Contrary to what I found on the federal DOL page, it’s not about giving working Americans a day off. 

I’m usually a bit on the side of businesses. Still, over time, I’ve seen enough abuses by management and leadership gaslighting to know that it’s necessary for labor to be protected and have a strong voice in how organizations compensate workers and provide working conditions that ensure workers can do their best work. I learned a lot from the quality movement of the 80s, which launched the efforts that continue today, recognizing that the expertise to run and improve a business is found on the shop floor with the workers who do the work.

Many workers today, particularly in federal jobs (CDC!), have again been subjected to the perplexing whiplash of email firings, rehiring, funding pauses, court challenges to cuts, vetos of funding, and Executive Orders! It’s challenging to be employed, particularly in the public sector. I can’t imagine how much worse the last eight months might have been without worker protections.

Here is a site that I thought brought more balance to the struggle of labor to be treated humanely, fairly, and without being subjected to the heavy hand of the federal government trying to enforce its priorities and back industry abuses.

“Who Created Labor Day?

In the wake of this massive unrest and in an attempt to repair ties with American workers, Congress passed an act making Labor Day a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

On June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed it into law. More than a century later, the true founder of Labor Day has yet to be identified. Many credit Peter J. McGuire, cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, while others have suggested that Matthew Maguire, a secretary of the Central Labor Union, first proposed the holiday.”

Enjoy the day,

Ky