By Stuart A. Bussey, M.D., J.D., UAPD President
As I enjoyed my holiday day off from seeing patients, I became curious and researched the history of Labor Day. Matthew McGuire, a machinist in Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists, proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as Secretary of the Central Labor Union (CLU) in New York. The union appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic on September 5, 1882. The CLU urged similar organizations to follow suit and celebrate a “workingman’s holiday.” By the time it became a Federal holiday in 1894 thirty states officially celebrated Labor Day.
Immediately following the deaths of several railway workers during the Pullman strike near Chicago, President Grover Cleveland and the US Congress unanimously approved legislation that made Labor Day a national holiday. The first Monday in September was selected rather than International Workers’ Day (May 1) because Cleveland was worried that observance on May Day would be associated with Communist and Anarchist movements.
The original celebrations of Labor Day were parades designed to exhibit the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations of the community. One hundred forty two years later the displays and parades have given way to addresses and essays about the importance of labor and human capital to our economy. As our current white and blue collar job bases are continually threatened by outsourcing, technology, and contracted workers, we should appreciate our own good fortune as UAPD members. We work hard all year to serve our patients and the public and are compensated well. Our union will always be there to fight to keep your jobs and strengthen the labor movement.