History Made Every Day™

McGuire and Maguire

The founder of Labor Day remains unclear, but some credit either Peter McGuire, co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, or Matthew Maguire, a secretary of the Central Labor Union, for proposing the holiday.

Peter McGuire

Born in New York City, McGuire quit school at 11 to work when his father went off to fight in the Union Army. He was active in labor and radical circles, including the New York branch of the International Workingmen's Association. In 1873, the Committee of Public Safety was formed and McGuire was elected to serve on the committee, becoming a public spokesperson and chief negotiator. In May 1874 McGuire helped form the Social Democratic party (later the Socialist Labor party). McGuire was elected as the secretary of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC) in 1881. That same year, McGuire wrote the convention call for the national conference of labor unions that established the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions (FOTLU).

In 1882, McGuire became involved in the 1882 Labor day parade in New York City. FOTLU eventually reorganized as the American Federation of Labor in 1886, when McGuire was elected the new federation's first secretary.

Matthew Maguire

Maguire was a secretary of the Paterson, NJ Local 344 of the Machinists and Blacksmiths Union. He became one of the organizers and a secretary of the Central Labor Union of New York, which organized the first-ever Labor Day parade in 1882.