Labor Day is not just a day that students get out of school. Even though it gives students, administrators, and some employees a long weekend off, there is a history behind the holiday that is just more than a another day off of work or school.

While some may not see it as a substantial holiday, others have a different outlook upon the subject matter.

“Since we don’t celebrate Labor Day it’s basically just a day off of school for me,” stated Freshman Tylor Murphy.

The time frame in which Labor Day was established occurred during height of the Industrial Revolution. Americans worked 12-hour shifts, seven days a week. Americans were not a fan of this work schedule, but this is what they would have to do to put food on the table. Americans were not being paid enough for how much they were working and the effort that they had been putting into it.

The Haymarket Riot was an notorious event where many Chicago policemen and workers were killed. This specific event occurred because Americans were protesting poor conditions to convince the employers to re-evaluate hours and pay.

According to history.com, “Others gave rise to longstanding traditions: On September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square in New York City, holding the first Labor Day parade in U.S. history.”

The first unofficial Labor Day was on September 5, 1882. However, the government would not legalize the holiday until 12 years later. When on May 11, 1894 employees at the Pullman Palace Car Company of Chicago, Illinois went on strike. In turn, protesting wage cuts and the firing of union representatives. These protests were violent and a lot of people died in turn for what the people wanted.

“Labor Day means to me as the day that people that work hard everyday get the day off,” stated Freshman Addason Wellington.

Labor Day is still continuously celebrated across the United States. For many people Labor Day interpreted as the end of summer and the beginning of back-to-school season.