Honoring Labor Day with a Quarter

It’s easy for many to regard the United States holiday of Labor Day as “the unofficial end of summer.” In many cafes and coffee shops, Labor Day marks the eve of pumpkin-spice season. Some even attest that Labor Day is the last acceptable day of the year for wearing white-colored apparel. But Labor Day is about so much more than just a long holiday weekend for millions of employees around the country – or a day to grill up hotdogs and hamburgers.

Labor Day, which is generally celebrated on the first Monday of September, honors the hard-fought social and economic gains made by American workers. The laws so many employed Americans take for granted today, such as 40-hour workweeks, overtime, time off, medical benefits, and only came about because of the people who fought for these protections. And they didn’t come easily.

During the Industrial Era of the 18th and 19th centuries, it was common for laborers to work 50, 60, 70, or more hours each week for meager wages. Children as young as five, six, or seven years old would staff mills and mines. Some people weren’t given any time off at all – not time off for religious observances, medical needs, or other important reasons. Anyone who wants to get a better understanding of just how dire workplace conditions were in the United States more than a century ago need only look to the 1911 fire at Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City.

The fire that broke out at the Lower Manhattan building (which stands today at 23 Washington Place in the New York City borough of Manhattan) killed 146 garment workers. The terrible event also catapulted into the collective American consciousness just how dreadful workplace conditions were for so many people around the country – and around the world. Following the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, the United States government began enacting many of the laws that now ensure safer working conditions and better labor guidelines that have become virtual givens.

As with so many cultural shifts, it wasn’t necessarily one event alone that helped open hearts and minds to progress. Activists, journalists, and others of influence also contributed countless hours, blood, sweat, and tears to making America’s workplaces safer and more comfortable for the people who labor within them. And one figure whose name is often associated with the American labor movement is Ida B. Wells. Born into slavery in 1862, she became an investigative journalist and civil rights leader who stood for many important causes. Wells was a suffrage leader who fought to open doors for women, and her anti-segregation advocacy challenged the systemic racism that imperiled millions throughout the South and beyond.

Wells also dedicated her voice to improving work conditions for women and African Americans. She lived to see gradual but important improvements on the labor front be made. Among these positive changes was the passage of the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914, providing expanded protections for labor unions and giving them the right to organize and strike as well as engage in collective bargaining. Other foundational labor laws, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, mandating a minimum wage and overtime pay, sadly only came along after Wells passed away at the age of 68 in 1931.

Yet, Wells’ legacy as an advocate for the people and as a prominent civil rights leader helped her earn many recognitions, including placement on a 2025 American Women Quarter. And its with the Ida B. Wells Quarter that coin collectors throughout the United States and around the world can, in a numismatic way, remember some of the many people who spent their lives helping to make America a better, fairer, safer place to work.