September 3, 2019
I hope that everyone had a great Labor Day weekend, and are enjoying the kids returning to school this morning and/or whatever the post-Labor Day period means to you.
It turns out that Labor Day is almost as old as our Y here in Central Maryland (which was founded in 1853). In fact, the origins of both organizations relate to the industrialization of our country and economy in the middle and late 19th century.
Wikipedia states the following:
“According to one early history of Labor Day, the event originated in connection with a General Assembly of the Knights of Labor convened in New York City in September 1882. In connection with this clandestine Knights assembly, a public parade of various labor organizations was held on September 5 under the auspices of the Central Labor Union (CLU) of New York. Secretary of the CLU Matthew Maguire is credited for first proposing that a national Labor Day holiday subsequently be held on the first Monday of each September in the aftermath of this successful public demonstration.
An alternative thesis maintains that the idea of Labor Day was the brainchild of Peter J. McGuire, a vice president of the American Federation of Labor, who put forward the initial proposal in the spring of 1882. According to McGuire, on May 8, 1882, he made a proposition to the fledgling Central Labor Union in New York City that a day be set aside for a "general holiday for the laboring classes". According to McGuire he further recommended that the event should begin with a street parade as a public demonstration of organized labor's solidarity and strength, with the march followed by a picnic, to which participating local unions could sell tickets as a fundraiser. According to McGuire he suggested the first Monday in September as an ideal date for such a public celebration, owing to optimum weather and the date's place on the calendar, sitting midway between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving public holidays.
In 1887 Oregon became the first state of the United States to make Labor Day an official public holiday. By the time it became an official federal holiday in 1894, thirty U.S. states officially celebrated Labor Day. The federal law, however, only made it a holiday for federal workers. All U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the United States territories have subsequently made Labor Day a statutory holiday.”
As someone whose ancestors came to this country from Ireland, and settled in New York City as manual laborers struggling to make their way in their new country, the tale of Labor Day’s origins is compelling and familiar. And as someone who now has the privilege of leading this Y organization into the churning waters of the 21st century, it is ingrained deep within me that no organization, society or community can succeed without the hard work and commitment of (in our case) the thousands of people who do challenging and important work every day. The heart and soul of our Y is the group of 3,000 or so associates who make our mission, strategies and objectives come to life for the hundreds of thousands of community members in central Maryland we serve. Labor Day isn’t just a day off for us, it’s a statement about who we are and what makes us the force for good that we’ve become.
So, on behalf of our community, I say thank you! I’m proud to be your colleague and I honor your labor.
All the best,
John
John K. Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland