Apologies to Frederick Douglass for paraphrasing the title of his famous speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” As was the case with the Fourth of July holiday, Black people didn’t share equally in the holiday’s creation.
We start with the origin of Labor Day. The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City. It was organized by the Central Labor Union, which later evolved into the AFL-CIO. Between 10,000 and 20,000 members marched through lower Manhattan in a parade celebrating the contribution of labor in building America. Labor Day celebrations spread quickly through America. At the same time, labor strikes, organized opposition, and violence against workers occurred.
On May 3, 1886, Chicago police killed and wounded several workers at the McCormick Reaper Works. Six workers were killed when police attacked unarmed strikers. German immigrant August Spies immediately published a “Workingmen, to Arms” leaflet in the Arbeiter-Zeitung, an anarchist newspaper he edited. A demonstration protesting the killings by police was organized for the following evening at Haymarket Square on Desplaines Street.
Violence erupted again; this time, a bomb was thrown, killing seven police officers and one civilian. Several others were injured during the altercation, and retribution against labor leaders occurred nationwide. Labor leaders were arrested without cause, and in August 1886, eight men, including Spies, were convicted for the deaths of the seven police officers, though none were directly tied to the bombing. Seven men were sentenced to death, and the other was given 15 years in prison. Four were hanged on November 11, 1887, and another committed suicide on the eve of this execution. The other three had their sentences commuted to life sentences and were ultimately pardoned in 1893 after public questions about their guilt.
Haymarket Riot — Square, Definition & 1886 | HISTORY
The union involved in the Haymarket Riot was the Knights of Labor (KOL), then the largest labor union in America. The union initially excluded Blacks and women, but eventually opened its doors after management used that against them in negotiations. By 1886, 10% of the union’s 750,000 members were Black people and women. The preferences of the employer could sway their support of Black members. If they didn’t want Black employees, Black union members didn’t get work. In the South, in some industries, the union was mainly Black. In 1887, 10,000 Black workers, many of whom belonged to the KOL, participated in a strike against the sugar industry in Louisiana. Workers were not paid in cash but in “scrip,” only usable at the company-owned stores; they wanted to be paid in cash, asking for $1.25 daily.
African Americans and the American Labor Movement | National Archives
Governor Samuel McEnery sent the state’s all-white militia to quash the strike; they sought out Black leaders, pulling them from their homes and shooting them. Estimates range from 60 to over 100 Black people killed for being part of the labor movement. John DeSantis, absolutely no relation to the current governor of Florida, began writing about the Thibodaux Massacre, about which little was known, in his book, “The Thibodaux Massacre: Racial Violence and the 1887 Sugar Cane Labor Strike.” People questioned why he was covering the material.
“I’ve been asked on more than one occasion, ‘Why do you want to rehash all this?’ And my response has always been because it was never hashed to begin with.” — John DeSantis
Despite the massacre of Black union members in Louisiana, the labor movement was growing. Unions weren’t always open to including minorities. The KOL allowed segregated unions in the South once they admitted Blacks at all. The KOL and the American Federation of Labor (AFL) lobbied Congress to pass the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. Unions didn’t limit themselves to passing legislation. In Seattle, KOL-led mobs rounded up Chinese immigrants. They told their members where they stood on Chinese laborers in San Francisco. Still, Labor Day celebrations spread across America, with labor leaders clamoring for national recognition.
“They bear the semblance of men but live like beasts…who eat rice and the offal of the slaughterhouse.” — San Francisco KOL
The event that directly led to Labor Day becoming a national holiday was the Pullman Strike of 1894. Workers were dissatisfied after the Panic of 1893 weakened the economy, leading to layoffs at the Pullman factory. Workers were still responsible for full rent to company-owned housing and attempted to organize into the American Railway Union (ARU). The Pullman company fought back and thwarted the initial effort to organize. When the strike against the factory failed, the ARU led a boycott against all trains using Pullman cars. Train service was significantly reduced west of Detroit. More than 250,000 workers were involved in 27 states. Other labor organizations, including the American Federation of Labor (AFL), opposed the boycott because the ARU was pulling from their membership.
Violence broke out, with over 30 people killed in Chicago alone and 40 others killed nationwide. The railroads hired strikebreakers, many African Americans, to protect those willing to break the picket lines, often setting up confrontations between Black and white groups. The Pullman Company was one of the largest private employers of Black men, the Pullman porters, but Black people weren’t allowed into the union or on the picket lines. They were, however, unemployed due to the strike. The Pullman porters organized their own union in 1925, led by A. Phillip Randolph. My grandfather was a Pullman porter.
Pullman Porters Helped Build Black Middle Class: NPR
The Pullman boycott hurt America’s economy, and the federal government intervened. The railroad workers were ordered back to work by President Grover Cleveland. The ARU, led by Eugene V. Debs, ignored the injunction against the strike.
“Strong men and broad minds only can resist the plutocracy and arrogant monopoly. Do not be frightened at troops, injunctions, or a subsidized press. Quit and remain firm. Commit no violence. American Railway Union will protect all, whether member or not when strike is off.”-Eugene Debs
Debs initially thought the federal troops were coming to maintain the peace as protests continued. The troops were there to get the trains running, which they did by any means necessary. Twelve thousand soldiers worked city by city to restore service, killing 30 workers and wounding 57. When the strike ended in 1894, President Cleveland announced the Labor Day holiday to appease organized labor. You might see the similarity in the sudden proclamation of a Juneteenth holiday following the protests after the release of the George Floyd video in 2020.
There is uncertainty about whether Peter McGuire of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, and co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, or machinist Matthew Maguire, proposed the first Labor Day holiday. There is no question that the holiday, which is now an excuse to hold picnics and barbecues and the date used to stop wearing white, has a legacy of violence and racism that should be recalled. Enjoy the festivities and a day off if you’re fortunate enough to have one. Remember those who died for an eight-hour day to be paid in cash instead of scrip, worthless outside the company store. Don’t ignore states like Arkansas that are loosening child labor laws and the attacks on unions nationwide.
While Black men and women were sometimes on the sidelines of the labor movement, they were always affected. More than any other group, they were the victims when considering those killed in the Thibodaux Massacre. Food for thought.