Labor Day weekend is almost here, and many people across the country will be enjoying the long weekend by firing up the grill or cramming in last-minute back-to-school shopping. Class war is probably the last thing on most folks’ minds, but it shouldn’t be. See, Labor Day’s history is a lot more complicated than you might think, and while it seems like a great idea — A federal holiday that pays tribute to the working class and gives everyone a day off? You love to see it! — there are some glaring problems with the holiday, going back to its inception. Honestly, it’s kind of a government scam.

The local and state celebrations began in the 1880s, but the federal holiday was born at the height of the 1894 Pullman rail strike, when 125,000 workers across 29 railroads walked off the job to protest wage cuts. Widespread political unrest swept the nation. Historians say that then-president Grover Cleveland was worried about losing working class voters in the run-up to the 1896 election, so he signed the Labor Day bill in an effort to appease labor leaders. A parallel historical narrative claims that the bill was signed to quell leftist political dissent and, in doing so, discourage the working class from organizing against their Gilded Age oppressors.

The full history may be a bit more complicated. There’s some disagreement over Cleveland’s intentions in passing the bill, especially since he didn’t seek re-election, but many historians agree that the idea for Labor Day actually came from a laborer: Peter J. McGuire, founder of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America and an early leader of the American Federation of Labor, reportedly suggested the idea to the Central Labor Union (CLU) of New York, according to The Washington Post. Others say that the idea came from Matthew Maguire, the secretary of the New York CLU, but either way, the organization led the country’s first Labor Day parade, in 1882.

Other states followed, passing Labor Day legislation of their own, and in 1894, Cleveland signed the 83-word law designating the first Monday in September as “the day celebrated and known as Labor’s Holiday.”

Even if the holiday wasn’t intended to be a rip-off, it sure is now. The day that the Department of Labor says “celebrates and honors the greatest worker in the world — the American worker” only applies to some workers who have the luxury of a set schedule, and whose employers allow them to take that Monday off. For many workers, especially those in the fast food and restaurant industries, where businesses seldom close on federal holidays, and independent contractors, Labor Day is just another day on the clock. So much for being celebrated.

Labor Day’s original purpose — milquetoast as it may have been — has been further obscured by the onslaught of Labor Day sales, a ritual of mass commercial consumption second only to Black Friday in its ravenous capitalist largesse. During the 20th century, as the holiday’s radical past faded, parades and picnics became more popular ways to celebrate. It dawned on retailers that having that Monday off meant that people had a whole extra day to shop; thus, the blockbuster Labor Day sale was born.

It’s become a beach holiday, when parents and kids can let off some steam before the school year restarts, and stock up on new school clothes for half price. Working class rebellion has been traded for hot dogs, Bud Light, and bulletproof backpacks. Lucy Parsons, who helped lead the country’s first May Day parade in 1886, must be rolling in her grave.