On Monday, Labor Day will be observed as a national holiday and a day off from work for most Americans. However, this annual celebration of the end of summer was not always an excuse to party and picnic.
Some historians suggest that Labor Day began over a hundred years ago as the direct result of a New York City carpenter and labor organizer named Peter McGuire.
McGuire, the son of Irish immigrants, became incensed at the squalid living conditions and the poverty that workers faced during the latter part of the nineteenth century. In response to these desperate circumstances, he began to organize workers and to champion their cause. McGuire railed against the low pay and the uncertain jobs faced by most of men and women of the period. As part of his campaign he organized the first Labor Day parade that day in 1882 in New York City.
Within 10 years McGuire’s determination led to the federal recognition of Labor Day. Soon this new national holiday became a festive occasion for the working men and women across the nation. It was an occasion for large parades and demonstrations to promote worker’s rights and dignity. American politicians, churchmen and labor leaders delivered speeches emphasizing the dignity and rights of workers as Labor Day quickly became the day to celebrate the progress made in securing just wages, secure jobs, and good living conditions for the nation’s working men and women.
However, in just over a hundred years Labor Day seems to have evolved from a tribute to the working man and woman into a day off to play and rest for most Americans. It seems that for far too many Americans, the day is spent seeking sales or back to school shopping. Peter McGuire would not recognize the day he helped to create.
This Labor Day needs to be different. The issues of a hundred years ago have not really changed. We live in tough economic times and too many are unemployed, too many go without healthcare and far too many remain among the working poor. The time is now for Americans to recognize the dire straits and deplorable conditions many of the working men and women face today.
The Church teaches that all people have a right to decent and productive work and to fair and living wages. Along with organized labor, the Church has long championed the cause of workers’ rights and employers’ responsibility toward workers. The Church has not stopped recognizing the harsh reality of low wages, unsafe workplaces, and lack of healthcare that many working men and women face on Labor Day. It was these realities that first led a simple carpenter named Peter McGuire to champion the new holiday that has become Labor Day over a hundred years ago. McGuire’s vision needs to continue today in these uncertain economic times. The hard working men and women of the United States deserve nothing less.
