Labor Day is a US Federal Holiday celebrating America's labor force. It is a time to honor the contribution American workers have made to the health and well-being of the nation, and a reminder about the importance of ensuring the economic, health and social well-being of individual workers. It is a time to reflect on the basic right of workers to earn a livable wage and to work in safe conditions.

Labor Day was first celebrated in 1882 in New York City. The idea of a workingman's holiday spread quickly throughout the country as the labor movement grew, and in 1894 Labor Day became a national holiday, celebrated on the first Monday in September.

Most of the rest of the world celebrates May 1 as a day dedicated to workers.

The International Labor Organization is the UN specialized agency which works to protect workers' rights throughout the world. Founded in 1919, it is the only surviving major creation of the Treaty of Versailles which created the League of Nations.

See Also: Workers' Day - May 1

 

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DO ONE THING for a Better World 1. Find out more about historical labor leaders, labor leaders and ongoing labor injustices. 2. Hold an event to raise awareness about sweatshops and other violations of workers' rights. 3. Support organizations working to defend workers' rights. LINKS History of Labor Day AFL-CIO AFSCME Fair Labor Association International Labour Organization Jobs With Justice LaborNet Labour Resources in the UN System Labour Start National Labor Committee US Department of Labor LABOR Quotes

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Labor Day-1st Mon in Sept Grace Abbott John Peter Altgeld Mary Anderson Susan B. Anthony Grace Lee Boggs Charlotte Bunch Jimmy Carter John Cavanagh Cesar Chavez Shirley Chisholm Noam Chomsky John R. Commons Bill Cosby Angela Davis Eugene V. Debs Frederick Douglass Dwight D. Eisenhower Indira Gandhi Janeane Garofalo Samuel Gompers Joe Hill Robert G. Ingersoll Molly Ivins Mary Jones Marjorie Kelly John F. Kennedy Martin Luther King, Jr. John Lennon John L. Lewis Abraham Lincoln John Locke George Meany David A. Morse Holly Near Frances Perkins Utah Phillips Wendell Phillips Bonnie Raitt A. Philip Randolph Ocean Robbins Eleanor Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt Aruna Roy Juan Somavia Barbra Streisand H. G. Wells Woodrow Wilson Frank Lloyd Wright Howard Zinn Front Cover Back Cover