Louisiana, Here’s Why We Really Get Labor Day Off

KNGT | Louisiana — So, I'm not gonna lie. For most of my life, Labor Day meant one thing, 3 Day Weekend. Maybe fire up the pit. Maybe get out on the water. Maybe somebody has a family get-together. And around Southwest Louisiana, there's a pretty good chance something is getting cooked somewhere. But I got to thinking about it. Why DO we get Labor Day off?

Well, according to History.com, The holiday honors the work and achievements of American workers. Digging into this deeper, did you know we used to have to work 12 hour days and 7 days a week? Believe it or not that was life for a lot of American workers during the Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s.

As factories grew across America, workers started getting fed up. Labor unions became stronger, and workers began organizing strikes and rallies. They wanted better pay, shorter hours and safer places to work. Those things we pretty much expect from a job today weren't always a given. The First Labor Day Wasn't Even On A Monday

History shows that the first Labor Day celebration was on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City. States began recognizing Labor Day, and Oregon became the first state to officially pass a Labor Day law in 1887. More states followed.

So Who Actually Came Up With Labor Day?

Well...That's where things get a little muddy. Two men have been given credit over the years, and their last names don't make this any easier. Peter McGuire and Matthew Maguire. Yep. McGuire and Maguire.

Peter J. McGuire was a carpenter and labor leader who helped found the American Federation of Labor. For years, he was widely credited with suggesting a special day honoring American workers. But there's also strong evidence that Matthew Maguire, who was secretary of New York's Central Labor Union, may have actually proposed the holiday. Even the U.S. Department of Labor says the true answer isn't completely clear. So more than 140 years later, we're still not 100 percent sure which Maguire or McGuire deserves the credit. And here we are more than 130 years later.

Labor Day weekend has turned into what a lot of us think of as the unofficial end of summer. Cookouts. Football. Fishing. Camping. Boats. Family. Around Southwest Louisiana, give us three days off and we'll figure out something to cook and somewhere to go.

But this year when Monday, September 7th rolls around and you realize you don't have to set that alarm quite as early, remember why. That day off came from generations of American workers who wanted something pretty simple. A fair day's pay, safer working conditions and enough time away from the job to actually have a life.

Kinda makes that Labor Day cookout mean a little more, don't it?

15 Craziest Laws in Louisiana

If you’ve lived in Louisiana long enough, you already know this state marches to its own beat. We fry just about everything, we’ll turn any weekend into a festival, and we have laws on the books that’ll make you stop mid-sentence and say, “Wait… that’s real?”

According to Kenny Habetz Injury Law, it sure is. Their Lafayette personal injury lawyers put together a list of the 15 craziest rules still floating around Louisiana law. Some of these will make you laugh. Some might make you scratch your head. And believe it or not, breaking a few of them could land you with a fine or even jail time.

Gallery Credit: Scotty Schadler