Samuel Gompers was president of the American Federation of Labor when Labor Day became a U.S. federal holiday in 1894.
Gompers helped found the American Federation of Labor in 1886 and served as its first and most prominent long-term president. The AFL focused largely on organizing skilled workers and pursuing practical improvements such as higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions.
The federal Labor Day law followed years of organizing and public celebrations, including the 1882 New York parade. It also arrived during a tense period marked by the Pullman Strike, which shaped public debate about labor relations and government intervention.
Gompers was not the president who signed the federal holiday law. President Grover Cleveland signed it, while Gompers represented the labor movement whose organizing helped make recognition politically possible.