Labor Day, the first Monday in September, has become to most Americans the unofficial end of summer. Most schools start right after Labor Day. It also marks the beginning of the NFL and college football seasons.

But did you ever wonder why it’s called Labor Day, and how it started?

Labor Day in the United States is over one hundred years old. It was first celebrated on September 5, 1882, when Peter McGuire, the General Secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners Union, suggested the holiday. He was also a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor.

This first parade started in Union Square here in New York City. The parade was run by New York’s Central Labor Union, an umbrella organization made up of representatives of many different labor unions. The idea was to celebrate the accomplishments of labor unions, show their solidarity, and air their grievances. About 10,000 workers marched from there to 42nd Street. Afterwards there were picnics, concerts, and speeches.

In 1884, the Central Labor Union designated the first Monday in September as a holiday and urged unions in other states to follow suit. The day was chosen because it was halfway between Independence Day and Thanksgiving. Oregon was the first state to pass Labor Day as a legal holiday in 1887. It didn’t become a federal holiday until 1894, when President Grover Cleveland was under political pressure to pass the legislation after the deaths of some workers at the Pullman strike.

Pullman, Illinois, was founded in 1880 by the Pullman Railroad Company as a company town. The company provided housing, stores, and the like for the employees. During an economic slump in 1893, the company laid off workers, cut wages, and raised rents. The employees went on strike, demanding higher pay and lower rents. A mob formed, and rioting and looting followed. President Grover Cleveland declared the strike a federal crime and sent in troops to break it up. Upon confronting the striking workers, more violence ensued, and two workers were killed by the troops. President Cleveland got much criticism for supporting the violent methods. In order to appease the unions, Cleveland rushed through the legislation for Labor Day.

Today there are 155 million people in the work force in the United States. Due to the efforts of unions, of those, 83% are covered by health insurance, and 77% get paid vacation. It is interesting that only about 12% belong to a labor union. Samuel Gompers, the founder of the American Federation of Labor, once said: “All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man’s prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day … is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation.”