Labor Giant Peter J. McGuire Candidate for New Jersey Hall of Fame Mobile Museum
Carpenters Union Offers Nomination for the Father of Eight-Hour Work Day and Labor Day
Online, June 17, 2014 (Newswire.com) - The Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters (NRCC) has nominated labor pioneer and carpenter Peter J. McGuire (1852 – 1906) as an inductee into the 2014 New Jersey Hall of Fame (NJHOF).
McGuire, if selected, would be the first labor leader inducted into a list of luminaries that is replete with entertainers, politicians, sports stars, businesspeople and historical figures.
The NRCC (www.northeastcarpenters.org) is urging carpenters and noncarpenters throughout the country to vote for the man who was a towering figure in the labor movement. His efforts affected not only union members but also the average working person throughout the United States.
McGuire is credited with:
Becoming the first General Secretary of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters.
Gaining national acceptance for the eight-hour workday.
Laid foundation for a five-day workweek.
Creating and obtaining recognition for Labor Day, which honors all American workers.
Co-founding the American Federation of Labor, a forerunner to the AFL-CIO.
Helping promote one of the first Bureau of Labor Statistics in the United States.
Founder and editor of the first publication devoted to the carpentry trade, known as “The Carpenter.”
“McGuire’s tireless and selfless efforts on behalf of the average American worker are felt to this very day, more than 105 years after his death,” says NRCC Executive Secretary-Treasurer Michael Capelli. “It is fitting that his category is public service, because Peter J. McGuire spent his life, exhausted at the end, fighting for the rights and improvement of working conditions for all workers. We urge all Americans to vote for this champion of the common worker.”
The voting is open to the public. The public can vote by visiting the NJJHOF website, http://njhalloffame.org/2014-nominees/, and cast their vote for McGuire under the Public Service category. The deadline is June 20, 2014.
The New Jersey Hall of Fame, the only mobile museum of its kind in the United States, offers a dramatic multimedia exhibition created around the theme “Make a Difference.” McGuire committed a lifetime of effort on behalf of the American worker and deserves to be part of this illustrious Hall of Fame.
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