Labor Day: Coming to a Town Near You Since 1894

Most Americans know Labor Day as a time of BBQs, parades and the symbolic end of summer. But the holiday, always held on the first Monday of September, has a history that stretches back over 100 years.

The first Labor Day was celebrated in New York City on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. It was proposed by the Central Labor Union, an early trade union, to honor the social and economic contributions of workers.

In 1884, the Labor Union selected the first Monday in September for the day, urging other cities and their labor unions to celebrate this “workingmen’s holiday.”

The first municipal ordinances recognizing the holiday were passed in 1885 and 1886. Oregon became the first state to make the holiday a law by February 21, 1887. By 1894, 24 additional states followed suit.

That same year, the holiday gained national recognition. Many workers died at the hands of U.S. Marshalls when the Pullman Strike turned violent, and then-President Grover Cleveland made appeasement with the labor movement a top political priority. On June 28, 1894,  Congress deemed the day as an official holiday.

Today, all government buildings and offices are closed on Monday, while several towns and cities partake in festivities during the three-day weekend. The Peninsula and South Bay are no exceptions: Peninsula residents can take Caltrain to the occurring all weekend. The Beverly Heritage Hotel in Milpitas is hosting Champaigne tasting at a Get Wet Celebrity Pool Party. Those seeking a more creative way to celebrate can catch Watsonville’s Fly-in and Air Show.