Lunch Break
When is Labor Day celebrated each year?
A) September 2nd
B) Second Monday in September
C) First Monday in September
First Monday in September
What year did Labor Day become an official federal holiday in the United States?
A) 1904
B) 1894
C) 1914
1894
By the time it became a federal holiday in 1894, thirty states had already passed bills officially celebrating Labor Day.
Who said: "I believe in the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living?"
A) Thomas Edison
B) John D. Rockefeller
C) Henry Ford
John D. Rockefeller
Rockefeller made these remarks on May 3, 1941, at the 75th Anniversary Celebration of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Which landmark legal case gave American workers the right to organize and strike?
A) Commonwealth v. James
B) Commonwealth v. Hunt
C) Commonwealth v. Brown
Commonwealth v. Hunt
In Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842), the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that the common-law doctrine of criminal conspiracy did not apply to labor unions. Until then, workers' attempts to establish closed shops had been subject to prosecution.
Finish this quote from the French write and philosopher Voltaire: "Labor rids us of three great evils -- poverty, vice and _______."
A) Boredom
B) Crime
C) Inequality
Boredom
"Labor rids us of three great evils--poverty, vice, and boredom."
Where was the first Labor Day parade?
A) Chicago
B) New York City
C) Washington D.C.
New York City
Labor Day was promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor, which organized the first parade in New York City on September 5, 1882. The day was celebrated with a picnic, concert and speeches.
Which President signed the bill making Labor Day a federal holiday?
A) Theodore Roosevelt
B) William McKinley
C) Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
On June 28, 1894, just six days after the end of the deadly Pullman strike that left 30 workers dead and 57 wounded, President Grover Cleveland signed the bill into law.
What year was the 8-hour work day legally established?
A) 1916
B) 1906
C) 1896
1916
The 8-hour day was firmly established on September 3, 1916 with the passage of the Adamson Act. This was the first federal law regulating hours of workers in private companies.
What percentage of the workforce belonged to unions in the 1950s?
A) 85%
B) 60%
C) 40%
40%
In the 1950s, 40% of the work force belonged to unions (compared to only 10% in 2018).
What famous singer was born on Labor Day?
A) Bruce Springsteen
B) Buddy Holly
C) Elton John
Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly, one of the main figures of the rock and roll genre in the mid-1950s, was born on Labor Day in 1936.
How many workers marched in the first Labor Day parade?
A) 10,000
B) 1,000
C) 100,000
10,000
Ten thousand workers marched from City Hall to Union Square.
What was the first national labor federation in the United States?
A) American Federation of Labor
B) National Labor Union
C) United Steel Workers
National Labor Union
The National Labor Union (NLU) was the first national labor federation in the United States. Founded in 1866 and dissolved in 1873, it paved the way for other organizations, such as the Knights of Labor and the AFL (American Federation of Labor).
What additional Labor Day did the American Federation of Labor propose in 1909?
A) Labor Sunday
B) Labor Friday
C) Labor Saturday
Labor Sunday
The American Federation of Labor convention designated the Sunday preceding Labor Day as, "Labor Sunday," but the idea never caught on.
How many children worldwide are engaged in child labor?
A) 168 million
B) 1.68 million
C) 16.8 million
168 million
According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), 168 million children worldwide are engaged in child labor. Only one out of five children involved in child labor is paid for their work.
Among which of these countries have tested a four-day work week?
A) United States
B) Japan
C) Argentina
Japan
Though no country has officially declared a 4-day work week, many are giving the idea a try. According to CNBC, among the countries that have either tested out a four-day work week or are currently allowing some employees to opt to work fewer days (for the same amount of hours) are: Japan, Spain, Ireland, South Africa, Belgium and Iceland
What was the first state to make Labor Day an official holiday?
A) New York
B) Oregon
C) Hawaii
Oregon
In 1887, Oregon was the first state to make it an official public holiday.
Who was the founder of Labor Day?
A) Matthew Maguire
B) Gavin Maguire
C) Tobey Maguire
Matthew Maguire
Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York.
Prior to the Adamson Act, how many hours did the average American work each day?
A) 14 Hours
B) 10 Hours
C) 12 Hours
12 Hours
In the late 1800s the average American worked 12-hour days and seven-day weeks to eke out a basic living. Children as young as 5 years old worked in factories and mines.
What percent of Americans plan to barbecue over Labor Day weekend?
A) 85%
B) 67%
C) 31%
67%
214 million Americans (67%) plan to fire up the grill this year.
Labor Day arrives during the peak of ___________ season.
A) Wildfire
B) Hurricane
C) Tornado
Hurricane
Labor Day arrives during the peak of hurricane season, and there have been a number of memorable storms on or around Labor Day weekend, including 2005's Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane David in 1979. Among the most destructive was the unnamed hurricane of 1935 which hit the Florida Keys as the first-recorded Category 5 storm in U.S. history, leaving near total destruction in its wake. With winds of 185 mph and an estimated storm surge of 18 feet, the Labor Day hurricane claimed nearly 500 lives. It goes down as one of the worst hurricanes to ever make landfall in the contiguous United States.
Labor Day marks the end of ________.
A) Pizza Season
B) Hamburger Season
C) Hotdog Season
Hotdog Season
According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, during, "Hot dog season," which runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day, Americans consume roughly 7 billion hot dogs, or about 818 hot dogs every second.
According to an age-old fashion rule, Labor Day is the last day you can wear __________.
A) Black
B) Red
C) White
White
After it became a federal holiday, the fashion industry adopted Labor Day as the natural endpoint for summer fashion, making it the last day when it was acceptable to wear white or seersucker.
What sport traditionally begins on or around Labor Day?
A) Basketball
B) Baseball
C) Football
Football
The football season starts on or around Labor Day and many teams play their first game of the year during Labor Day weekend.
Who wrote: "Labor is the human element which makes the fruitful season of the earth useful to men?"
A) Abraham Lincoln
B) Henry Ford
C) John Steinbeck
Henry Ford
This quote is from the introduction of Henry Ford's autobiography My Life and Work.
Labor Day weekend is a major travel weekend for most Americans as many see it as an opportunity to squeeze in one last vacation before summer's end. This is the top destination for Americans for the 2025 Labor Day weekend.
A) Hawaii
B) Bora Bora
C) Thailand
Thailand
If you're among those hitting the road or flying the friendly skies on Labor Day this year, you might be interested to know where to go. According to Travel & Leisure, 2025's Destination of the Year is Thailand.