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    • When is Labor Day 2024? What You Need to Know About the Holiday’s History
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    When is Labor Day 2024? What You Need to Know About the Holiday’s History

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    The calendar is about to turn from August to September, which will soon mean the return of colorful leaves on trees, football season, and bonfires. It also means Labor Day is approaching, marking the unofficial end of summer.

    During the three-day Labor Day weekend, many Americans travel, shop online and in brick-and-mortar stores for bargains, and perhaps make one last trip to the beach or local pool.

    But the federal holiday is much more than just the last hurrah of summer. Celebrated on the first Monday in September each year, Labor Day is, at its core, a celebration of the hard-won achievements of the American labor movement and a recognition of what workers have contributed to the nation’s prosperity.

    Here’s what you need to know about the Labor Day holiday, when it falls in 2024, and how it came to be.

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    When is Labor Day in 2024?

    In 2024, Labor Day falls on Monday, September 2.

    Why do we celebrate Labor Day?

    The holiday has its roots in the labor movement of the 19th century and emerged during a bleak time for American workers, who faced long hours, low wages and unsafe conditions.

    As unions and activists pushed for better treatment of workers at the height of the Industrial Revolution, the idea arose to establish a day to honor union members, according to History.com.

    Even today, many Americans still celebrate Labor Day with parades and parties — festivities that were outlined in the first proposed holiday, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Since those early celebrations, Labor Day has also been marked with speeches from elected officials and community leaders who emphasize the holiday’s economic and social significance.

    How did Labor Day come about?

    According to the Department of Labor, two employees can rightfully claim the title of official founder of Labor Day.

    Some documents indicate that it was Peter J. McGuire, the co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, who first suggested the idea for the holiday in 1882. However, recent research supports the claim that machinist Matthew Maguire proposed the holiday in 1882 while he was secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York.

    Regardless of who gets the credit, Labor Day was quickly recognized by labor activists and individual states, long before it became a federal holiday.

    Organized by the Central Labor Union, the first Labor Day holiday was celebrated in New York City in 1882, according to the Department of Labor. On that day, 10,000 workers took unpaid leave to march from City Hall to Union Square, according to History.com.

    New York was also the first state to introduce a bill recognizing Labor Day, but Oregon was the first to pass such a law in 1887, according to the Department of Labor. By 1894, 32 states had adopted the holiday.

    When was Labor Day first recognized by the government?

    Labor Day became a national holiday in 1894 when President Grover Cleveland signed a law passed by Congress designating the first Monday in September as a holiday for workers.

    However, federal recognition was a difficult process, as it came after a wave of unrest among workers and union activists, which brought the issue of workers’ rights into the public eye.

    In May of that year, workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago went on strike to protest wage cuts and the firing of union officials, according to History.com. A month later, the government sent troops to Chicago to break up a boycott of Pullman rail cars initiated by labor activist Eugene V. Debs, which led to a wave of deadly riots.

    Congress quickly passed a law making Labor Day a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories. Cleveland signed the law into law on June 28.

    Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected].

    Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].

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