• HOME
  • FEATURES
    • Best Of Cover Shoot
    • Pet Owner’s Stories
    • People
    • Places
    • Issues
    • Remembering
    • Things
    • To Do
  • DEPARTMENTS
    • Finance / Real Estate
      • Financial Articles
      • Top 10 Most Expensive Homes Sold
      • Real Estate
        • Real Estate Experts
        • Articles
    • Attorney Directory
    • Ask the Experts
    • Business
      • Belle Hall Shopping Center
      • Lowcountry Women in Business
      • MP Business
    • Entertainment
      • Golf
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Food & Drink
    • Giving Back
    • Health & Wellness
      • COVID-19 Articles & Resources
    • House & Home
    • Learning
      • Wando High School
    • Love & Marriage
    • Pets
    • Relax & Retire
  • Read Magazine
  • MORE MAGS
    • Charleston Women 👩‍🏫🏢
    • Lowcountry Cuisine 🧀🍷
    • Best of Mt Pleasant Mag 🏆🏆
    • Charleston Women in Real Estate 👩🏘️
    • MP Business Mag 🏢
    • MP Pets 🐶🐱
    • Charleston Independent School Directory 🏫
    • MP Senior Living 👴👵
    • More Mags
      • IOP Mag
      • SI Mag
      • MP Town Hall Magazine
  • OUR TOWN
    • MP Town Hall
    • MP Town Council
  • DIRECTORIES
    • East Cooper Church Directory
    • East Cooper Fitness Directory
    • Local 2019 CPA Tax Directory
    • Mount Pleasant Apartment Directory
  • SUBSCRIBE

Mount Pleasant Magazine

Mount Pleasant Magazine (Mount Pleasant, SC) informs residents and visitors about people, places and happenings around our area.

Shop Belle Hall
  • Best of Mount Pleasant
    • Best Of Winner Articles
    • Best Of Results Current & Past
    • Best Of Winner Articles
    • Best Of Magazines
    • Best Of Videos
    • Best Of Party Photos
    • Best Of Plaques
  • Podcast
  • Local Events
  • Our Winners
  • Advertise
    • Advertise With Us
    • Media Kit
    • Video Testimonials
  • MORE
    • MP Neighborhoods
    • East Cooper Online Network
    • Real Estate Experts
    • Attorney Directory
    • News
    • Contact

Labor Day: A Local and Nationwide History

Posted by MPM Leave a Comment

Charleston Cigar Factory historical markerTwelve-hour workdays with few or no bathroom breaks. Pay that’s nowhere near a living wage. Children under the age of 12 working long hours in dangerous jobs. We wince when we hear of these conditions in third-world countries. But workers in the United States faced these same injustices for many years.

In the Lowcountry, the hellish job of phosphate mining replaced the antebellum plantation system, offering slave-like work environments for both black and white laborers. Oyster factories employed children whose labor resulted in sore and bleeding hands as they shucked buckets of oysters for up to 12 hours a day. Many locals took jobs with meager pay at the cigar factory where they stood for hours on end at their work posts, immersed in the stagnant air and overpowering smell of tobacco. Female workers often experienced sexual harassment and even exploitation by their male supervisors, and black workers were paid far less than their white coworkers doing the same jobs.

As the years passed, workers across the country began to protest inhumane (and often dangerous) working conditions. On

A group of children shuck oysters.
A group of children shuck oysters.

Sept. 5, 1882, 10,000 workers in New York City marched from City Hall to Union Square to advocate for an eight-hour workday. This is considered by some to be the first observation of a “labor day” in the country. The increasingly vocal labor movement continued to bring public attention to the social and economic injustices inflicted upon many American workers, demanding laws to protect them — among them a 40-hour workweek, a minimum wage and the illegalization of child labor. By the 1890s, dozens of major cities were celebrating the sacrifice and contributions of the everyday worker with annual parades and festivities. On June 28, 1894, Congress officially designated the first Monday in September as a legal holiday for public recognition of the importance of the American worker.

But even with this official recognition and the passing of landmark legislation to protect workers, many Americans continued to struggle with dire working conditions and to experience abuse on the job well into the 20th century.

A 7-year-old girl shucks oysters.
A 7-year-old girl shucks oysters.

