Labor Day – the Real History
What is the Labor Day holiday really about? Here are various resources that will fill you in on Labor Day’s history as well as labor unions/movements in the U.S.
History Channel’s “History of Labor Day” video clip
U.S. Department of Labor’s “Labor Day 2013” website and overview of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
June 28, 1894 Act making Labor Day an official federal holiday.
CDs and tapes of “labor songs” in the Library.
Films in the Library on labor unions/movements in the U.S.
Dray, P. (2010). There is power in a union: The epic story of labor in America. New York: Doubleday.
Books on the Homestead Strike of 1892, Pullman Strike of 1894, and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911 – incidents that were critical in sparking calls for labor reform.
Many other books on labor unions and the labor movement in U.S. history.
And, don’t forget about GSU’s Southern Labor Archives collection!