09/05/2026
Did you know that New York City hosted the nation’s first official Labor Day parade on September 5, 1882? Labor Day became a federal holiday in the U.S. on June 28, 1896. As Labor Day approaches, revisit the history of labor resistance in New York City through the presence of the General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen.
Founded in 1785 by twenty two skilled craftsmen, the General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen, of which Joseph Brewster was a member, has focused on providing educational and social services to the families of artisans. By 1792, the Society had grown to 432 members and established its charter in New York City. Masons, carpenters, stonecutters, and other artisans over age 21 were eligible. Between 1809 and 1819, these men and women organized strikes as wealth in the city became concentrated in non-corporate industries. Craftsmen found it increasingly difficult to find adequate wages in their trades, an issue that union workers also fought to resolve.
Members seized the political moment and opened the Mechanics School in 1820, one of the city’s first tuition-free schools. Toward the end of the year, the General Society constructed a separate school for women, almost unheard of at the time.
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🎖Membership Certificate, General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen (courtesy of the General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen)
📜Certificate of Membership, General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen, 1822. (courtesy of the New York Public Library)
💪“By hammer and hand all arts do stand”, General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen (courtesy of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, People’s World magazine)
