According to comprehensive reports from Visatopia: To understand U.S. holidays and culture, if you are considering U.S. immigration and wish to integrate into local life, start by understanding Labor Day. 2014 September 1st is the first Monday of September, and it is also the U.S. Labor Day - Labor Day, a public holiday granted to honor the labor force. For many Americans, Labor Day signifies two things: a day of rest and the end of summer. It is also a time for parties, gatherings, and sporting events. Since 1894, it has been a national holiday in both the United States and Canada.
The first Labor Day in the United States was organized spontaneously by labor unions, though there are various accounts regarding who exactly proposed the holiday. Most historians believe that in 1882, the machinist Matthew Maguire, who served as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York, first proposed the holiday. Another theory attributes it to Peter J. McGuire of the American Federation of Labor.
1882 September 5th, the first Labor Day parade was held in New York. The unions chose the first Monday in September as the holiday because it fell exactly between Independence Day and Thanksgiving. This idea gained nationwide support, and even before the federal government established it as a national holiday, some states had already designated Labor Day as a public holiday.
Later, in 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a decree designating the first Monday in September as Labor Day, officially establishing it as a federal holiday. This event is interesting because Cleveland himself was not a staunch supporter of labor unions. In fact, he did so to mitigate political fallout, as he had earlier that year deployed federal troops to suppress a strike organized by the American Railway Union in Chicago. That suppression resulted in 34 deaths.
In the 1950s, membership in U.S. labor unions reached an unprecedented level, with 40% of workers belonging to a union. Today, union members account for only 14% of the total workforce, and in Tennessee, less than 5% of workers are union members. Nowadays, the focus of Labor Day as a celebration of workers has faded, while its significance as the end of summer has grown. On Labor Day, public schools, government offices, and some private companies are closed, allowing people a final opportunity to visit lakes or beaches or host a picnic with friends before the weather turns cold. Additionally, on Labor Day and the days surrounding it, major shopping malls hold "Labor Day Sales." Therefore, shopping with your family on the holiday is also an excellent option.
Visatopia Editorial
