Inspector Pumphead is putting away his tools in honor of Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day from Inspector Pumphead and Pump Products! We all sincerely hope you’re enjoying your day off, because you’ve earned it.

Labor Day is typically thought as the unofficial “end of summer” and the start of autumn and the new school year (technically the first day of fall is Sept. 22).

The three day weekend offers one last chance for a summer getaway, family barbecue or just a chance to not worry about work. Many school districts across the country start the school year on the Tuesday after Labor Day specifically to boost internal tourism to places such as amusement parks.

Labor Day weekend often signals the start of football season as well. This year, college football kicked off with the massive Florida State vs. Alabama game on Saturday, while the NFL traditionally kicks off the Thursday after Labor Day.

Apparently, it is also an important day in the fashion world as well, as it is considered gauche or déclassé to wear white after Labor Day. I wouldn’t know – I always have on my white lab coat, even when I’m plumbing!

But aside from the association with beach trips, barbecues and sports, Labor Day actually has a fascinating and important history. People often think the weekend is about actually doing labor, as the name suggests. It is actually meant to be a celebration of trade unions and the labor movement, and by extension, all the workers of the world.

If you are a longtime follower of our holiday blogs, you know that the history of American holidays often follow a similar path with many disparate groups holding commemorations according to their own calendar. Inevitably, external forces push toward a more unified holiday date.

The history of Labor Day is no different. In the 1880s and 1890s, many in the labor movement began advocating for such a day on the U.S. calendar and May 1 was a popular choice. But then-President Grover Cleveland feared that a celebration in early May would be too strongly associated with the Haymarket Affair which took place on May 3-4, 1886.

The Haymarket Affair started when workers in Illinois gathered in Haymarket Square in Chicago to strike for an eight-hour workday. Several strikers were killed by police and the next day a bomb was thrown into a crowd, killing both protesters and police. Several anarchists were eventually tried and convicted of the crime.

So naturally, Cleveland wanted to distance the new labor day from Haymarket. But he still needed the support of the unions, so he supported the creation of a September Labor Day in 1887. Oregon was the first state to make Labor Day a public holiday but it did not become a federal holiday until 1894 after the Pullman Strike. That strike was started by the American Railway Union against the Pullman Company, the railways and the federal government to protest reduced wages and unfair working conditions.

The strike eventually turned violent and resulted in the deaths of 30 workers (with many more wounded) at the hands of the U.S. Marshals and the Army. Eugene Debs, the main organizer of the strike, was sentenced to prison. In an effort to bring about a sense of reconciliation with the trade unions, President Cleveland and Congress designated Labor Day as an official federal holiday soon after the strike.

This fascinating history is rarely brought up when Labor Day rolls around. But now you know! So while you’re enjoying your day off, don’t forget to raise a glass to the workers who fought and died for your labor rights such as lunch breaks, weekends, the eight hour workday and this unique federal holiday in September.

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