Why Work Matters: Catholics and Labor Day, by Russell M. Lawson

In 1894 President Grover Cleveland made Labor Day an official holiday so that all Americans could celebrate work and workers. However, Americans had begun celebrating Labor Day starting in the 1880s, during the height of the Industrial Revolution, when immigrants flocked to America to fill the growing number of low-paying jobs in city factories. Many of the immigrants arriving after the Civil War were Roman Catholics from all parts of Europe. The founders of Labor Day themselves were Irish Catholics seeking better working conditions for the millions of American workers—whole families, including children, who worked long hours in dismal, unsafe factories for extremely low wages. Although their jobs were often the worst of the worst, they knew that work was nevertheless a blessing from God and therefore should be honored. …

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