The Seattle Department of Transportation is closed Monday in observance of Labor Day. On-street parking is free in Seattle on Monday for the holiday. We wish everyone a safe and happy Labor Day holiday weekend.
Q: When did it become a national holiday and why?
A: Labor Day as a national, legal holiday had an interesting evolution. The legalized celebration of Labor Day began as individual state celebrations. In 1887, New York, New Jersey and Colorado were among the first states to approve state legal holidays. Then other states joined in to create their own state Labor Days. Finally, in response to a groundswell of support for a national holiday celebrating the nation’s workers, Sen. James Henderson Kyle of South Dakota introduced S. 730 to the 53rd Congress to make Labor Day a legal holiday on the first Monday of September each year. It was approved on June 28, 1894.