Boy Scout Troop 325
Scoutmaster Minute
Labor Day
September 5, 2006
Larry Polyak, Scoutmaster

Yesterday was Labor Day, a holiday that has become known as the last holiday of the summer, before school starts and when summer is offically over. I never thought too much about the reason behind the holiday but was just happy to have another day off.

I have been doing some work for a company in Toronto and I fully expected them to call or email me yesterday and I was surprised when they didn't. Then I discovered that Labor Day is a holiday in Canada also. In fact, Labor Day has its roots in Canada. Back in the 1880's a U.S. man named Peter McGuire who was secretary of his carpenter's union, visited Toronto and saw a parade they were having there in honor of the workforce. He thought that it was a good idea and when he came back to New York, he organized a similar parade for the workers here. The idea caught on, and in a few years, several states adopted their own version of a Labor Day holiday.

Around that time, there was a company named Pullman that made sleeping cars for the railroads. Robert Pullman ran a tight ship. All of his workers lived in a town called Pullman and rented their homes from the company who fixed the rental prices. The managers lived in slightly bigger houses, and Mr. Pullman lived in a large hotel where he could entertain guests and business associates. It was an idyllic commuity until there was an economic downturn and many workers lost their jobs. But their rent stayed the same. In response, the workers held a strike. In sympathy, the railroads shut down also, which put a temporary halt to the mail delivery. President Grover Cleveland was outraged and he sent in the military saying that he would do everything in his power to keep the mail delivery system going. Much of the labor force felt abandoned by the President's harse treatment of the situation and his apparent lack of sympathy for their plight. Partly to make ammends, President Cleveland signed a bill later that year making Labor Day a National Holiday. It didn't work, he didn't get re-elected.

But Labor Day reamins a holiday to this day. It is unique because unlike a lot of holidays, it does not honor a particular person or war. And it is celebrated in many countries worldwide. In the U.S. there are strong opinions for and against labor and labor unions. But almost everyone would agree that the American workers' efforts and determination have been a huge factor in making this country the powerhouse that it is today.

Thanks for listening.