West Alabama Labor Day Briefing

Good morning West Alabama. It is Monday September 2, 2024! Happy Labor Day!!

Did you know the first Labor Day celebration took place in New York over 140 years ago? Each year since the nation has paused to recognize the contributions America's working men and women have made to this nation's strength, prosperity and well-being.

Labor Day was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal holiday in 1894. Labor Day weekend also symbolizes the unofficial end of the summer vacation season.

Sadly, many of these men and women, and often children, have labored long hours, many in dangerous jobs, with below standard wages and benefits. As manufacturing increasingly supplanted agriculture as the bulk of the American economy, 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.

Employers fought back and the battle for fair labor treatment turned violent. A strike by workers of the Pullman Palace Railway Car Company crippled railroad traffic nationwide. To break the Pullman strike, the federal government dispatched troops to Chicago, unleashing a wave of riots that resulted in the deaths of more than a dozen workers.

In an attempt to show support for 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 it into law. To this day, the true founder of Labor Day has yet to be positively identified.

During good times and bad times, America's working men and women have worked hard to support their families and to keep this nation string. One major case-in-point is the fact that the USA would never have become the "Arsenal of Democracy" during World War II had it not been for the long hours spent by American labor making ammunition and building the guns, planes, tanks and ships the U.S. and its allies needed to win the war.

The American working men and women have been and are truly at the center of America's history. Today, we officially say thank you!

-----

Labor Day weather should be pretty good for most of you with cookout, golf, swimming pool and other outdoors plans. The heat and humidity will still be around but most of the rain chances will be south of Demopolis today.

Rain potential goes up as the week goes along and as the week moves toward weekend daytime highs will moderate into the 80s with lows near the upper 50s over the coming weekend.

As for the tropics, we are eight days away from the peak of the 2024 Hurricane Season and the National Hurricane Center is keeping an eye on several disturbances.

The weak area of low pressure just offshore of the middle Texas coast is expected to bring some heavy rain the Gulf Coast later this week. It is still too early to determine the potential strength and track of the other two tropical systems brewing.

The Forecast:

Get our free mobile app