These rallies often times turned violent — even deadly.

In 1894, 4000 workers from the Pullman Company located in South Side, Chicago went on a wildcat strike when their wages were cut. What began as a one-city protest under the A.R.U. (American Railroad Union) leadership of Eugene V. Debs, quickly turned into a nationwide transportation nightmare incorporating twenty-seven more states and 250,000 workers; all pitted against the Pullman Company and the federal government.

Pullman Strike (source)

It was chaos. Riots broke out. Chicago was a city under siege. President Cleveland called in thousands of federal troops, police, deputy marshals and national guardsmen determined to break the strike. In the end, thirty civilians died, many more were wounded, and a railroad yard was burned to the ground.

From a historical standpoint, the significance of these events was enormous. The strike influenced the government and how it would handle labor issues, it influenced the public’s perception of workers and their rights, and it forced a greater role of companies and management in the lives and welfare of its workers.

The strike also highlighted a rather unique individual. Eugene V. Debs was often times portrayed as someone radically dangerous, and a threat against the American way of life. But I have to wonder thinking about so many other radicals, free thinkers, progressives throughout history and wonder where would we be without the Martin Luther Kings of the world, the Florence Kelleys, the Upton Sinclairs, the Margaret Sangers, the Eleanor Roosevelts? They opened the door. They dared to speak out. They forced us to expand our thinking beyond ourselves. They made the workplace and the minutiae of our everyday lives endurable, richer and fuller.

So with that said, as we finish wrapping up our day by the pool sipping our chardonnay or polishing off that last mouthful of cookie dough ice cream, we pay homage to the American worker. We say thank you for your contributions, your strength, your leadership and a phenomenal job well done.

L. Donsky-Levine

Written by

Words are my lifeline. www.ldonskylevine.com

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