09/07/2026
Why Do We Celebrate Labor Day?
Labor Day started as a response to brutal working conditions in the late 1800s — long hours, unsafe factories, and workers with little protection. Unions fought for change, and in 1894, Congress made it a federal holiday to honor the American labor movement.
A Piece of That History: September 3, 1942
This is a real front page from the Tri-County News, preserved in Penn State's United Mine Workers of America archive. It's from WWII, when factories across the country converted almost overnight into war production plants — building tanks, artillery, and aircraft, a shift historians call the "Arsenal of Democracy."
CIO president Philip Murray wrote in this issue that "labor today occupies a position of national and world importance greater than ever before in history." Unions agreed to no-strike pledges for the war's duration, and industrial output became the war effort itself.
What's easy to forget: none of that production ran without compressed air. Pneumatic tools and industrial compressors powered the riveting guns, machining tools, and assembly lines pictured on this very page. What an honor to be a part of this industry and where we are now.
Happy Labor Day from all of us at Atlanta Compressor.
Source: Penn State University Libraries, UMWA Digital Collection: https://bit.ly/4qQm7Kt