Celebrating the Roots of Labor Day: A Historical Retrospective Ahead of 2025 Holiday

August 31, 2025 | WASHINGTON, D.C. As Americans prepare to observe Labor Day on Monday, September 1, 2025, historians and civic organizations marked August 31 with special reflections on the holiday’s origins and enduring significance.

In a feature published today, media outlets traced Labor Day’s beginnings to the labor movement of the late 19th century, when workers endured long hours, low wages and unsafe conditions in rapidly industrializing cities. The inaugural parade, organized by New York City’s Central Labor Union on September 5, 1882, drew thousands of marchers who demonstrated the solidarity and strength of organized labor.

President Grover Cleveland signed federal legislation on June 28, 1894, officially establishing the first Monday in September as a national holiday. That decision followed the Pullman Strike earlier that year, which underscored tensions between laborers and industrialists and prompted lawmakers to seek a gesture of reconciliation.

Today’s observances underscored both historical remembrance and contemporary celebration. In New York City, organizers of the Labor Day Carnival and the Afro-Caribbean Day Parade prepared to welcome crowds for weekend festivities. Meanwhile, Washington, D.C., geared up for its traditional free concert on the U.S. Capitol grounds, featuring the National Symphony Orchestra.

Labor Day also heralds the start of college football season, the U.S. Open tennis tournament and the NASCAR Southern 500 race at Darlington, South Carolina. Retailers noted that the long weekend remains one of the busiest shopping periods of the year.

As communities across the United States commemorate the holiday this weekend, reflections on its origins serve as a reminder of the labor movement’s victories-from the eight-hour workday to modern workplace safety standards-and the ongoing contributions of American workers to the nation’s prosperity.