Stop the presses for Labor Day

Stop the presses for Labor Day

The North American holiday actually has its roots in a newspaper strike in Toronto, a fight over toxic working conditions.

American histories of Labor Day often give credit to a certain Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners in New York City. In 1882 he proposed a holiday celebrating the working people, “who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold.” The first parade was a big success; in an article titled In 1882, Labor Day originated with a parade held in NYC Emily Nonko writes in 6sqft, “Along the route, which passed Canal Street on its way to Union Square, hundreds of seamstresses hung out the windows cheering the procession, blowing kisses and waving their handkerchiefs. It’s said as many as 20,000 men marched that day.”

But did Labor Day really originate with a parade in NYC? Where did McGuire get the idea?

A decade earlier in 1872, labour unions were illegal in Canada, but the printing trades were fed up; they were working 12 hours a day, six days a week, exposed to poisons like lead, antimony and solvents. There were deadly accidents from steam-driven presses. Demanding better working conditions, printers formed the Toronto Printers Union, went on strike, and marched on the Provincial Parliament. Joined by other workers, 10,000 participants- fully a tenth of the city’s population- showed up.

Newspaper publishers, led by George Brown of the Globe (which became the Globe and Mail) fought back. According to Canadian History in an article titled The First Labour Day, “Brown brought in workers from nearby towns to replace the printers. He even took legal action to quell the strike and had the strike leaders charged and arrested for criminal conspiracy.”

On this day in 1872, the Trade Unions Act was passed in parliament, officially legalizing unions. The Act directly resulted from a Toronto Typographical Union strike and the Nine-Hour Movement for a shorter work day. #canlab #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/yvoz09olRy

— Labour History Girl (@labour_girl) June 14, 2018

Prime Minister John A. Macdonald, who was always fighting with Brown, sided with the union, passed the Trade Union Act which decriminalized unions, and got the strike leaders released from jail. From that year on, (originally in June to celebrate the Act) labour celebrated the event; "The parade that was held in support of the strikers carried over into an annual celebration of worker’s rights and was adopted in cities throughout Canada."

Labour Day on Queen Street, Toronto/ Toronto Public Library/Public Domain

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