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Labor Day 2024: What’s open and closed

By Catherine Stoddard
Published  August 28, 2024 10:44am MST
Holidays
FOX TV Digital Team
article

The produce section of a grocery store in Klamath Falls, Oregon, US, on Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Chona Kasinger/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Labor Day, despite its name, it's usually a day of rest as well as a marker for an extended weekend. 

Ahead of the federal holiday, here is a list of what will be opened and what will be closed on Labor Day. 

RELATED: Labor Day 2024: When is it and why do we celebrate?

Closed

  • Post office
  • Banks
  • FedEx (Sunday before Labor Day and Labor Day)
  • UPS
  • Costco

Open

  • CVS (Some locations may have reduced hours. Double check with your local CVS)
  • Walgreens (Pharmacies will be closed except for 24-hour locations. Double check with your local Walgreens)
  • Target
  • Kroger and Kroger family of companies (Dillons, Ralphs, etc.)
  • Sam’s Club (Closes at 6 p.m. local times)
  • Aldi (Limited store hours)
  • Whole Foods (Stores have modified hours)
  • Big Lots
  • Walmart
  • Trader Joe’s
  • Albertsons Companies stores (Pharmacies may be closed or have adjusted hours)

Some hours may vary depending on location, so be sure to double check with your local businesses about their holiday hours. 

When did Labor Day become a federal holiday? 

Even before it was designated as a federal holiday, Labor Day was recognized by labor activists and in individual states, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. 

New York was the first state to introduce a bill making Labor Day a federally recognized holiday, but Oregon beat them to it by passing the first law. 

It’s unclear who first proposed the holiday for workers, but there are two people who are recognized as spearheading the initiative. 

Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, suggested a day to honor the laboring class in 1882, the DOL website said. 

However, there are some that say Matthew Maquire, a machinist, was the first person to propose the idea. 

Maguire, who later became the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, New Jersey, is suggested to have proposed the holiday, also in 1882, while he served as the secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York, according to the labor department.

First Labor Day

The very first official Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City. 

The Central Labor Union organized it and on June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a law making Labor Day a federal holiday.