The bloodstained origins of Labor day, where federal marshals and the Army killed 30 striking railroad strikers in Chicago during political confrontations in 1894, have been erased from the consciousness of the U.S. public. During the time, Americans typically worked 12 hour days, 7 days a week with kids as young as 5 or 6 working in factories.
An economic recession reduced the demand for railway cars, and prompted Chicago railway magnate George Pullman to lay off workers and reduce wages.
In response, many went on strike at a time when an already angry labor force was beginning find its political power and voice. Workers were increasingly angry at their situations and their limited opportunities in addition to the mean and arbitrary treatmet they received.
The Pullman workers were joined by the American Railway Union (ARU), with 125,000 workers on twenty-nine railroads launching a boycott of trains containing Pullman cars.
President Grover Cleveland sent federal troops to Chicago to crush the strike. Troops arrived and mobs started tipping railroad cars, setting them on fire. Troops tried to crack down on strikers, and the strike was ended with a combination of state repression and legal proceedings.
Just four days after ending the strike, President Cleveland signed the a bill making the first Monday in September “Labor Day.” Cleveland also wanted to ensure that workers did not rally behind a commemoration on the Haymarket Massacre, or May Day, which was pushed by communist, anarchist and other more radical segments of the labor movement.
In 1916, Congress passed the Adamson Act which established the 8 hour workday.
The U.S. Department of Labor has coined labor day as “a creation of the labor movement dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers." However, the U.S. government fails to acknowledge the political history of struggle from which the day evolved.
Remembering labor history is more significant than ever. According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 11.3 percent of the U.S. workers were unionized as of 2013, a total of 14.5 million people. This constitutes a significant drop from the more than 20 pércent of workers who were union members since 1983.
“The newer generations don't know the labor history, and that's a big problem. They just don't know the fight that went on to get to where we are,” said LaDonna Henderson of St. Louis at one of numerous labor day rallies across the country on Monday. Henderson was optimistic noting that, “We could be doing better. We've just got to get unified again.”