A few Labor Day Trivia Facts.. Did you know…

The changes made due to Labor Day and the American labor force in the 1880s proves there is much to be appreciated. Without this day and those who created it, eight-hour work days and a minimum wage would not be possible. Weekends also came to be because of these fearless fighters, and most notably the last long weekend that rounds out the summer.

So enjoy your long weekend and remember to give a toast to those who made it possible and when you do here are some interesting facts & figures to consider..

• Labor Day, a true working man’s holiday, is celebrated in the US on the first Monday every September
• The first Labor Days was celebrated in New York City on Tuesday Sept. 5th 1882
• Labor Day became a federal holiday in September 1894, a bill signed by President Grover Cleveland
• Labor Day is also celebrated in Canada
• Labor Day is the only holidays not resulting from a person, religion or war/battle…
• Labor Day was founded when many in America worked 16 hour days in harsh work environments.
• The first Labor Day was really a rally for the adoption of eight hour work days and other more suitable working conditions
• To most, Labor Day signifies the end of summer and a time when schools reopen
• Many other countries celebrate May Day a holiday very similar to our Labor Day, dedicated to workers' rights
• The 1930s was the era that saw the most laws written to protect workers rights and we can all thank Walter Reuther for paid vacation and paid sick leave; he campaigned tirelessly for these rights in the 30s
• Traditionally no one ever wore white (except brides) after Labor Day – but this fashion trends has changed in recent years…
• In 1962, the Work Hours Act provided time and a half pay for days worked over eight hours or weeks worked over 40 hours
• For many decades, Labor Day was seen as a day for workers to voice their complaints and discuss better working conditions and pay
• The origin of the word labor is from the Anglo-French word labur and the Latin word labor. It was first used in the 14th century

And...Did you know that in 2009:

• 155.1 million people were in the nation’s labor force
• Approximately 7.2 million people identify their occupation as a teacher; 1.7 million are chief executives, 751,000 are farmers and ranchers and 773,000 are hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists
• There are 15.7 million labor union members in the United States, which is about 12 percent of wage and salary workers. Alaska, Hawaii and New York have some of the highest rates of the states. North Carolina has one of the lowest
• In New York, the average commute time is 31.5 minutes. Not surprisingly, this is the most time-consuming commute in the nation. The national average is 25.3 minutes and that more than 3.4 million workers have an at least 90-minute commute to work each day (and then repeat it to go home...
• Roughly 7.7 million people have two jobs. Of those people, 288,000 work two full-time jobs
• There are about 5.7 million people who report they work from home
• About 28 percent of workers 16 or older work more than 40 hours a week.
• At least 10% (15.5 million) workers work more than 65 hours a week