In the United States, the first Monday of September each year is set aside to celebrate Labor Day and honor workers all across the country. Often considered the last hurrah of the summer season, Labor Day is a busy time for grocers. Shoppers are stocking up on burgers, hot dogs, lemonade, beer, and ice cream for Labor Day cookouts to celebrate the end of summer. But as you prepare for Labor Day for your loyal shoppers, don’t forget about your loyal employees that the day is meant to honor.
Labor Day originated in the late 19th century. Peter J. McGuire, a union leader and founder of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, is usually credited with the idea of Labor Day. He suggested to the Central Labor Union of New York in 1882 that American workers should have a day to celebrate them, and thus a parade was held on September 5 with 10,000 workers from across New York City. The Knights of Labor, sponsors of the parade, adopted a resolution in 1884 that the first Monday of September be celebrated each year as Labor Day.
Labor activists across the country then began to push for a federal holiday to recognize all of the contributions of workers across the country. Labor Day was recognized by labor activists and individual states before it was declared a federal holiday. Oregon was the first state to pass a law recognizing Labor Day as a holiday in 1887. That same year, four additional states, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York, also passed laws recognizing Labor Day as a holiday. Over the next 7 years, 23 more states adopted the holiday. These state holidays as well as the Pullman Strike, a massive railroad worker strike that took place in the summer of 1894, prompted President Grover Cleveland and the United States Congress to pass an act on June 28, 1894 making the first Monday of September each year a federal holiday honoring workers.
Your employees can also be your most loyal customers. AppCard can help you start initiatives like employee discounts and special point offers for employees, making sure that the hard work of your employees does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. For example, you could offer your employees a store credit amount for every shift they work, or plan a special promotion for employees only. When your employees are loyal shoppers themselves, they’ll be more likely to get other shoppers to join your loyalty program. AppCard can help you prove your loyalty to your employees as they work hard each and every day.
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For more information about the history of Labor Day, please visit the US Department of Labor.
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