Monday, September 2, 2013

Labor Day? What is this holiday anyway?

Well, it is having a great meal at my brother and sister-in-law's house.

Menu from front to back:
Stuffed mushrooms
Stuffed peppers
Deviled eggs and crudités 
Potato salad
Squash and zucchini 
Brisket
Veggie casserole
French bread
Apple dump cake

But what is this holiday anyway?

From what I can determine, we are celebrating the great job that over 155 million workers over 16 years old do here in the US. 

But did you know the following info about laborers collected by allen lutins @ http://www.lutins.org/labor.html :

1619 
In North America's first recorded labor uprising, Polish craftsmen, who produced glass, pitch & tar for the Jamestown colony, went on strike to protest their lack of voting rights. The incident ended peacefully when the Poles were granted full voting rights.

1786 The earliest authenticated strike of workers in the United States in a single trade occurred when Philadelphia printers gained a minimum wage of $6 a week.

27 April 1825
The first strike for the 10-hour work-day occurred by carpenters in Boston.

3 July 1835
Children employed in the silk mills in Paterson, NJ went on strike for the 11 hour day/6 day week.

1848
Pennsylvania passed a State child labor law setting the minimum age for workers in commercial occupations at 12 years. In 1849, the minimum was raised to 13 years.

1868
The first Federal 8-hour-day law was passed by Congress. It applied only to laborers, workmen, and mechanics employed by or on behalf of the United States Government.

5 September 1882
Thirty thousand workers marched in the first Labor Day parade in New York City.

23 November 1887
The Thibodaux Massacre. The Louisiana Militia, aided by bands of "prominent citizens," shot at least 35 unarmed black sugar workers striking to gain a dollar-per-day wage, and lynched two strike leaders.

July 1903
Labor organizer Mary Harris ("Mother") Jones leads child workers in demanding of a 55 hour work week.

1913
The United States Department of Labor was established. It included the Bureau of Labor Statistics (created in 1884 as the Bureau of Labor), the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization (created in 1891), and the Children's Bureau (created in 1912). Power was given the Secretary of Labor to "act as mediator and to appoint commissioners of conciliation in labor disputes," and in 1918, the Conciliation Service was established as a separate division of the Department. William B. Wilson, a trade unionist and Member of Congress, became the first Secretary of Labor.

5 January 1914
The Ford Motor Company raised its basic wage from $2.40 for a nine hour day to $5 for an eight hour day.

25 June 1938
The Wages and Hours (later Fair Labor Standards) Act is passed, banning child labor and setting the 40-hour work week. The Act went into effect in October 1940, and was upheld in the Supreme Court on 3 February 1941.

10 June 1963
Congress passes (and President Kennedy signs) the Equal Pay Act, mandating equal pay for women covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

6 October 1986
1,700 female flight attendants won an 18-year lawsuit (which included $37 million in damages) against United Airlines, which had fired them for getting married.


5 comments:

Linda said...

Thanks, Emily, for the photo! Love you, Aunt Linda

Astri said...

Great Blog Linda. Thanks for your awesome comments on my blog...glad you found me so I could find you. :-)

Judi said...

Any meal with family is great!! Lots of interesting tid-bits of information you found! Can't imagine working under some of those conditions ~ Judi

DrivingDutchman said...

Ironically labor day is the 2nd biggest sale day behind black Friday and many retail employees (23% of the workforce) spend much longer working on labor day than any other day of the year....

Linda said...

Almost 1/4 of the work force WORK on Labor Day! The original creators of this special day would be disappointed in this development, just as we are shocked at those early working conditions. Linda