The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated in New York City on Tuesday, September 5, 1882. Following the deaths of 13 workers during the Pullman Palace Car Company Strike in June of 1894, President Grover Cleveland made reconciliation with the labor movement a top political priority, and Labor Day become a federal holiday in 1894.

During the major economic depression of the early 1890s, the Pullman Palace Car Company cut wages in its factories. Discontented workers joined the American Railway Union (ARU), led by Eugene V. Debs, which supported their strike by launching a boycott of all Pullman Railcars on all railroads. ARU members across the nation refused to switch Pullman Railcars on nation's trains. When these switchmen were disciplined, the entire ARU struck the railroads on June 26, 1894. Within four days, 125,000 workers on twenty-nine railroads had quit work rather than handle Pullman Railcars.

The strike was broken up by United States Marshals and some 2,000 United States Army troops, sent in by President Grover Cleveland on the premise that the strike interfered with the delivery of U.S. mail. During the strike, 13 workers were killed and 57 were wounded.

To Register for the Fort Ward Amateur Radio Club Labor Day 2022, please print and fillout the Fort Ward Amateur Radio Club Labor Day 2021 Registration Form Bainbridge Island Labor Day 2022 Form and email PDF/DOC fwarc@usa.com or mail it to:

Fort Ward Amateur Radio Club,
321 High School Road NE, D3-292
Bainbridge Island, Washington 98110

Further Island Labor Day 2022 Sponsorship Information Contact:
Louis Charles Hoffmann Alloin KI7AGD

Phone: 206-780-6885    E-mail: fwarc@usa.com