Labor Day is a holiday created to honor the contributions of workers. For some people, it is a time to remember the accomplishments of workers’ unions, specifically.
(Art by Ricardo Levins Morales.)
The National Education Association has compiled a series of resources for learning about Labor Day.
Personally, I am always drawn to the history of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory for three reasons: (1) I am interested in fashion history, (2) I am interested in women’s rights, and (3) I was born on March 25, the same day as the tragedy. If the Triangle Factory story is interesting to you, too, Margaret Peterson Haddix wrote an interesting historical fiction novel about that event called Uprising. Libraries are closed today for the holiday, but you can check the book out tomorrow!
More popularly, of course, it marks the cultural end of summer (fashion experts used to instruct us to only wear the color white during the summer, between Memorial Day and Labor Day). Most schools begin the new school year this week. Stores have lots of sales. And I visit the beach for that one time a year when I am willing to get a sunburn.
