Who Founded Labor Day? The Answer Is Complicated | Time

Labor Day’s broad roots in the Labor movement are clear: President Grover Cleveland signed legislation on June 28, 1894, designating Labor Day a national holiday in the U.S. as a peace offering following a deadly railroad workers’ strike.

But exactly who should count as the “founder” of Labor Day, which is celebrated on the first Monday in September, has been the subject of debate since the 1890s.