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The Surprising Connection Between Labor Day and the Railroads
As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, it feels like the right moment to look back at the infrastructure that helped shape a young nation into something far greater than the sum of its parts. In Northeast Ohio, that story runs through the heart of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, where the historic Ohio & Erie Canal and the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad trace a shared path through time.
When one thinks of the genesis of Labor Day, one might be drawn to the strong industrial labor movements of the late 19th century but you might be surprised to learn that the railroad business was front and center in the movement which resulted in the creation of what we now call Labor Day.
History tells us that the first major Labor Day celebration was held in New York City on September 5, 1882 with a parade of workers representing a myriad of trades. By the late 1880s, numerous states had adopted Labor Day as a holiday.
Workers leave the Pullman Palace Car Works, 1893. This picture appeared in a promotional booklet celebrating the paternalistic labor policies of George Pullman. A year later Pullman's workers were at the center of a national strike of rail workers that failed after federal troops intervened. Photo via Wikimedia Commons
But the event that really put Labor Day on the map was the railroad Pullman Strike of 1894. At that time, railroad employees were among the most organized workers in the country. Railroad jobs included engineers, firemen, conductors, brakemen, switchmen, maintenance workers and other operating personnel.
The American Railway Union (ARU) was led by Eugene V. Debs and had grown dramatically to represent a variety railroad workers.
It was in 1894 that union workers became involved in a dispute with the Pullman Company after the company cut wages but maintained existing rents and prices in its company town. Things got so bad that the ARU called on railroad workers to refuse to handle trains carrying Pullman cars. Because Pullman sleeping cars were dominant throughout the country, this boycott caused major traffic disruption across all routes throughout the country.
Living conditions among the poor during depression & pullman strike, Chicago. Photo via Library of Congress
2 unemployed railway workers seated by shack during the Pullman strike of 1893, Chicago Ill. or vicinity. Photo from Library of Congress.
Things were focused on Chicago when President Grover Cleveland sent federal troops in to quell the violence. During the clashes, a number of people were killed. Eventually, the strike collapsed, Debs was imprisoned and the ARU was effectively destroyed.
President Grover Cleveland from Library of Congress.
Ironically, it was during that same year and during this terrible labor strife that President Cleveland established Labor Day as a national holiday. So while President Cleveland was sending in troops to control labor strife, he was also establishing a national holiday to honor these same kinds of workers. Strange times.
The importance of railroad labor continued to be a focus well into the 20th century. In fact, the Railway labor Act of 1926 continues to be the foundation of federal labor relations for both railroads and airlines to this day!
Learn more about the history of rail in our recent blog posts commemorating America's 250th birthday!
