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Frederick Engels would be disappointed, no American knows who he is anyway.

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Wow...I didn't think such a simple concept would be so hard for people to understand.

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That isn't true at all. Durruti, Zapata, and hundreds of thousands of others prove the opposite of your point.

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Howard Zinn explaining Labor DayLabor Day was established more than a century ago. It was a time of tremendous unrest inAmerica, Grover Cleveland was president, railroad workers organized by Eugene V. Debs wereleading a nationwide strike against George Pullman. Pressured by the railroad executive,president Grover Cleveland declared the strike a federal crime and called out 12,000 troops.U.S. deputy marshals fired on protesters near Chicago. The strike was over, andCleveland tried to win the labor vote in his re-election by signing off on acongressional bill establishing Labor Day.He was not reelected.In 1898, Samuel Gompers head of the American federation oflabor called it, "the day for which the toilers in pastcenturies looked forward, when their rights and their wrongswould be discussed. . . that the workers of our day may notonly lay down their tools of labor for a holiday, but uponwhich they may touch shoulders in marching phalanx and feelthe stronger for it."But according to the Encyclopedia of the American left,Gompers and the A.F.L. elevated Labor Day as the preferredholiday of the American House of Labor over May Day, hecriticized May Day for its ties to anarchists and socialistpolitics.The Knights of Labor had their first Labor Day parade in NewYork in 1882. Two years later, they formally designated thefirst Monday in September as Labor Day. In 1894, Congressmade it a legal federal holiday.A contemporary Labor Day conjures up images of parades,department store sales, barbecues and trips to the beach.But things were rather different when the holiday wasinstituted. In the early years, Labor Day was an occasionfor demonstrations against low pay and harsh workingconditions. Often, orators from the Industrial Workers ofthe World -- the Wobblies -- would be at the forefront.The Wobblies were Marxist utopians. They weren't very goodat organizing -- at their peak, they numbered only about100,000 members. But they wrote some splendid songs. Indeed,it's fair to argue that their most enduring legacy to thetrade-union movement was their music. One of their mostprolific songwriters was Joel Haggland, a Swedish-bornitinerant laborer who changed his name to Joe Hill afterimmigrating to America. One of his most memorable effortswas:Pie in the SkyLong-haired preachers come out every nightTry to tell you what's wrong and what's rightBut when asked how 'bout something to eatThey will answer you with voices so sweet:You will eat, bye and byeIn that glorious land above the sky;Work and pray, live on hayYou'll get pie in the sky when you die.The starvation army they playThey sing and they clap and they pray.Till they get all your coin on the drumThey tell you when you are on the bum;Working men of all countries unite,Side by side we for freedom will fight:When the world and its wealth we have gainedTo the grafters we'll sing this refrain:You will eat, bye and bye,When you've learned to cook and to fry;Chop some wood, 'twill do you good,And you'll eat in the sweet bye and bye.In 1914, Hill was convicted of murder; his execution byfiring squad the following year prompted protests fromaround the land: President Woodrow Wilson was among thosewho asked that the execution be stayed. Joe Hill's finalpoem, his will, was scribbled shortly before his death:My Last WillMy will is easy to decideFor there is nothing to divideMy kin don't need to fuss and moan"Moss does not cling to a rolling stone."Hill's name became a legend in organized-labor circles -within a few years of his death, a ballad was written tohonor his memory:Joe Hill by Alfred HaynesI dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,Alive as you or me, Says I, "But Joe, you're 10 years dead.""I never died," says he."I never died," says he."In Salt Lake, Joe," says I to him,Him standing by my bed,"They framed you on a murder charge."Says Joe, "But I ain't dead."Says Joe, "But I ain't dead.""The copper bosses killed you, Joe,"They shot you, Joe," says I."Takes more than guns to kill a man,"Says Joe, "I didn't die."Says Joe, "I didn't die."And standing there as big as lifeAnd smiling with his eyes,Joe says, "What they forgot to kill"Went on to organize."Went on to organize.""Joe Hill ain't dead," he says to me,"Joe Hill ain't never died."Where working men are out on strike"Joe Hill is at their side."Joe Hill is at their side."

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Marx gets all the credit, along with Chico.

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