While we here in the US celebrate Labor Day in September, the rest of the world is celebrating its workers today, May 1st. From the Wikipedia summary, here’s a good overview:
Traditionally, 1 May is the date of the European spring festival of May Day. In 1889, the Marxist International Socialist Congress met in Paris and established the Second International as a successor to the earlier International Workingmen's Association. They adopted a resolution for a "great international demonstration" in support of working-class demands for the eight-hour day. The 1 May date was chosen by the American Federation of Labor to commemorate a general strike in the United States, which had begun on 1 May 1886 and culminated in the Haymarket affair four days later. The demonstration subsequently became a yearly event.
We asked Hightower for his thoughts about May Day, and here’s what he had to say:
“On May Day, I think of champions of the struggle for the democratic rights of working people, like Cesar Chavez and Delores Huerta. Also of spiritual activists who confront a materialistic, elitist culture with barbs about the absurdity of inequality in our land of unparalleled wealth. Agitators like Dorothy Day and Hélder Câmara, who noted: ‘When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist.’”
Voice of America explains why Americans moved their Labor Day to September:
Following the Haymarket affair, a strong anti-union movement arose in the United States. Over the years, May Day became more associated with the political far left, while Labor Day, held in September, was recognized by a growing number of municipalities and states. When the United States began to seriously consider creating a national holiday for workers, U.S. President Grover Cleveland did not want to choose the May date because of its association with the [Haymarket] bombing, so instead picked the alternative day in September.
Back in 2015, Hightower shared more of this history in a (U.S.) Labor Day article about the state of workers organizing—enjoy!
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