By Jay Bemis | Advertising Systems Inc.
Monday, Sept. 1, will be the 131st anniversary of Labor Day, an American occasion that will be marked by parades, pool parties, barbecues and … mattress sales.
Mattress sales? That’s right. Labor Day, it seems, is regarded as one of the best shopping periods of the year to invest in a mattress or two.
How, we often wonder this time of year, did mattresses become such a popular item on Labor Day?
Furniture dealers will tell you there are several reasons, all of which mainly hinge on timing: Namely, summer’s coming to an end and the busy fall and holiday shopping seasons lie just ahead:
- Seasonal Inventory Clear-Outs. As summer winds down, stores clear out older inventory to make room for newer merchandise. That means shoppers can snag high-quality mattresses at reduced prices.
- Big Discounts on Big-Ticket Items. Labor Day has become a major shopping event, rivaling Black Friday for deals on high-cost purchases and adding to autumn’s marketing frenzy. Retailers often offer deep discounts on mattresses, making this a good time of the year to buy one.
- Perfect Timing for Home Refreshes. Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, and many people use the long weekend to revamp their homes — especially bedrooms. A new mattress fits perfectly into that refresh mindset.
- Back-to-School and Dorm Season. With students heading off to college, there’s a surge in demand for bedding essentials. Retailers capitalize on this by bundling mattress deals with other sleep-related products.
How Labor Day Came About …
Paying tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers, Labor Day is traditionally observed on the first Monday in September. The true founder of the holiday is unknown: Fittingly, it began as an offshoot of several events of labor unrest in the late 1800s.
That period was the height of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, when “the average American worked 12-hour days and seven-day weeks in order to eke out a basic living,’ as The History Channel says in reflection.
“Despite restrictions in some states, children as young as 5 or 6 toiled in mills, factories and mines across the country, earning a fraction of their adult counterparts’ wages. People of all ages, particularly the very poor and recent immigrants, often faced extremely unsafe working conditions, with insufficient access to fresh air, sanitary facilities and breaks.”
Manufacturing at the time increasingly was replacing agriculture as “the wellspring of American employment.” Labor unions, which had first appeared in the late 18th century, grew more prominent and vocal. They began organizing strikes and rallies to protest poor conditions and compel employers to renegotiate hours and pay.
It was this background that led to the infamous Haymarket Riot of 1886, in which several Chicago policemen and workers lost their lives. Other events would give rise to longstanding traditions: On September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square in New York City, staging the first Labor Day parade in U.S. history.
Talk of a “workingmen’s holiday” quickly spread to other industrial centers across the country, and many states passed legislation recognizing it. However, Congress would not legalize the holiday until 12 years later, when, as The History Channel notes, “a watershed moment in American labor history brought workers’ rights squarely into the public’s view.”
That moment occurred on May 11, 1894, when employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago went on strike to protest wage cuts and the firing of union representatives.
A month later, the American Railroad Union called for a boycott of all Pullman railway cars, hobbling railroad traffic nationwide. To break the Pullman strike, the federal government sent troops to Chicago, unleashing a wave of riots that resulted in the deaths of more than a dozen workers.
In the wake of the massive unrest and in an attempt to repair ties with American workers, Congress passed an act making Labor Day a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories. On June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed the act into law.
Declared Cleveland at the time: “A truly American sentiment recognizes the dignity of labor and the fact that honor lies in honest toil.”
