For most of us, Labor Day means gathering at the family cook out, hitting the beach, and spending time with friends enjoying the end of summer. But did you know, this federal holiday isn’t just a long weekend meant for kicking back and relaxing?
Observed on the first Monday in September, Labor Day was established in 1894 to celebrate and honor the unions who fought for the rights of the American worker. Beginning in the Industrial Revolution workers from industries as far reaching as textiles, railroads, and automotives struggled to secure safer working conditions, fair pay, benefits, and the right to unionize. While their hard work led to many victories, the fight for workers’ rights continued into the Great Depression and beyond, leading to what we all now know as the 40 hour work week. And the fight for the rights of the working class didn’t stop there. From the farm labor movement in the 1960s to as recently as 2022, when nurses in Minnesota organized the largest strike of private sector nurses in U.S. history, it’s all still relevant today!
Labor Day is an opportunity to reflect on the history and hard fought victories of workers’ rights, the importance of fair labor practices, and the ways unions play a role in everyday life. Explore the videos and activities below to learn more about the actions that inspired this national holiday and for community projects to help raise awareness about labor rights now.
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Learn About Labor Day
Learn about the hard fought history behind labor laws and unions in America, and how the effort for worker’s rights continues today.
How Migrant Workers Organized for Equality | Compact History
Grades 3-8
Experience a firsthand account of how Latiné farm workers in Western New York organized in the 1960s to overcome discrimination. In the late 19th century, the United States was growing in power due to industrial advances and began an age of imperialism. Cory explains how progressive movements led by labor unions evolved to protect workers, but migrant workers were mostly excluded from advances in American society. After watching, use the teaching tips, vocabulary, and other classroom activities to explore this topic further.
National Labor Relations Act (1935) and Resource Materials
Grades 6-12
Also known as the Wagner Act, this bill was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt on July 5, 1935. It established the National Labor Relations Board and addressed relations between unions and employers in the private sector. This resource group includes 2 primary source images and a background essay.
Why 15,000 Nurses Went on Strike in Minnesota | PBS NewsHour
Grades 6-12
In 2022, nurses in Minnesota organized the largest strike of private sector nurses in U.S. history with 15,000 nurses walking off the job for three days. The walkout ended without a new contract, but the nurses continue to push for better working conditions. While the pandemic pushed many nurses to the brink, some say the burnout was years in the making. Issues like compensation, paid family leave and workplace violence and protections were cited as key reasons the nurses went on strike at 13 different hospitals.
Labor Union Activism Is on the Rise, Recalling the Great Depression | Retro Report
Grades 6-12
This Retro Report video explores how with the economic pain of the pandemic, new groups of American workers are pushing to form labor unions at restaurants, stores, and warehouses. It’s the biggest surge of activism since the 1930s. The accompanying lesson plan asks students to examine the push for workers’ rights beginning with the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom, continuing to the Great Depression in the United States and on to contemporary efforts.
A Strike That Changed America | UNUM Short
Grades 6-12
Reacting to a scene in The Roosevelts, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio considers the legacy of the United Mine Workers Strike of 1902 and the role our modern government should play in labor disputes. Drawing from this UNUM short from April 2020, students will investigate how unions have impacted workplaces and protected the rights of their workers.
The Uprising of 20,000: The NY Shirtwaist Workers Go On Strike
Grades 9-12
Learn how an effort to improve garment workers’ wages, hours, and working conditions began with the women working in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City in 1909, in this video adapted from Triangle Fire | AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. The strike they organized ultimately spread throughout the garment industry and resulted in the largest work stoppage in the city’s history.
Labor Organizers & Advocates
Dolores Huerta Reader | Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum
Grades K-2
Print and fold this 2-page biosketch about Dolores Huerta into a booklet! Learn about how Dolores Huerta, one of the most important feminist activists of the 20th century, formed the United Farm Workers Union alongside fellow organizer Cesar Chavez and helped farm workers, immigrants, and women get treated more fairly.
