Labor Day: What the U.S. holiday celebrates and how it began

Labor Day returns to the United States on Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, carrying a tradition that began with a workers’ gathering in New York more than a century ago. The federal holiday recognizes the social and economic contributions of American workers and is observed on the first Monday of September.

The story began on Sept. 5, 1882, when New York’s Central Labor Union organized a workers’ parade followed by a celebration. The initiative reflected a proposal to create a day dedicated to workers. It did not become a national holiday immediately. Individual states began adopting it, with Oregon taking the first step in 1887, followed later that year by Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.

On June 28, 1894, Congress approved legislation establishing the first Monday of September as a holiday. President Grover Cleveland signed it, adding Labor Day to the national calendar and linking the federal observance to the New York celebration that had begun 12 years earlier.

The holiday’s original authorship remains unsettled. The Department of Labor identifies two possible figures: Peter J. McGuire, a labor leader and co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, and Matthew Maguire, a machinist who served as secretary of New York’s Central Labor Union in 1882. Later research cited by the department suggests that Matthew Maguire may have proposed the celebration.

Over time, Labor Day expanded beyond its original gathering to include parades, meetings and family celebrations. Its official meaning remains tied to recognizing workers’ contribution to the economic and social development of the United States.