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abor Day — the last holiday of
the summer, time to leave work
behind and hold one last back-
yard barbecue with friends and family, or
time to head north for a last camping trip
over the long weekend, close the cottage
for winter or walk with Michigan's gover-
nor across the Mackinac Bridge, a tradi-
tion that began when the bridge opened
in 1957.
Working stiffs of America, rejoice! This
is our day!
For most people, Labor Day is
simply the last long weekend before
Thanksgiving. For our state's and nation's
unions and their members, however, it is
a century-old celebration of the contribu-
tions that working people — carpenters,
electricians, housewives, autoworkers,
teachers, nurses, truck drivers and many
others — have made toward the building
of modern America.
And among the people building this
nation and marching on Labor Day are
Jewish Detroiters, Jewish Michiganders
and Jewish Americans.
Holiday History
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Labor Day officially began in 1894, when
President Grover Cleveland signed federal
legislation declaring the first Monday in
September a national legal holiday, but the
origins of Labor Day predate this act. As
trade unions grew in America during the
mid- to late-19th century, their members
began to hold occasional parades, rallies
and picnics to demonstrate the talents and
accomplishments of American workers.
For more than 100 years, Michiganders
have participated in such celebrations. The
first recorded event in the state occurred
on July 4, 1865, when more than 4,000
union members marched on Woodward
Historic clippings from the JN
Avenue in Detroit, carrying banners, tools
and other symbols of their trades, on their
way to a huge picnic. By the turn of the
century, such demonstrations were occur-
ring in cities and towns across Michigan
and the United States.
Historians have often credited Peter J.
McGuire, founder and first president of
the United Brotherhood of Carpenters
and Joiners union in New York, as the
chief creator and promoter of a holiday
to celebrate the work and skills of the
labor movement. There is also evidence
that Matthew Maguire, secretary of a
Machinists and Blacksmith's local union,
first brought the idea of Labor Day to the
New York Central Labor Union before
Peter McGuire raised the issue.
A march of 30,000 tradespeople in
New York City on Sept. 5, 1882, is gener-
ally considered the nation's first Labor
Day parade — although this is a highly
disputed fact. The honor of the first Labor
Day parade is also claimed by Pittsburgh,
which held a labor parade on June 17,
1882, and by Rhode Island, which held its
Labor Day celebration on Aug. 23, 1882.
While these celebrations were certainly
among the largest held to that date, the
labor movement had held many celebra-
tions before that time.
After these prominent celebrations,
Labor Day parades and picnics blossomed
around the nation. In its heyday during
the 1940s and 1950s, the Detroit Labor
Day parade was a huge spectacle, attract-
ing hundreds of thousands of marchers
and spectators. Moreover, Labor Day in
Detroit attracted presidents of the United
States such as Harry Truman, Lyndon
Johnson and, most recently, Barack
Obama, as well as presidential hopefuls
such as U. S. Senators John Kennedy and
Adlai Stevenson. When Truman visited
Detroit on Labor Day in 1948, he spoke
to a crowd of more than 200,000 people.
Indeed, for many years, Detroit, America's
premier union town, was the place to be
on Labor Day.
During the 1960s and 1970s, which
were tough times for most unions in
America, most formal Labor Day celebra-
tions in Michigan began to disappear from
most towns and cities. Even the storied
Detroit Labor Day parade disappeared for
more than a decade until it was revived
in 1980. Today, thousands of people still
march in Labor Day parades in Detroit as
well as Hamtramck and New York City.
Jewish Involvement
From the beginning of Labor Day as the
holiday for workers and the labor move-
ment, Jewish union members have par-
ticipated. In New York City Jewish union
members representing a myriad of trades
marched and still march on Labor Day. In
particular, Jewish members dominated the
needle trades in that city; and the mem-
bers of the International Ladies Garment
Workers Union and its legendary presi-
dent from 1932-1966, David Dubinsky,
marched on Labor Day.
In Detroit for many years, Bernie
Firestone, president of the local
Amalgamated Clothing and Textile
Workers Union, was a prime supporter of
the parade. Myra Wolfgang, pioneering
leader of restaurant and hotel workers
from Detroit, marched in the city's massive
Labor Day parades for many years. And,
autoworkers like UAW Vice President
Irving Bluestone and Nat Weinberg
marched along with Walter Reuther on
Labor Day. And, most of all, average
Jewish working folks, from all occupations
and all trade unions marched — and still
march.
So, take a break, have a great Labor Day
you've earned it. And, since 1882, this
has been your official holiday.
—
❑