Today is Labor Day. The day celebrates the contributions men and women workers have made to the prosperity, strength, and well-being of the United States. While New York was the first to introduce legislation to create a day dedicated to labor, Oregon was the first state to actually pass a law to celebrate Labor Day on February 21, 1887.
So who is the founder of Labor Day? Well there is some debate on this matter. Some say Peter J. McGuire, a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, first suggested the holiday in 1882, but recent evidence points to Matthew Maguire, from the Central Labor Union of New York, as proposing the day, also in 1882.
The first actual Labor Day celebration took place on Tuesday, September 5, 1882 in New York City. Legislation to make Labor Day a federal holiday was passed in 1894, signed by President Grover Cleveland, and set the holiday as the first Monday in September. So there you have the history of Labor Day in a nutshell. Enjoy your day off!