But it wasn't until 12,000 government forces were sent to quell a strike, and two railway workers were tragically killed that pressure mounted from the American workforce and Labor Day was put on the federal calendar.
Along the way, you can also see the Iron Man sculpture, which was constructed by railway workers to commemorate the one millionth concrete sleeper laid during construction of the line.
In 1926 one inspector, Jean-Noel-Paul Pegourier, compared the treatment of workers on the railway to the German genocide of the Herero in Namibia before the first world war.
About 60,000 railroad workers are expected to strike across the country, which would shut down about 40% of long-distance trade routes, costing the economy an estimated $2 billion a day and crippling multiple industries.
President Truman had always been a friend of labor unions. But during the first months of his administration, he became involved in a fierce struggle with coal miners and railroad workers.
Unions have rallied behind railway workers associations who stage rolling walkouts since the head-on train collision in northern Greece February 28 that left 57 people dead and dozens injured.
When a traveling salesman named, Hamilton Carhartt asked railroad workers how their uniforms could be improved, he used his findings to create the first Carhartt product, a pair of overalls.