By: Laurie A. McCarthy, Esquire
While you celebrate (or mourn) the unofficial end of summer and the beginning of another school year, here are some fun facts about Labor Day to share with family and friends.
- In the late 1800s the average American worked 12-hour days and seven-days a week just to eke out a basic living. Children as young as 5-6 years old worked in factories and mines.
- As the trade unions and labor movements grew, trade unionists proposed that a day be set aside to recognize both the contributions and the mistreatment of workers.
- The first U.S. Labor Day was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882 in New York City, planned by the Central Labor Union. The Labor Day parade of about 10,000 workers took unpaid leave and marched from City Hall past Union Square uptown to 42nd street and ended in Wendel’s Elm Park at 92nd Street and 9th Avenue for a concert, speeches, and a picnic.
- Twelve years after that first parade, on June 28, 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.
- Although Labor Day was officially recognized in the United States in 1894, the 8-hour day was not firmly established until twenty-two years later with the passage of the Adamson Act. In 1916. This was the first federal law regulating hours of workers in private companies.
- Labor Day is also considered to be the ‘unofficial NFL season kickoff.’ 99.44 percent of the time, the NFL plays its first official season game the Thursday after Labor Day.
- And last but certainly not least, Labor Day is considered to be the unofficial end of summer.
Enjoy the long weekend and Happy Labor Day!
The Law Firm of DiOrio & Sereni, LLP is a full-service law firm in Media, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. We strive to help people, businesses and institutions throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania solve legal problems – and even prevent legal problems before they occur. To learn more about the full range of our specific practice areas, please visit www.dioriosereni.com or contact Laurie A. McCarthy, Esquire at 610-565-5700 or at [email protected].
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