Dilenschneider
Robert Dilenschneider

Labor Day is one of our nation's most popular — and pivotal — holidays. Popular for family get-togethers, picnics, cookouts, trips to the beach (maybe the last of the year) and many more upbeat events.

Pivotal because it marks the beginning of the end of summer, the start of a new school year and for millions the closing of one aspect of their work and family lives and the beginning of a new phase. Autumn weather, Halloween, Thanksgiving and eventually Christmas lie not far ahead.

Labor Day also comes with the start of the NFL season, the U.S. Tennis Open and the last leg of a down-to-the-wire battle to get into the MLB playoffs, a grand time for sports fans.

Historically, Labor Day was always seen as the real beginning of the election season, the time when voters started paying serious attention to the candidates as they revved up their campaigns to full speed. That is no longer the case, at least not in this year's presidential race. It seems as if we've been exposed to saturation media coverage and top-of-the-lungs campaigning since, well, forever.

That is not to minimize the enormous importance of this election. The future of our nation depends on the results, not only at the presidential level but Congress and local offices too. The outcome of the race for the Oval Office will hinge on seven key states, but every registered voter in every state — and everyone who can register in time — has a crucial role to play. It is vital that we all do our duty and cast our ballots.

The nation’s first Labor Day was celebrated 142 years ago on September 5, 1882, with a parade organized by New York City’s newly formed Central Labor Union. It was a milestone event that would lead in just 10 years to a national holiday. Here are some of the steps from that first parade to the current observance:

  • In February 1887, Oregon became the first state to declare an official Labor Day holiday.
  • By 1890, seven more states — New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Nebraska and Colorado — had created their own holidays honoring working people.
  • Within the next four years the number of states observing Labor Day had grown to 31.
  • On June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed the law making the first Monday in September a national holiday.

However you celebrate the day, take a moment to think about our country’s extraordinary history and the vital role that American labor has always played — and continues to play. Give thanks to those essential men and women, the American workers. And have a wonderful Labor Day.

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Robert L. Dilenschneider is the Founder and CEO of The Dilenschneider Group, an international communications firm.