Labor Day in Alabama: Honoring Hard Work from the Mines to the Port and Beyond

Labor Day lands this year on Monday, September 1, 2025—a quiet turning point in our year. It marks the official tribute to American workers, born from a long fight for dignity, fairness, and safe workplaces. Congress made it a national holiday back in 1894, amid tensions over the Pullman strike and worker unrest. But, the roots run deeper—some say the idea started with machinist Matthew Maguire in New York, others credit Peter J. McGuire of the Carpenters’ Union. Either way, the first Labor Day parade set out on September 5, 1882 in New York City, pushing for recognition with floats, marchers, and picnics.

Here in Alabama, Labor Day feels more personal. It isn’t just about rest or sales—it’s a moment to remember who built our State.

Birmingham, built where iron ore, coal, and limestone came together, exploded in the early 1900s. By 1910, the City had swelled from a few thousand to over 130,000 souls, driven by steel and mining.

The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company—TCI—became a powerhouse here. They mined coal, made steel, and owned company towns like Ensley and Fairfield. These places were tough—dangerous work, crowded housing, little to no sanitation. Back then, miners often labored 10–12 hours a day, six days a week.

Alabama miners tried to organize, too. In 1908, District 20 of the United Mine Workers called a strike that shook the region—it was a rare effort at biracial labor solidarity, though sadly crushed. Then, in 1920, a coal strike in Walker County ended in bloodshed and a crushing defeat, with at least 16 deaths—many of them Black—a painful reminder of the cost of standing up.

We’re keeping the memory of that labor alive. Sloss Furnaces, once a buzzing blast-furnace site, now stands as a landmark and museum. In 1983, on a Labor Day weekend not so long ago, thousands flocked there—former workers, families—to remember what made Birmingham hum.

In Tannehill, at the Ironworks Historical State Park, they celebrate Labor Day differently. Artisans set up craft demos, and visitors climb into history—old cabins, cotton gins, gristmills, the whole works. Sometimes there’s even a moon pie eating contest that folks come back for year after year.

Alabama’s story stretches beyond steel and coal. Our metallurgical coal—low in sulfur, perfect for making steel—is shipped out through the Port of Mobile to steelmakers around the globe. That means Labor Day here isn’t just about fields and mines—it’s about ships docked full of Alabama’s hard-earned goods.

Today, many of us slow down on Labor Day. Barbecues, lake trips, reunions—it’s often the last day of summer before school kids head back. In Alabama, we’re as likely to gather at a family cook-out as we are to visit a historic site like Sloss or Tannehill. Some communities hold parades or festivals. We slow down enough to say, “thank you” to the folks who built this place with calloused hands and hopeful hearts.

Because every piece of our industry—every furnace that glowed, every coal cart that rattled, every ship that carried our coal—relied on sweat and sacrifice. And Labor Day is for honoring that. As Maury Gaston—Chairman of the Alabama Iron & Steel Council—put it, “Labor Day is a tribute to American labor, to those who manufacture, build and grow things that make our lives better.”

I’d say it’s especially Alabama’s tribute. From Birmingham’s furnaces to coal camps in Montevallo, to ships at Mobile, from our automotive plants to our farms and forests, Alabama’s story is one of grit, community, and pride. On this Labor Day, may we rest—and remember who brought us here.