Falling on the second week of the school year, September 7, Labor Day is a national holiday established to recognize ongoing collective action utilized for workers’ rights, with demands such as an 8-hour day and the right to unionize.
While the US Department of Labor characterizes the holiday as “an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers,” (History of Labor Day | U.S. Department of Labor) National Geographic cites resistance to oppressive working conditions creating pressure for its adoption (and your three-day weekend more than one-hundred and forty years later). In the late 1800s, “In many places, workers toiled for at least 12 hours a day six days a week in mines, factories, railroads, and mills,” writes Amy McKeever (What is Labor Day? Here’s the history behind the holiday | National Geographic) “Children were especially exploited as cheap laborers who were less likely to strike.”
Such Labor Day history is under attack, according to the Zinn Education Project, which offers study guides for educators. “One aim of today’s right-wing attacks on history is to stop young people from learning about the rich legacy of workers acting for justice. It’s no surprise that people of wealth and power are threatened by education that explores grassroots efforts to challenge exploitation,” according to Labor History Censored on Labor Day – Zinn Education Project.
