A Labor Day Message

Life of Peter McGuire, 'Father' Of Labor Day

Labor Day is different from the other holidays of the year. Most holidays are to some degree connected with conflicts and battles of man's prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation or another.

Labor Day is a time to honor the strength, commitment, and dedication of the millions of hardworking men and women who fuel America’s labor force. Our union’s founder, Peter J. McGuire, established this day in 1882 to shine a light on the critical role American workers play in creating and sustaining the wealth and prosperity of their country.

Peter J. McGuire, a young carpenter, stood before the New York Central Labor Union on May 12, 1882, to suggest an idea of setting aside one day a year to honor labor. His idea was simple. The day should "be celebrated by a street parade which would publicly show the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations."

The trade unionists, enthusiastic about the idea, quickly established a committee to plan the event. The committee chose the first Monday in September because, "it would come at the most pleasant season of the year, nearly midway between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving and would fill a wide gap in the chronology of legal holidays."

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N.Y. unions and employers did some serious bargaining this year

On Labor Day, they can look back on some successful negotiations 

Con Edison workers protest during lockout in July, That was followed by a new contract.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

A fact worth proudly noting on this Labor Day: Collective bargaining is alive and well in New York.

Since America last celebrated the country’s end-of-summer holiday honoring working people, some of the city’s major private-sector unions and their employers came to terms after hard-fought bargaining.

The achievement is notable both because unionism in the general economy, as opposed to the public sector, is often thought of as a spent force and because this era of high unemployment, globalization and downward pressure demands enlightened approaches be taken on both sides of the table.

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Life of Peter McGuire, 'Father' Of Labor Day

Labor Day is different from the other holidays of the year. Most holidays are to some degree connected with conflicts and battles of man's prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation or another. Labor Day is devoted to no man, living or dead; no sect, race or nation. - Samuel Gompers

Peter J. McGuire, a young carpenter, stood before the New York Central Labor Union on May 12, 1882, to suggest an idea of setting aside one day a year to honor labor. His idea was simple. The day should "be celebrated by a street parade which would publicly show the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations."

The trade unionists, enthusiastic about the idea, quickly established a committee to plan the event. The committee chose the first Monday in September because, "it would come at the most pleasant season of the year, nearly midway between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving and would fill a wide gap in the chronology of legal holidays."

McGuire was born into a poor family on July 6, 1852 in a lower east side tenement in New York City. His working career began at the age of 13. He held many different jobs and was quoted as saying,"I have been everything but a sword swallower... and sometimes I was so hungry, a sword--with mustard, of course--would have tasted fine."

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