[L]abor Day originated in the labor movement and was conceived of by socialists.

The first Labor Day was celebrated on September 5th of 1882 in New York City. The Department of Labor claims on their website that the holiday was originally imagined as an innocuous celebration, with “[s]peeches by prominent men and women…introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday.”

However, the fact is that the first Labor Day saw 10,000 workers march from City Hall, past Union Square to 42nd Street as part of an “unpaid day-off” to give speeches and voice their discontent with the bosses. This was not simply the “festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families” that the Department of Labor website claims. Its origins lie clearly within the militant labor tradition of this country and of the international working class.

US: The History of Labor Day