The Salt Lake Tribune -- Workers fought for Labor Day By Harry Wessel
Unless you are a labor historian, there probably is a lot you don't know about Labor Day. For instance, the observance was conceived by militant unionists in the 19th century. Its debut as an official national holiday came in the wake of one of the worst labor strikes in U.S. history.
In case you are wondering how a holiday with such militant origins morphed into a day even the Chamber of Commerce could love, we talked with a few historians to trace how it got from there to here.
Q. When was Labor Day first celebrated?
A. An official national holiday since 1894, Labor Day first was celebrated on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City. "More than 30,000 men and women, bricklayers, freight handlers, printers, painters, blacksmiths, railroad men, cigar makers, furriers, seamstresses and other workers lined up for the march," according to Philip Foner's multivolume history of the U.S. labor movement.