This Labor Day, put down your burger and White Claw, and spend some time thinking about the American worker.

Sure, it can be easy to take a cynical view of the holiday, signed into law by President Grover Cleveland in 1894 after he sent thousands of U.S. troops to break a railroad strike in 27 states, leading to more than 50 deaths.

While workers got a day off, the holiday didn't do much to materially improve their lives. It wasn't until 1938, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act, that workers got a minimum wage and 44-hour work week. (It was lowered to 40 hours two years later.)

In 2021, there is still a lot of work to do. The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 per hour since 2009. Homelessness has risen for a fourth straight year. All while CEO pay continues to skyrocket.

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Here is a look at workers fighting for higher wages and better working conditions throughout U.S. history.