Workers celebrate May 1st as a day of struggle for rights and against oppression.
May 1st is a day dedicated to class struggle.
247 - May 1st is one of the most important dates in the history of the labor movement. The date is linked to the struggles of the working masses for better living and working conditions. Over the years, May 1st has become one of the most important symbols of class struggle and international workers' solidarity.
The origin of May Day lies in the tragic events that occurred in 1886 in the city of Chicago, in the United States, when strikes and demonstrations by workers demanding a reduction in working hours were harshly repressed. More than 5 factories were paralyzed and about 340 workers took to the streets to demand a reduction in working hours.
On May 4th, during a protest by striking workers in Haymarket Square, a bomb exploded, killing a police officer. The conflict escalated. In total, 38 workers were killed and 115 were injured. The struggle was not in vain because, as a result of these strikes, working hours were reduced.
However, more than 300 strike leaders were arrested and tortured during interrogations. Eight leaders of the movement – journalist Auguste Spies of the “Workers’ Daily,” and unionists Adolf Fisher, George Engel, Albert Parsons, Louis Lingg, Samuel Fielden, Michael Schwab, and Oscar Neebe – were arrested and brought to trial. They would go down in history as “The Eight Martyrs of Chicago.”
On August 20 of the following year, Spies, Fisher, Engel, Parsons, Lingg, Fielden, and Schwab were sentenced to death; Neebe received a 15-year prison sentence. Shortly afterward, due to the wave of protests, Lingg, Fielden, and Schwab had their sentences reduced to life imprisonment.
In 1891, the Socialist International decided at its congress in Brussels that "on May 1st there will be a single demonstration for workers of all countries, as an affirmation of class struggle and a demand for the eight-hour workday." From that event onward, International Workers' Day became known as International Workers' Day, a day of struggle against capitalist oppression and exploitation.
Throughout the 20th century, May 1st became a day of class struggle, fighting for the social, labor, and political rights of workers.
With the advent of socialism in various countries, May Day also became a day of struggle for broader causes, linked to anti-imperialist movements and the cause of world peace.