Study the text and do the exercises below.

Joanna Sobierska‑Paczesny HISTORY OF LABOR DAY IN THE U.S.

A

Everyone in the United States loves the Labor DayLabor DayLabor Day weekend and it’s impossible to overlookoverlookoverlook it as people both travel and celebratecelebratecelebrate it in every part of the country. For students and teachers who had the summerhad the summer off [have the summer off]had the summer offoffoff, it’s the last days of freedom. And for those who worked through the summer, it’s a long weekend that allows them to take a breath and maybe get awayget awayget away for a few days before the colder days of fall arrive.

B

Although today it’s mostly associated with fun and relaxing with friends and loved ones, its originsorigins [origin]origins go back to the times when those who worked the hardest had neither time nor reason to celebrate. The amazing advancementsadvancements [advancement]advancements of the 1800s in technology and the way goodsgoodsgoods were produced and transported increasedincreased [increase]increased the need for workers. With hardly any laws to protect them (the first act that passedpassed [pass]passed in 1802 left many issues unsolvedunsolvedunsolved), workers sufferedsuffered [suffer]suffered as much as they worked.

C

Most of them seemed to always be working. During the industrial revolutionindustrial revolutionindustrial revolution, for an average American it was twelve hours a day, seven days a week, hardly making enough to get byget byget by. This meant that whole families had to seek employmentemploymentemployment to make ends meetmake ends meetmake ends meet and age didn’t matter to employersemployers [employer]employers. InsufficientinsufficientInsufficient legislationlegislationlegislation prohibiting child laborlabor (BrE: labour)labor caused children as young as 5 to work in factories or even minesmines [mine]mines, where their wageswages [wage]wages were much lower than those of adults. Additionally, they had hardly any breaks, toilets, or water.

D

People needed help, protection, and understanding of their situation, but it took time. Although in 1794 shoemakers formed a Federal Society in Philadelphia, the first organisation that could be considered a workers’ unionunionunion, it wasn’t until the mid 19th century that labor unions really started to pop uppop uppop up all over the United States. They organized protests and riotsriots [riot]riots and demandeddemanded, [demand]demanded changes. In 1882, on September 5th, ten thousand of them marchedmarched [march]marched through the streets of New York City in what became the first Labor Day paradeparadeparade.

E

Among the organizers of that particular march was Peter McGuire from the American Federation of Labor, who supposedlysupposedlysupposedly wanted this day to become a holiday for the hard‑working classes. Some say, however, that it was Mathew Maguire from the Central Labor Union who suggested establishingestablishingestablishing such a holiday. Whoever it was, it didn’t happen immediately, so protests and strikesstrikes [strike]strikes continued and intensified. It took twelve years for the Congress to create the legislation, finally signed by President Grover Cleveland, thus making it an official holiday to honorhonor (verb) (BrE: honour)honor those who work so hard.

1 Źródło: Joanna Sobierska‑Paczesny, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.