The Friday File: Labor Day became an official national holiday on 6/28/1894 when President Cleveland signed a bill into law during the infamous and deadly Pullman strike. Back then, the work week was from Monday to Saturday and was 60-65 hours. By the 1920s the workweek fell to about 50 hours, and in 1940 Congress created the current 40-hour workweek. With 10 million job openings, labor has much to celebrate.