"Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a co-founder of the
American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those 'who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur
we behold.'
The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central
Labor Union. In l884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar
organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date." per The Dept of Labor
"Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a co-founder of the
American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those 'who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur
we behold.'
The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central
Labor Union. In l884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar
organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date." per 
Barbecue'n on the Internet