Summary
Learn the history of Labor Day in this quick video. Take your students on a look back to the Industrial Revolution and the establishment of Labor Day in 1894 to honor the unions who fought for the rights of the working class.
Viewer safety
All ages
Describes long hours and unsafe factory work, including child labor, during the Industrial Revolution.
Common Sense Media — not yet ratedIMDb Parents Guide — not yet rated
Our rating is a quick teacher-to-teacher guide — preview before showing.
Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
Short explainer (1 min) from PBS LearningMedia's *All About the Holidays*.
- What were working conditions like during the Industrial Revolution?
- What is a union, and what did unions ask for?
- Which of those changes do workers still have today?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: labor, union, Industrial Revolution, workday.
Try it: List three jobs in your community, then write one sentence about a rule that keeps those workers safe.