There is a long and contentious, but mostly forgotten, history of laborers' rights in the United States.
These events in history were at times violent and bloody confrontations. Labor Day, to those with knowledge of this history, is a day of reconciliation and reverence.
Really? I thought September Labor Day was a day created to erase the memory of the Haymarket Massacre by discouraging workers from commemorating it on Real Labor Day, which in the US was instead called Americanization Day, Loyalty Day, and then Law Day, specifically in order to marginalize the people struggling for laborers' rights.
Initially I thought you were correct, but September Labor Day actually predates the Haymarket affair by four years.
"The first big Labor Day in the United States was observed on September 5, 1882, by the Central Labor Union of New York."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Day
You're right. Thanks for the correction! It does look like Red-phobia played a role in keeping the September date, but it was trade unions that chose it initially.
These events in history were at times violent and bloody confrontations. Labor Day, to those with knowledge of this history, is a day of reconciliation and reverence.