History of Labor DayThe first Labor Day occurred in 1882 in New York City under the direction of that city’s Central Labor Union. The New York Tribune’s reporter covering the event felt the entire day was like one long political barbecue, with “rather dull speeches.”Why was Labor Day invented? Common misconceptionsThe common misconception is that since Labor Day is a national holiday, everyone gets the day off. It became a national holiday in June 1894 when President Grover Cleveland signed the Labor Day bill into law. Because not everyone is given time off on Labor Day, union workers as recently as the 1930s were being urged to stage one-day strikes if their employer refused to give them the day off.

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Persons: Jay L, Zagorsky, Grover Cleveland, Obama, “, ”, Peter J, McGuire, Matthew Maguire, Peter McGuire, Don’t Organizations: Zagorsky Labor, Labor, city’s Central Labor Union, Central Labor Union, AFL, Communist, Marxist, New York, Brotherhood of Carpenters, Machinists Union Locations: U.S, New York City, York, Oregon, Colorado , Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey