1 00:00:06,108 --> 00:00:08,162 How's this for a strange idea: 2 00:00:08,162 --> 00:00:12,416 a day off from work in honor of work itself? 3 00:00:12,416 --> 00:00:14,377 Actually, that is what Labor Day, 4 00:00:14,377 --> 00:00:17,380 celebrated in the United States and Canada 5 00:00:17,380 --> 00:00:19,716 on the first Monday of every September, 6 00:00:19,716 --> 00:00:21,884 is all about. 7 00:00:21,884 --> 00:00:23,667 The first American Labor Day 8 00:00:23,667 --> 00:00:25,526 was celebrated in New York City 9 00:00:25,526 --> 00:00:28,441 on September 5th, 1882, 10 00:00:28,441 --> 00:00:30,692 as thousands of workers and their families 11 00:00:30,692 --> 00:00:34,607 came to Union Square for a day in the park. 12 00:00:34,607 --> 00:00:36,692 It was not a national holiday 13 00:00:36,692 --> 00:00:38,608 but had been organized by a union 14 00:00:38,608 --> 00:00:41,025 to honor workers and their hard efforts 15 00:00:41,025 --> 00:00:42,940 with a rare day of rest, 16 00:00:42,940 --> 00:00:47,024 halfway between July 4th and Thanksgiving. 17 00:00:47,024 --> 00:00:49,608 There were picnics and a parade, 18 00:00:49,608 --> 00:00:51,943 but there were also protests. 19 00:00:51,943 --> 00:00:53,442 The workers had gathered, 20 00:00:53,442 --> 00:00:55,776 not just to rest and celebrate, 21 00:00:55,776 --> 00:00:57,712 but to demand fair wages, 22 00:00:57,712 --> 00:01:00,133 the end of child labor, 23 00:01:00,133 --> 00:01:04,219 and the right to organize into unions. 24 00:01:04,219 --> 00:01:05,682 During the period known as 25 00:01:05,682 --> 00:01:07,597 The Industrial Revolution, 26 00:01:07,597 --> 00:01:11,059 many jobs were difficult, dirty and dangerous. 27 00:01:11,059 --> 00:01:13,061 People worked for twelve hours, 28 00:01:13,061 --> 00:01:14,397 six days a week, 29 00:01:14,397 --> 00:01:16,063 without fringe benefits, 30 00:01:16,063 --> 00:01:20,067 such as vacations, health care and pensions, 31 00:01:20,067 --> 00:01:22,572 and if you were young, chances are 32 00:01:22,572 --> 00:01:24,990 you were doing manual labor 33 00:01:24,990 --> 00:01:27,991 instead of your ABCs and fractions. 34 00:01:27,991 --> 00:01:30,170 Children as young as ten 35 00:01:30,170 --> 00:01:32,513 worked in some of the most hazardous places, 36 00:01:32,513 --> 00:01:36,209 like coal mines or factories filled with boiling vats 37 00:01:36,209 --> 00:01:38,941 or dangerous machines. 38 00:01:38,941 --> 00:01:41,797 Trying to win better pay, shorter hours 39 00:01:41,797 --> 00:01:43,420 and safer conditions 40 00:01:43,420 --> 00:01:45,670 workers had begun to form labor unions 41 00:01:45,670 --> 00:01:47,920 in America and Canada, 42 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:49,903 but the companies they worked for 43 00:01:49,903 --> 00:01:52,735 often fought hard to keep unions out 44 00:01:52,735 --> 00:01:54,934 and to supress strikes. 45 00:01:54,934 --> 00:01:57,440 At times, this led to violent battles 46 00:01:57,440 --> 00:01:59,641 between workers and business owners 47 00:01:59,641 --> 00:02:02,943 with the owners often backed up by the police, 48 00:02:02,943 --> 00:02:05,311 or even the military. 49 00:02:05,311 --> 00:02:06,811 In the following years, 50 00:02:06,811 --> 00:02:09,726 the idea of Labor Day caught on in America 51 00:02:09,726 --> 00:02:13,245 with official celebrations reaching 30 states. 52 00:02:13,245 --> 00:02:14,968 But then came the violent 53 00:02:14,968 --> 00:02:18,383 Haymarket Square Riot of 1886, 54 00:02:18,383 --> 00:02:20,670 which led to the deaths of several policemen 55 00:02:20,670 --> 00:02:22,509 and workers in Chicago 56 00:02:22,509 --> 00:02:26,096 and the execution of four union leaders. 57 00:02:26,096 --> 00:02:29,096 After that, many labor and political groups 58 00:02:29,096 --> 00:02:30,593 around the world 59 00:02:30,593 --> 00:02:34,449 had begun to mark Haymarket Square on May 1st, 60 00:02:34,449 --> 00:02:35,902 which became known as 61 00:02:35,902 --> 00:02:38,458 International Workers' Day. 62 00:02:38,458 --> 00:02:41,816 In 1894, President Grover Cleveland 63 00:02:41,816 --> 00:02:44,364 signed the law making Labor Day a 64 00:02:44,364 --> 00:02:46,589 federal holiday in America, 65 00:02:46,589 --> 00:02:48,524 only days after he had sent 66 00:02:48,524 --> 00:02:50,692 12,000 soldiers to end 67 00:02:50,692 --> 00:02:52,664 a violent railroad strike 68 00:02:52,664 --> 00:02:55,871 that resulted in the death of several people. 69 00:02:55,871 --> 00:02:58,431 The original September date was kept, 70 00:02:58,431 --> 00:03:02,965 partly to avoid the more radical associations of May 1st. 71 00:03:02,965 --> 00:03:08,066 Canada also created its Labor Day in 1894. 72 00:03:08,066 --> 00:03:10,360 But, in spite of this new holiday, 73 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:12,682 it would be a long time before the changes 74 00:03:12,682 --> 00:03:14,318 that workers wanted 75 00:03:14,318 --> 00:03:16,017 became a reality. 76 00:03:16,017 --> 00:03:19,423 In 1938, during the Great Depression 77 00:03:19,423 --> 00:03:21,589 that left millions without jobs, 78 00:03:21,589 --> 00:03:23,565 President Franklin D. Roosevelt 79 00:03:23,565 --> 00:03:26,696 signed a law calling for an eight-hour work day, 80 00:03:26,696 --> 00:03:28,754 a five-day work week, 81 00:03:28,754 --> 00:03:30,698 and an end to child labor, 82 00:03:30,698 --> 00:03:35,001 some of the first federal protections for American workers. 83 00:03:35,037 --> 00:03:38,614 As America and Canada celebrate Labor Day, 84 00:03:38,614 --> 00:03:41,153 most of the two countries' children enjoy 85 00:03:41,153 --> 00:03:43,153 a day off from school. 86 00:03:43,153 --> 00:03:45,069 But it is important to remember 87 00:03:45,069 --> 00:03:46,569 that there was a time that 88 00:03:46,569 --> 00:03:51,624 everyday was a labor day for children in America and Canada, 89 00:03:51,624 --> 00:03:53,153 and unfortunately, 90 00:03:53,153 --> 00:03:55,153 the same fact remains true 91 00:03:55,153 --> 00:03:58,422 for millions of children around the world today.