1882 ~ The first Labor Day celebration was held Tuesday, September 5 when 10,000 workers marched through New York City then held a picnic, concert and speeches at a park. They lost a day's pay in order to participate. They chose the date because it was halfway between July 4 and Thanksgiving.
1887 ~ Colorado passed a law declaring it a holiday. Massachusetts and New Jersey were the next states to pass similar laws.
1894 ~ President Grover Cleveland and Congress made it a legal federal holiday for everyone.
1916 ~ The Adamson Act of 1916 established the eight-hour work day. Prior to that, Americans, including children as young as 5 or 6, worked in mines, factories and mills 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
1956 - 2010 ~ Jerry Lewis hosted the Muscular Dystrophy Labor Day Telethons, running 21-and-a-half hours from Sunday evening until 6 p.m.
on Monday.
2014 ~ MDA held its last telethon. The organization had renamed the event, and scaled it back dramatically, running only two hours.
2017 ~ The average full-time American employee works 47 hours per week, nearly six days. Almost 40% of employees work 50 hours or more.