Politics & Government
Last Phase Of Pullman National Monument Work To Start Labor Day
Thank 4,000 striking Pullman Palace Car workers for having Monday off. Labor Day became a national holiday after the 1894 strike ended.
CHICAGO — Five years after President Obama designated the Pullman neighborhood a National Monument, local leaders are set to break ground on the final phase of work setting up exhibit and completing landscaping at the 12-acre visitor center site on Labor Day.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Mayor Lori Lightfoot are expected to be on hand with Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) and National Park Superintendent Terry Gage to stick a ceremonial shovel in the ground at the former home of the Pullman Palace Car Co. where about 4,000 striking workers fought for the first 8-hour workday.
You can thank Pullman workers for having Labor Day off work. Shortly after the end of Pullman strike in 1894 (which began when the company cut pay without adjusting rent in the then company-owned town) Labor Day was designated a national holiday to appease union activists
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The event will be broadcast on a Facebook live stream Monday at 10:45 a.m.
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