Song: ”Labor Day Song 2026 | Hands That Built America“

Good morning, and happy Labor Day.

Today, millions of Americans have the day off from work.

There will be cookouts, family gatherings, sales, sporting events, and perhaps one last trip before summer gives way to fall.

But Labor Day was not created simply to give Americans a three-day weekend.

It was established to recognize something much more important: the dignity, contribution, and sacrifice of working people.

So, for the next few minutes, I want to take us back and look at how Labor Day came to be—and why its history still matters.

In the late 1800s, the United States was undergoing tre  mendous industrial growth.

Railroads stretched across the country.

Factories multiplied. Steel, coal, manufacturing, and other industries were transforming America into an economic powerhouse.

But that progress came at a tremendous human cost.

For many workers, a normal workday could last 10 or 12 hours—and sometimes even longer—six or seven days a week.

Workplace safety protections were limited.

Child labor was widespread.

Injured workers often had little protection, and many families lived only one accident, illness, or lost paycheck away from poverty.

Out of these conditions grew the American labor movement.

Workers began organizing to demand shorter working hours, safer workplaces, better wages, and greater dignity on the job.

The eight-hour workday became one of the movement’s most important goals.

And eventually, the idea emerged that the nation ought to set aside a day specifically honoring American workers.

One important milestone occurred in New York City on September 5, 1882, when thousands of workers participated in what is generally recognized as the first Labor Day parade in the United States.

Organized labor promoted the occasion as both a public demonstration and a celebration of working people.

From there, the idea spread.

Individual states began recognizing Labor Day. Oregon became the first state to make it an official holiday in 1887, and other states soon followed.

But the story of Labor Day also has a painful side.

In 1894, the country was shaken by the Pullman Strike, a major railroad labor conflict.

Workers at the Pullman Company near Chicago had seen their wages reduced during an economic depression while many of their living expenses remained burdensome.

The dispute expanded when the American Railway Union, led by Eugene V. Debs, became involved.

Rail traffic was disrupted across much of the nation.

The federal government intervened, federal troops were deployed, violence followed, and people were killed.

Against this turbulent background, Congress passed legislation making Labor Day a federal holiday, and President Grover Cleveland signed it into law on June 28, 1894.

Since then, Labor Day has been observed on the first Monday in September.

But there is another interesting part of this history.

You may occasionally hear disagreement about exactly who should receive credit for originating Labor Day.

For many years, Peter J. McGuire, a prominent labor leader and cofounder of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, was widely credited with proposing the holiday.

Historical evidence has also led many scholars to credit Matthew Maguire, a machinist and labor organizer, with proposing the idea.

We may debate which man deserves the greatest credit.

But perhaps the larger point is that Labor Day grew out of a movement much bigger than any one individual.

It came from ordinary working people saying that human beings should not simply be regarded as instruments of production.

And that is worth remembering.

When we look around America today—at the roads we drive on, the homes we live in, the hospitals that care for us, the schools that educate our children, the goods delivered to our doors, the farms that produce our food, and the countless services that make modern life possible—we are looking at the results of human labor.

Behind virtually everything we use is somebody’s work.

Somebody designed it.

Somebody built it.

Somebody transported it.

Somebody maintained it.

Somebody cleaned it.

Somebody repaired it.

And very often, the people whose labor makes our lives possible remain invisible to us.

For those of us who approach life from a Christian perspective, there is also a spiritual principle here. Work itself has dignity.

The Bible does not present honest labor as something beneath us.

Rather, Scripture repeatedly associates diligent work with responsibility, service, and stewardship.

Colossians 3:23 tells us: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”

That changes the way we think about work.

Our occupation may be important, but our worth is not determined by our job title. The person working behind a counter has human dignity.

The person cleaning a building has human dignity.

The teacher has dignity.

The mechanic has dignity.

The nurse has dignity.

The construction worker has dignity.

The soldier has dignity.

The executive has dignity.

And the person who is retired after decades of work has dignity as well.

Labor Day therefore gives us an opportunity not merely to celebrate employment, but to recognize people.

It reminds us that economic progress should never cause us to lose sight of human dignity.

Many workplace protections Americans now take for granted did not simply appear.

They developed over generations through legislation, negotiation, organizing, public debate and, in some cases, through tremendous sacrifice.

So as we enjoy this Labor Day, perhaps we can do something very simple.

Look at the people whose work makes your life easier and say, “Thank you.”

Thank the person serving your meal.

Thank the sanitation worker.

Thank the postal worker and delivery driver.

Thank the nurse working while others have the day off.

Thank the police officer, firefighter, emergency worker, and military member standing watch.

And perhaps take a moment to remember the generations of Americans whose labor helped build this country. Labor Day is more than the unofficial end of summer.

It is a reminder that America was not built only by famous people whose names appear in history books. It was also built by millions of ordinary men and women who went to work every day, provided for their families, served their communities, and helped move this nation forward.

Their names may never appear on monuments. But their work is all around us. And that is something worth remembering—and honoring—this Labor Day.