Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September, that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers. It was first nationally recognized in 1894 to placate unionists following the Pullman Strike. With the decline in union membership, the holiday is generally viewed as a time for barbeques and the end of summer vacation…

Following the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals during the Pullman Strike, the United States Congress unanimously voted to approve rush legislation that made Labor Day a national holiday; President Grover Cleveland signed it into law a mere six days after the end of the strike.

SOURCE:  Labor Day – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Happy Labor Day everyone. Here’s to all the current workers out there that contribute to our shared prosperity. As you can see from the above Labor Day was started to recognize labor unions for their contributions to our society.  But as the quote also says it has generally lost its original meaning and is now just used as a signal of the end of summer.

Labor unions were one of the primary factors in creating a thriving middle class society in the U.S. They basically came into predominance due to the gross worker mistreatment during the Robber Baron years almost a century ago.  But, like everything else it seems when the unions become too powerful they lost much of their focus. Many came to be corrupt.

Losing the meaning of a holiday is one of the unfortunate things in our society. Easter and Christmas used to be about celebrating our Christian faith. Now it is more about the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and gifts than about anything else.