According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Labor Day started in 1882, even before President Grover Cleveland signed a bill, making it a national holiday in 1894.
Labor unions nationwide and in Montana celebrated the holiday on Monday.
The annual Labor Day picnic at Rose Park is quite a tradition that gives union membership a chance to come together, hear about some of the issues and who is running for office.
More that 1,000 from about 15 unions came out to enjoy the picnic, which has been happening for almost 40 years.
But it's part of the union tradition in Billings that started in 1906.
"This is an opportunity for us to celebrate what we have and celebrate that solidarity," said Austin Rogers, Greater Yellowstone Labor Council president.
Rogers says while union members come from a variety of jobs, they can find areas of commonality.
"We're all fighting for the same things," Rogers said. "We're fighting for a living wage. We're fighting for dignity in the workplace. And this is an opportunity for us to celebrate that."
"There are 50,000 members in the (Montana) A.F.L.-C.I.O., said Jason Small, the Monana A.F.L.-C.I.O. executive secretary. "So I think we do a pretty good job of holding together and maintaining the line."
Small is a state senator from Busby on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, and was recently elected to the union position.
"I'm a Republican senator," Small said. "Ran for (executive secretary) and got it and kind of staggered everybody a little bit. They were like, oh, this happened. Well, there's a pretty good handful of us that are pro-labor Republicans too."
"Small is a great brother," Rogers said. "And Small has a 100% voting record with the AFL-CIO. He's union through and through."
Candidates from both parties came out to the picnic and Roger says unions he leads do not solely support Democrats.
"That's really not how it's ever worked in my experience," Rogers said. "Maybe years and years ago. But as long as I've been a part of this, it's been about unions, and it's been about what we're building here."
"We have Republican candidates and Democrat candidates we're supporting which is probably different than years gone by," Small said. "We're transitioning. You can't keep doing the same thing over and over and losing. So we've got to get ahead of the game here and get everything lined up."
