- Observing Labor Rights as Human Rights Yesterday the United States and Canada celebrated Labor Day. It is meant to be a day set aside to honor the contributions workers in both countries make to their economies and societies. In the United States, it was President Grover Cleveland who designated the first Monday in September as Labor Day in part to distance the federal holiday from the more "radical" overtones of May Day - which is still observed in many parts of the world as the day to honor laborers.