Ai-jen Poo, Labor Organizer | MacArthur Fellows Program
Grades 6-12
In this interview, 2014 MacArthur Fellow Ai-jen Poo discusses the critical need to advocate for “women who do the work that makes all other work possible.” Poo is a labor organizer whose advocacy for home-based care workers—nannies, housekeepers, and eldercare workers—is helping to transform working conditions and labor standards for millions of people. Because an estimated 1–2 million domestic workers in the U.S. are still excluded from most federal and state labor laws, Poo continues to catalyze this movement for respect and improved working conditions.
Larry Itliong: Filipino American Farmworkers | Asian Americans
Grades 6-12
Learn how Filipinos and Mexican Americans farmworkers formed the United Farm Workers (UFW). In September 1965, Larry Itliong, a manong labor leader and co-founder of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), inspired Filipino farmworkers in Delano, California to initiate a strike against the grape farm owners. After they began striking, Itliong and other Filipino leaders urged Mexican Americans to join Filipino farmworkers and fight for civil rights instead of being used as strikebreakers. Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez, civil rights leaders who had been organizing Mexican American farmworkers, were convinced by Filipino leaders to strike together.
Rose Schneiderman | Unladylike2020
Grades 6-12
In this video from Unladylike2020, learn how Rose Schneiderman, an immigrant whose family settled in the tenements of New York City’s Lower East Side, became one of the most important labor leaders in American history. A socialist and feminist, she fought to end dangerous working conditions for garment workers, and worked to help New York State grant women the right to vote in 1917. Utilizing video, discussion questions, vocabulary, and teaching tips, students learn about Schneiderman’s role in creating a better life for workers in the United States.
Helene Powell: Labor Activist Who Unionized Thousands | Rebel Girls
Grades 9-12
Helene Powell tirelessly worked for workers’ rights and gender equality throughout her life. She entered the world of labor activism young after taking a temp job in a San Francisco coffee warehouse. Encountering gender-based wage discrimination, Powell took on leadership roles and fought for equality for all workers. At 24, she became a major union representative and spoke to hundreds of factory workers a day about their rights. Later, she helped workers register to vote, seized opportunities for women in traditionally male roles, and continued to fight against gender discrimination in the workplace.
Activities & Lesson Plans
City of Immigrants | Mission US
Grades 6-8
In City of Immigrants, players navigate New York’s Lower East Side as Lena, a young Jewish immigrant from Russia. Trying to save money to bring her parents to America, she works long hours in a factory for little money and gets caught up in the growing labor movement.
Labor Day Lesson Plan
Grades 6-12
This PBS NewsHour Extra Labor Day lesson plan provides information on the contemporary role of the unions and a simulation about the process of negotiations.
The Unsung History Makers: Maria Moreno | Interactive Lesson
Grades 6-12
Unravel the mystery of Maria Moreno, a woman who fought for farm labor rights before Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta formed the United Farm Workers, in this interactive lesson. Use primary and secondary sources to learn about her story, and then search out an unsung history maker in your own community!
Social Practice Art: Engaging Community Through Art | KQED Arts
Grades 6-12
Social practice art can look like just about anything: journalism, community organizing, even a shop. The goal is to engage the audience and help people think about social issues in new ways. “For me,” says social-practice artist and professor Stephanie Syjuco, “the best social practice projects actually try to attract people to join a conversation.”
Fair Labor Practices, Current and Historical | New Jersey: Then and Now
Grades 6-12
Working conditions in the Paterson silk industry and the farms of the Pinelands varied for the immigrant and seasonal laborers. Labor movements and leaders like Elizabeth Gurley Flynn in Paterson and Elizabeth White at Whitesbog worked to improve the conditions of workers including fair hours, conditions and benefits. This lesson will examine the labor conditions of historical industries in New Jersey while comparing these with modern fair labor practices and issues both in the country and around the world.