By Donald Norcross

9/1/25

Credit: The Hill

On Labor Day, we celebrate America’s workers and remember those who fought for the eight-hour workday, higher wages, and benefits for all workers. None of this would be possible without the hard work of South Jersey’s own Peter J. McGuire, the father of Labor Day and a founding member of the American Federation of Labor and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.

Most don’t know that McGuire lived in Camden, N.J., and was buried in Pennsauken. But as a kid from South Jersey, he was always my hometown hero.

McGuire first proposed the concept of Labor Day — a day to honor the American worker — over 140 years ago. During that time, he was fighting for the eight-hour workday, a national labor federation, and better working conditions for carpenters. These were radical ideas at the time, but McGuire believed it was possible and fought hard to get it done by organizing worker strikes and trade unions to build the labor movement.

We have come a long way since 1882, when the first Labor Day was celebrated. But let’s be frank, too many of us feel like we’re falling behind. The “better age” that McGuire dreamed of, where working people were respected, honored, and rewarded, is within sight, but remains unfinished.

Instead, we’re watching hard-won rights get chipped away. The Trump administration has attacked federal employees’ collective bargaining rights, weakened workplace safety standards, and left the federal minimum wage frozen at a disgraceful $7.25 per hour. It has been sixteen years since the last time the federal minimum wage was raised, and at $7.25 an hour, workers can barely afford a fast-food lunch, let alone rent. That’s not moving ahead — that’s moving backwards.

Like so many in South Jersey, I believe in the simple promise that if you work hard and play by the rules, you can make it in America. That promise still drives me today — and it’s why I fight to ensure it remains real for every working family.

As an electrician and proud union member, I know the struggles firsthand. I have worked those long shifts that keep you from your family. I have stretched every paycheck and felt the pain of being injured on the job. What got me through it wasn’t luck — it was the protections and benefits that workers before me fought tirelessly to win. And now it’s our turn to fight.

We can’t sit back and hope for change. We’ve got to demand it. We’ve got to organize, bargain, and push for laws that put working families first. McGuire showed us that no one hands working people a fair shot — we earn it by fighting for it.

That’s why, as the working people’s voice in Congress, I’m fighting to raise the minimum wage, strengthen workplace safety standards, and pass the Protecting the Right to Organize or PRO Act, to ensure workers have the right to come together and bargain for higher wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces. As McGuire taught us, it’s the work — not the wealth — that gives worth to our society.

McGuire knew this better than anyone, and his efforts undoubtedly laid the groundwork for us to fight for increased wages and union protections today. Because of this, I introduced a bill in Congress last week to designate the Peter J. McGuire Memorial and Gravesite in Pennsauken as a National Historic Landmark.

By designating his gravesite as a National Historic Landmark, we are celebrating all McGuire did to advance the labor movement, knowing that it wasn’t easy and that it took work, guts, and courage to get to where we are today. This Labor Day, let’s honor him by following in his footsteps and fighting to uplift America’s workers.

https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/5475099-the-father-of-labor-day-showed-how-to-advance-the-labor-movement-today/