For the day now ending. Watch, listen .... sing along.
1st Labor Day Parade, New York City, 1882
- Mayn Rue Platz, by Morris Rosenfeld sung by June Tabor
- Millworker by James Taylor, sung by Bruce Springsteen
- Solidarity Forever by Ralph Chaplin, sung by UAW members at Ford Auto
- Part of the Union by the Strawbs
- Labour Day song -- the Nightwatchmen
- Step by Step -- Jackson Browne
With the growth of labor organizations, the idea of a day commemorating labor and workers spread. Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894 following workers deaths at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals during the Pullman Strike.
Pullman Strike: American Railway Union members confront Illinois National Guard
The first Labor Day in the United States was observed on September 5, 1882 in New York City, by the Central Labor Union of New York, the nation's first integrated major trade union. The September date originally chosen by the CLU of NY and observed by many of the nation's trade unions for the past several years was selected rather than the more widespread International Workers' Day because of concerns that observing the latter would stir up negative emotions linked to the Haymarket Affair that it commemorated. Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans and Canadians as the symbolic end of the summer.
Internationally, May Day or International Workers Day is celebrated as Labor Day in many countries. May 1 is a national holiday in more than 80 countries. It is also celebrated
unofficially in many other countries. However, there is no fixed international date for Labor Day, which varies considerably throughout the Anglophone world
More reading
Lessons:
- A good presentation on the history of Labor Day in the US, PBS, 2001
Lessons:
- Labor Day lessons, includes reading, listening activity, exercises, writing topic
- Labor Day Vocabulary Quiz
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