Labor Day? What is this holiday anyway?

Well, it is having a great meal at my brother and sister-in-law's house.

Menu from front to back:

Stuffed mushrooms

Stuffed peppers

Deviled eggs and crudités 

Potato salad

Squash and zucchini 

Brisket

Veggie casserole

French bread

Apple dump cake

But what is this holiday anyway?

From what I can determine, we are celebrating the great job that over 155 million workers over 16 years old do here in the US. 

But did you know the following info about laborers collected by allen lutins @ http://www.lutins.org/labor.html :

1619 

In North America's first recorded labor uprising, Polish craftsmen, who produced glass, pitch & tar for the Jamestown colony, went on strike to protest their lack of voting rights. The incident ended peacefully when the Poles were granted full voting rights.

1786 The earliest authenticated strike of workers in the United States in a single trade occurred when Philadelphia printers gained a minimum wage of $6 a week.

27 April 1825

The first strike for the 10-hour work-day occurred by carpenters in Boston.

3 July 1835

Children employed in the silk mills in Paterson, NJ went on strike for the 11 hour day/6 day week.

1848

Pennsylvania passed a State child labor law setting the minimum age for workers in commercial occupations at 12 years. In 1849, the minimum was raised to 13 years.

1868

The first Federal 8-hour-day law was passed by Congress. It applied only to laborers, workmen, and mechanics employed by or on behalf of the United States Government.

5 September 1882
Thirty thousand workers marched in the first Labor Day parade in New York City.

23 November 1887

The Thibodaux Massacre. The Louisiana Militia, aided by bands of "prominent citizens," shot at least 35 unarmed black sugar workers striking to gain a dollar-per-day wage, and lynched two strike leaders.

July 1903

Labor organizer Mary Harris ("Mother") Jones leads child workers in demanding of a 55 hour work week.

1913

The United States Department of Labor was established. It included the Bureau of Labor Statistics (created in 1884 as the Bureau of Labor), the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization (created in 1891), and the Children's Bureau (created in 1912). Power was given the Secretary of Labor to "act as mediator and to appoint commissioners of conciliation in labor disputes," and in 1918, the Conciliation Service was established as a separate division of the Department. William B. Wilson, a trade unionist and Member of Congress, became the first Secretary of Labor.

5 January 1914
The Ford Motor Company raised its basic wage from $2.40 for a nine hour day to $5 for an eight hour day.

25 June 1938
The Wages and Hours (later Fair Labor Standards) Act is passed, banning child labor and setting the 40-hour work week. The Act went into effect in October 1940, and was upheld in the Supreme Court on 3 February 1941.

10 June 1963
Congress passes (and President Kennedy signs) the Equal Pay Act, mandating equal pay for women covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

6 October 1986
1,700 female flight attendants won an 18-year lawsuit (which included $37 million in damages) against United Airlines, which had fired them for getting married.