One of the most significant events in Charleston’s labor history occurred in October 1945, when hundreds of black and white employees of the American Tobacco Company on East Bay Street refused to work in an effort to establish better pay and racial and gender equality in the workplace. For five months, workers picketed and sang spirituals, adopting the hymn “We Shall Overcome” as their anthem. Twenty-four years later, African-American hospital workers at the Medical University of South Carolina protested substandard pay and demanded their right to lodge credible work-related complaints to the hospital administration without fear of losing their jobs. That three-month long strike underscored the rights of workers to be heard and is considered one of the most important local achievements in the labor movement as well as the civil rights era.

So, when we celebrate Labor Day as the official end of summer fun with picnics, cookouts and trips to the beach, let’s remember that what we are really celebrating is the progress that has been made (and continues to be made) in the quest for safety and fairness in the workplace and to salute the men and women of the American workforce, both now and in the past, for their contributions to the success and well-being of our country.

By Mary Coy

Sharing is Caring

Possibly Related:

Mount Pleasant's Mayor Haynie with carolersLocal Cheer to End the Year: Operation COVID Christmas A photo of Shem Creek is from the early 1950s, provided by Billy And Bubba Simmons of Simmons SeafoodContinuing to Hold Water: The Heart, Soul and History of Shem Creek Kristie Rasheed took her daughter Stella to observe her mother and father perform their civic duty as they voted.Stella’s Very Important Field Trip: The Benefits of Letting the Kids See You Vote

Filed Under: MP Business

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search the Site


We're on Facebook We're on Twitter Mount Pleasant Magazine Youtube Channel We're on Pinterest Mount Pleasant Magazine Facebook Community We're on Instagram
READ ONLINE
Read the digital magazine now.
GRAB A COPY
Where can I pick up a copy of Mount Pleasant Magazine?
GRAB A COPY
At Welcome Centers & Airports
SUBSCRIBE
Get Mount Pleasant Magazine Delivered.
Pamper your pets at Hairy Winston Pet Boutique and Grocery!
Backyard Retreats, Mount Pleasant, SC​ - Where Your Retreat to the Good Life Begins!
Enter your pet in the East Cooper Favorite Pets Photo Contest
Read Charleston Women Magazine online now.
Suzie Smith, pet-friendly real estate agent/Realtor


Online Magazines

Mount Pleasant

Lifestyle Magazine

Read Isle of Palms

Magazine Online

Read Sullivan's Island

Magazine Online

Take a Bite

Lowcountry Cuisine Magazine

Georgetown, SC. Yummy Day Trips
Isle of Palms Magazine - family of sites logo
Mount Pleasant Magazine - family of sites logo
North Mount Pleasant Magazine - family of sites logo
Sullivan's Island Magazine - family of sites logo

Recent Posts

Podcast Episode 15: Jenn Cady & the Best Of Cover Photo Shoot

Podcast Episode 15: On this episode of VOICE for Mount Pleasant Jenn Cady talks with MPM Publisher Bill Macchio about the cover shoot for the magazine cover for the Mount Pleasant Magazine Best of … Continue Reading

Local Cheer to End the Year: Operation COVID Christmas

By Pamela Jouan Sometimes all it takes is a phone call to get the ball rolling on a great idea. When Mayor Will Haynie decided it was time to spread joy throughout Mount Pleasant, he started dialing … Continue Reading

Daniel Island Section

Keeping the Dream of Playing Tennis Alive: The South Carolina Junior Tennis Foundation

Since 1973, South Carolina’s Lowcountry has welcomed players from the Women’s Tennis Association once a year for the annual Volvo Car Open, North America’s largest women-only tennis tournament. … Continue Reading

Truly One-of-a-kind: 369 Ralston Creek Drive

Big cities certainly have advantages – culture, dining, employment opportunities and excitement. But face it: Sometimes people yearn for a peaceful, serene atmosphere where they can relax, raise a … Continue Reading

More Daniel Island Section Posts

SEARCH

Featured Pages

Mount Pleasant Apartments
East Cooper Online Network

Copyright © 2021 · Mount Pleasant Magazine, All Rights Reserved. Advertise With Us.