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In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 9th, 1869, the five-year anniversary of his initiation into Masonry, Uriah H. Stephens, a traditional Jewish Tailor, met with eight fellow trade unionists to form "The Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor." Brother Stephens had previously been initiated an Entered Apprentice in Kensington Lodge No. 211 in war-time Philadelphia on December 9, 1864; passed to the Degree of FellowCraft on February 25, 1865; and raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason on March 24, 1865. He was also a member of Keystone Lodge No. 2, Knights of Pythias, and Fidelity Lodge No. 138, and Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Stephens' involvement with Union Organization began in 1862 when he helped to organize the Garment Cutters' Union. That organization only survived seven years. At his invitation, a few members of the recently demised union met at his home on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1869. At this meeting, he unfolded his plan for the "Noble and Holy Order of Knights of Labor" as a "Brotherhood of Toil" open to every laborer, mechanic, and artisan who wanted to "improve his mind and condition, regardless of Country, Creed, or Color."
At the new order's second meeting on December 28, 1869, the organization adopted Stephens' ritual, "Adelphon Kruptos." Loosely translated from Hebrew & Greek, the phrase meant "Secret Brotherhood." By this work, Stephens expressed a conviction that the "Everlasting Truth Sealed by the Grand Architect of the Universe, everything of value, or merit, is the result of Creative Industry." Ritual work included Lectures on the Nobility of Labor and the Evils of Wage Slavery, Monopoly, and Accumulation. Stephens selected the Equilateral Triangle within a Circle to be the society's emblem, embellishing it with symbolism from the various lodge organizations to which he belonged.
Not exactly shy, the initial Officer Corps of the K.of L. included Stephens as the first "Master Workman," the first "District Master Workman," and the first "Grand Master Workman." However within its first ten years, there appeared twenty-three District Assemblies and over 1,300 Local Assemblies. At that time, Stephens resigned his various offices in protest when the General Assembly had voted to make public the Name of the Order, omit Scriptural Quotations from the ritual, and Edit Steven's Initiation Ceremony to make the organization less offensive to the Catholic Church. On January 1, 1882, the Knights of Labor became a public organization.
History has almost forgotten the other major player, Peter McGuire, an Irish-American cabinetmaker and pioneer unionist who proposed a "Day Dedicated to All Who Labor." Old records describe him as a red headed, fiery, eloquent leader of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. McGuire introduced his idea formally at a meeting of the Central Labor Union on May 18,1882. "Let us have, a Festive Day during which a parade through the streets of the city would permit public tribute to American Industry."
On the first Monday in September, New York workers staged a parade up Broadway to Union Square. Most were warned by their employers not to skip work, and against marching in the parade under penalty of permanent dismissal. Despite any threats, 10,000 workers showed up for the march. Led by mounted police, bricklayers in "White Aprons" paraded behind a band playing "Killarney." The marchers passed a reviewing stand crowded with Officers and Past Officers of the Knights of Labor. Many of these men were also civic-minded Officers of Local Masonic Lodges as well.
By then, however, Stephens had died on February 13, 1882. He was buried in the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Philadelphia. He was still revered by many Knights and, when the General Assembly convened in Richmond, Virginia four years later, Peter McGuire inspired them to appropriate $10,000 to erect a home for the family of their founder, a uniquely Masonic inspired consideration for his widow and orphans.
Twelve years later, on June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland, who dealt repeatedly with Labor strife during his political career, signed the first "Labor Day Holiday" bill. Jacob. S Coxey's "Army of the Commonwealth of Christ" had marched upon Washington, forcing Cleveland's hand.
President Cleveland, not a member of the Craft, had previously been invited by the City of Chicago to lay the corner stone at the newly started, Auditorium Theater. As passerbies today on the Orange Line might note, this building, on Congress, has a base level of gray limestone and further stories done in white. That color change marks where labor stopped when workers protested the dangerous and difficult conditions caused by Management hurrying the work to ready the building for the Columbian Exposition.
Scabs were brought in to continue the work and violence erupted. The original cornerstone was laid quickly, without ceremony, by these unskilled laborers. The original Management Company Bankrupted and the firm that was raising the Masonic Temple Building organized funding to finish the job with unionized help. They called on M. W. Bro. J. C. Smith to devise a suitable program to lay the Capstone atop the building. R. W. Bro. Warville found precedent and provided a useful service.
That President Cleveland was excused from this duty was useful as he would be further persuaded against the cause of labor in coming months. Employees of the Pullman Co., which produced sleeping cars for passenger trains, protested wage cuts. Led by Eugene V. Debs, the American Railway Union (ARU) in sympathy refused to haul railroad cars made by the company. A general railway strike ensued, interfering with mail delivery. When the ARU refused a court order to return to work, Cleveland sent in federal troops against Governor Altgeld's expressed insistence that the Feds not invade Chicago. Cleveland replied:
"If it takes the entire army and navy of the United States to deliver a postal card in Chicago, that card will be delivered," Again, rioting broke out and strikers were killed and their leaders jailed. But the Labor Movement could not be stopped. Dissension spread to other cities such as Detroit where workers organized against the Detroit Employers Association, whose slogan "Prevention Is Better Than the Cure," black listed "Union Organizers, Immigrants and Other Undesirables."
Detroit's first "Labor Day Celebration" was on Aug. 16, 1884. A program held in Recreation Park attracted 50,000 Knights of Labor and the Trade and Labor Assembly, making it a popular and legitimate holiday. By 1900, the trend toward using the holiday largely for recreation so tempted the tired workers that unions affiliated with the Detroit Trades Council adopted special resolutions. They set fines against members who failed to show up for scheduled union functions. But as an incentive to members, 50 pounds of tobacco awaited the union with the best showing.
Throughout the twentieth century, the Labor Day rallies in Detroit became ground zero starts for Democratic Presidential Candidates to announce their campaigns. Candidates Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson, both Masons, came to Detroit early in their races on Labor Day to solicit the workers for support. Labor Day has since become firmly affixed as an American Institution, and Masons can take pride that their reason, intellect, and sense of fair play and justice has played an essential part in its development.
Fraternally,
Torence Evans Ake PM
Senior Deacon
Auburn Park Lodge No. 789
September 2006
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