FILE - Flags on the Senate floor at the Oregon State Capitol, May 18, 2021 in Salem, Ore.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Oregon has long been considered a state friendly to workers and the unions that represent them — and history may back up that claim.
In 1887 the state became the first to pass a law declaring Labor Day a holiday. The occasion had been unofficially celebrated in other cities, and some towns had ordinances declaring the holiday, but lawmakers in Oregon were the first in the country to get it on the books.
“Before it was a federal holiday, Labor Day was recognized by labor activists and individual states,” historians at the U.S. Department of Labor write. “After municipal ordinances were passed in 1885 and 1886, a movement developed to secure state legislation.”
New York was the first state that introduced a bill, according to the Labor Department, but Oregon passed its bill first on Feb. 21, 1887. Later that year, New York passed its version, as did Colorado, New Jersey and Massachusetts.
Americans across the country began recognizing the first Monday in September as the Labor Day holiday in 1894. Unions and other labor organizations often mark the day with parades, picnics and other gatherings. Banks, government offices and schools are typically closed on Labor Day.
This year’s holiday comes at a precarious time for the Oregon economy, which has failed to fully recover from the pandemic downturn in 2020.
The state’s unemployment rate sits at a relatively low 5.2%, but it has steadily ticked upward over the last year. Meanwhile, the state’s workforce has shrunk by more than 10,000 people in the last year to around 1.97 million.
