Mr Smith : Today , labor under fire . But war for workers ' rights was long , deadly struggle . The September date was selected to provide a respite for workers and their families midway between July Fourth and Thanksgiving Day . There was child labor , sick days , 6-day weeks , low wages , no sick days , holidays . Soldiers , militias , private armies used deadly force to end 19th - century labor . Labor Day came in 1894 , he says , but reform did n't come till FDR 's fair labor laws .
Mr Smith : Today , labor under fire . But war for workers ' rights was long , deadly struggle . There was child labor , sick days , 6-day weeks , low wages , no sick days , holidays . Soldiers , militias , private armies used deadly force to end 19th - century labor . Labor Day came in 1894 , he says , but reform did n't come till FDR 's fair labor laws .