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May Day - International Workers' Day

© Linda Campbell

Last week we looked at the pagan origns of May Day. In today’s society, May Day has another meaning. It is International Workers’ Day, when workers traditionally demonstrate for their rights. How has this pre-Christian fertility celebration become associated with protests?

In the 18th century, workers, including children, were expected to labour for 14 hours or more every day. In 1884 the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada resolved to make 8 hours the legal workday by May 1st 1886. Workers enthusiastically claimed this cause and the International Working People’s Association, a militant group, organised strikes.

Some 30,000 employees gained the eight hour day before the deadline of May 1st. Hundreds of thousands of workers demonstrated on May Day. 90,000 people marched in Chicago alone. Workers went on strike. On May 3rd four workers were killed in a battle with the police in Chicago. The following day, an angry demonstrator threw a bomb into the police ranks. 66 police officers were wounded and seven died. More workers died in the riot that followed.

These incidents led to the police arresting eight of the leaders and charging them with murder. Despite no evidence being produced to link them in any way with the bombing, seven of the leaders were sentenced to death. Two had their sentences reduced to life imprisonment, four were hanged on November 11, 1887 and one committed suicide before his sentence could be carried out.

Six years later, the three imprisoned men were freed and the five dead men were posthumously pardoned.

This dreadful chain of events led to a much more powerful labour movement. On May 1st 1890, demonstrations for an 8 hour day took place, not only in America and Canada, but also in Europe and South America. Since then May Day as International Workers’ Day has grown to be an international event. In 1920, Chinese workers joined the movement.

However in the United States, a number of changes took place. May Day became known as Law Day, rather than International Workers’ Day. During the Cold War era, May Day demonstrations came under serious attack by the media and participatiion dwindled. Recently there has been a resurgence of interest in International Workers’ Day and each year sees more and more people gathering in hundreds of cities across the world to celebrate and protest.

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