1st of May is observed as International Workers Day throughout the world. The holiday began in the 1880s in the United States, with the fight for an eight-hour work day.
In 1884, the federation of organized Trades and labor Unions passed a resolution stating that eight hours would constitute a legal day’s work from and after May 1, 1886. The resolution called for a general strike to achieve the goal, since legislative methods had already failed. With workers being forced to work ten, twelve and fourteen hours a day, rank and file support for the eight hour movement grew rapidly, despite the indifference and hostility of many union leaders. By April 1886, 250,000 workers were involved in the May Day movement. The heart of the movement was in Chicago, organized primarily by the anarchist international working people’s Association. Businesses and the state were terrified by the revolutionary character of the movement. The police and the militia were increased in size and received new weapons.
By May 1st, the movement had already won gains for many Chicago clothing cutters, shoemakers and packing house workers. But on May 3, 1886, police fired in to a crowd of strikers at the McCormick Reaper Works factory, killing four and wounding many. Anarchists called for a mass meeting the next day in Haymarket Square to protest the brutality.
The meeting proceeded without incident, and by the time the last speaker was on the platform, the rainy gathering was already breaking up, with only a few hundred people remaining. As the speakers climbed down from the platform, a bomb was thrown at the police, killing one and injuring seventy. Police responding by firing into the crowd, killing one worker and injuring many others. The incident was used as an excuse to attack the entire Left and labor movement. Eight of Chicago’s most active were charged with conspiracy to murder in connection with the Haymarket bombing. Court found all eight guilty and they were sentenced to die.
It is not surprising that the state, business leaders, mainstream union officials and the media would want to hide the true history of May Day, portraying it as a holiday celebrated only in Moscow’s Red Squire. In its attempt to erase the history and significance of May Day, the United States government declared May 1st to be “Law Day”, and gave us instead Labor Day , a holyday devoid of any historical significance other than its importance as a day to swill beer and sit in traffic jams.
As workers, we must recognize and commemorate May Day not only for its historical significance, but also as a time to organize around issues of vital importance to working-class people today.
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