Most people do not know that Christmas as a national holiday in the United States came about because of a labor dispute with federal workers. Society at large hardly worked on Christmas in 1870 and federal workers were jealous that they didn’t get the day off with pay like their private sector counterparts. So they started a petition and eventually it was made law. Christmas is on the federal calendar and has been since 1870 because federal workers were upset.
They are mad again. They want more time off. Their reasoning is this: Christmas falls on a Thursday this year and, just like in 1870, a majority their private sector counterparts get the day after Christmas off, giving them a four day weekend. Federal workers want that too.
So they have filed a petition with the White House asking for executive action. Given the breathtaking pace at which President Obama has taken executive orders the chances are pretty good this will be signed so he can get back on the golf course.
Experts say the odds of federal workers being successful at this are pretty slim considering the extra day off won’t really save the government much money.
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