Happy May Day!
Today is the first of May and the International Day of the Worker….how many know the history behind May Day?
You know me any chance to drop some history and I am there…..
May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day, is a holiday celebrating workers and the history of labor organizing. Every year on May 1st, working people around the world join together for a day of remembrance and demonstrations. The holiday is a significant display of international solidarity and worker power. In Los Angeles, May Day unites the labor movement with advocates for immigrant rights and other community organizations.
The origins of May Day can be traced back to international labor organizing in the late 19th century. The holiday originated from a movement demanding improved working conditions and greater recognition for workers’ contributions. In 1884, a national federation of unions announced a campaign to establish an eight-hour workday by May 1, 1886. Workers in cities across North America went on strike leading up to that date in one of the era’s largest and most tumultuous periods of worker unrest.
In May 1886, police in Chicago shot striking workers, prompting activists to organize a protest in the city’s Haymarket Square. When a bomb exploded at that protest, killing one police officer and wounding others, police opened fire into the crowd, resulting in the deaths and injuries of both police and protesters. Eight protesters were arrested for inciting violence. The ensuing trial was considered by many to be unfair and resulted in the execution of seven of the eight men (1). This series of events would come to be known as the “Haymarket Incident” or “Haymarket Affair.” The image below is a newspaper clipping reporting on the executions from the Watertown Republican, November 16, 1887. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress’ “Chronicling America” digital project (2).
In the years following 1886, international labor groups and socialist advocates endorsed the commemoration of May 1 as International Workers’ Day or May Day. In some places around the world the “Chicago Martyrs” are still memorialized in May Day activities. But in the U.S., May Day celebrations became less common during the height of the Cold War.
May Day should always be about the worker and their place in society.
Do not let some pseudo-intellectual tell you any different.
Be Smart!
Learn Stuff!
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”