Do You Know the Origin of Labor Day? E-action for historic preservation

[Omaha Steve]

Please sign and share this.





Dear Friend,

The end of summer is upon us.

While many of us look forward to Labor Day as our final goodbye to the sunny season, do you know the real reason why we celebrate that special day?

Here’s a hint: It all started on Chicago’s South Side in a small industrial town called Pullman. Today, we need your help to bring this amazing place greater recognition: https://secure2.convio.net/nthp/site/Advocacy;jsessionid=DCB8E837FBD443D97D9390A447290B4B.app243a?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=873&autologin=true

Founded in 1880, this 300-acre community was the utopian vision of railroad tycoon George Pullman. It was there in America’s first planned company town that rail travel changed forever with the advent of the luxurious Pullman Palace Car.

For years, factory workers living in modest row houses assembled the iconic sleepers, while thousands of uniformed African American porters staffed cars that operated across the country. Slowly, though, the cracks began to show.

As the financial depression of the 1890s slowed production, George Pullman laid off hundreds of workers, reducing wages without reducing rent in company-owned housing. Across America, workers refused to service Pullman cars, disobeying a federal order and bringing rail traffic to a grinding halt. Violence erupted, and 12,000 Federal troops were deployed to restore order. Days later, President Grover Cleveland signed a new holiday into law to appease angry workers on the heels of the failed strike — Labor Day.

Today, efforts are underway to designate the Pullman Historic District as a National Park so that future generations will know the uniquely American stories it tells about the role of railroads in our industrial past, the formation of the first African American labor union, and the development of our country’s first model industrial town. To do this, we need your help.

Please sign our petition calling for the Pullman Historic District to become a unit of the National Park System.

Like pages out of a history book, our National Parks tell the story of America. Together, we can ensure that the story of Pullman is told forever.

Sincerely,

Your Friends at the National Trust

[Live and Learn]

1. I wasn't aware of that. Thanks for the info. Signed and Rec'd. nt

[sheshe2]

2. Signing~

[abelenkpe]

3. K&R

[Enthusiast]

4. Kicked and recommended! Signed.

[yallerdawg]

5. Signed and sent.

Our labor history is the people's history.

Thank you for reminding us.

[ctsnowman]

6. K & R

[Laffy Kat]

7. Done. nt

[Omaha Steve]

8. Kick

[Laelth]

9. k&r for exposure. n/t

-Laelth