May 2 2017

May 1st

Why is International Workers’ Day on May 1?

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/04/day-international-workers-day-170429074724991.html

In the late-19th century, socialists, communists and trade unionists chose May 1 to become International Workers’ Day.

The date was symbolic, commemorating the Haymarket affair, which took place in Chicago, in the US, in 1886.

For years, the working class – often forced to work up to 16 hours a day in unsafe conditions – had been fighting for an eight-hour workday.

Then, in October 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labour Unions of the United States and Canada decided that May 1, 1886, would mark the first day that an eight-hour workday would go into effect.

When that day arrived, between 300,000 and a half-million American workers went on strike in cities and towns across the country, according to various historians’ estimates.

Chicago, which was the nucleus of the struggle, saw an estimated 40,000 people protest and strike.

By • General • 0