International Workers’ Day 2017: Top Quotes On Labor And Work To Celebrate May Day

In many countries around the world, May 1 is observed as International Workers’ Day or International Labor Day. In the United States, it is known as May Day, while the country’s Labor Day falls in September.

May 1 is a national holiday in several countries. It originated in the 19th century when trade unions and labor movements were on the rise along with several industries. May 1 was selected as International Workers’ Day to commemorate the Haymarket affair in Chicago on May 4, 1886, when police was working to control protesters during labor strike. An unidentified person hurled a bomb at the police, who in turn opened fire on the workers, leaving four civilians dead.

Here are some quotes on International Workers’ Day, gathered from Brainy Quote, Poem Of Quotes and The Fresh Quotes.

“It is labor indeed that puts the difference on everything.” — John Locke

“Labor Day is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race or nation.” — Samuel Gompers

“If wars are eliminated and production is organized scientifically, it is probable that four hours’ work a day will suffice to keep everybody in comfort.” — Bertrand Russell

“There is nothing laudable in work for work’s sake.” — John Stuart Mill

“Heaven is blessed with perfect rest but the blessing of earth is toil.” — Henry Van Dyke

“Labor was the first price, the original purchase-money that was paid for all things. It was not by gold or by silver, but by labor, that all wealth of the world was originally purchased.” — Adam Smith

“Labor is the only prayer that Nature answers.” — Robert Green Ingersoll

“Work isn’t to make money; you work to justify life.” — Marc Chagall

“When work is a pleasure, life is a joy. When work is a duty, life is a slavery.” — Maxim Gorky

“A bad day at work is better than a good day in hell.” — Scott Johnson

“Without labor, nothing prospers.” — Sophocles

“A mind always employed is always happy. This is the true secret, the grand recipe, for felicity.” — Thomas Jefferson

“Labor disgraces no man. Unfortunately, you occasionally find men who disgrace labor.” — Ulysses S. Grant

“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance, and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

“Sometimes it’s important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it’s essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow.” — Douglas Pagels

“Work is the means of living, but it is not living.” — Josiah Gilbert Holland

“From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.” — Karl Marx

“God sells us things at the price of labor.” — Leonardo da Vinci

“A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.” — Albert Einstein