Tom Buffenbarger, an independent labor voice, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to talk about the history of Labor Day and how a pen mishap created a mystery around the founder of the holiday.
Labor Day has had an interesting history around its founding. Labor Day was proposed as a way the United States could recognize the contributions of workers in this country. Labor Day allows workers to reflect on why we do our jobs, where our current workers' rights came from and the price many people paid to secure those rights for us today. However, the true founder is a bit of a mystery, as Buffenbarger explained.
Matthew McGuire, a member of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), began to circulate the idea of a parade to celebrate all the work done to support this country and finally decided to have a Labor Day Parade in 1882. Peter Maguire, a member of the Carpenters Union, was equally active in trying to promote a parade for labor. It was McGuire, the IAM member, who first implemented the parade and executed the event, and the parade became a huge success.
In 1894, President Grover Cleveland sought to make peace following a few horrible labor incidents. Both Matt McGuire and Peter Maguire were invited to the signing of Labor Day. The delegation was led by IAM’s McGuire, however, in a moment of confusion, President Cleveland gave the pen used for signing to the Carpenter, Maguire. Buffenbarger described the events that followed and how one pen mishap would consistently cause confusion until the Secretary of Labor made a final decision in 1968.
For more on the history of Labor Day, please listen to the episode above.