Image courtesy of Time Magazine
Every May, people come together across the world to commemorate the heroic efforts of workers during what is now known as May Day, or International Workers’ Day. The celebration’s origins date back to 1886, when more than 300,000 workers across the United States from hundreds of different trades walked off their jobs in what became the first May Day celebration in history. For decades people had been putting up with inhumane working conditions and cruel 12–16-hour workdays. Regional demonstrations had been underway at this point. However, May 1st would mark a turning point in history, being the day of the first nationwide general strike demanding an eight-hour workday.
These protests obviously threatened the establishment and specifically the American industrialists who were dependent on exploitative practices for their profit. They were especially unnerved by the popularity of anarchist and socialist organizations, under which many people rallied during this time.
On day four of the demonstrations, in Chicago, Illinois, a crowd was unjustly ordered to disperse after some particularly impassioned speeches. Historical narratives debate exactly what happened next, though it is generally agreed upon that someone threw a bomb into the crowd of workers, catalyzing an intense exchange of gunshots between demonstrators and police officers that would leave several people dead and over 70 injured. This event became known as the Haymarket Massacre. It was a huge setback for the movement and brought an end to this particular general strike. Authorities exploited the tragedies by using it to justify the arrest and execution of multiple figures at the head of the labor movement while anti-union rhetoric was taking hold throughout the country.
Though workers eventually won their right to the eight-hour workday and continue to celebrate the struggles of laborers and unions, every May, the American labor movement has had farther reaching effects into present society than most realize.
May Day is an official holiday in 66 countries and celebrated in many more. However, with the emergence of anti-communist ideologies in the American public, May Day is hardly recognized in its country of origin. This is likely for a few reasons. For one, the Second International (an organization of socialist and labor parties which originate back to 1889) adopted the day for their own celebration of workers and labor advancements, and the U.S. likely wanted to put a distance between themselves and the organization of socialist and labor parties whom they were ideologically opposed to. The day was also thought to be too political; many American politicians didn’t want to strengthen the existing socialist and anarchist movements as would occur by acknowledging the events of the day.
Instead, the government chose Labor Day, with its murkier origin story and less provocative symbolism. Labor Day is a holiday in America which has its associations with end of summer sales and the end of the cultural summer season. In other words, today, Labor Day is celebrated with the practice of rampant consumerism which has been indoctrinated into us since the industrial revolution and children’s return to an education system that seldom teaches a truthful narrative about American labor history.
America’s struggle with celebrating its labor history and commemorating workers’ efforts in all ways is further reflected in decreasing unionization trends. The Bureau of Labor Statistics annual union membership report shows that “Union density has been falling since the 1950s, and in absolute numbers since the 1980s, despite continued population (and job) growth. At its peak, around one in three US workers were union members; that number is now one in ten.” That being said, this year's data shows that the ranks of unionized workers grew by 200,000 between 2021 and 2022 which is optimistic after years of decline.
Despite the overall downward trends following unions and labor rights, these issues are as relevant now as they have ever been. Wage growth has stagnated while the cost of living has risen. The COVID-19 pandemic brought many common exploitative or inhumane labor practices into public discourse with the economic turmoil that has resulted from the pandemic and the advent of remote work. The number of large corporations that dominate industry is shrinking while the government has increasingly prioritized appealing to corporate interests, an act that has only contributed to an overall weakening of democracy and growing wealth disparities across the nation.
With the continued circulation of Cold War rhetoric and conservative political agendas, unions and collective organizing for the advancement of labor rights have garnered a poor reputation. However, as history has shown us, when people come together to create needed change in these areas, they have brought great success which carries into contemporary times.
Unions are inherently democratic- they are entirely worker-run coalitions that serve to represent the voices of the people. They foster productive conversations between workers, which don’t always find a place in a normal work environment.
This May Day, challenge your assumptions about the U.S.’ labor rights history. Instead of buying into typical capitalist narratives which villainize this history and discourage organizing, read up on the power that you as an individual have to make change in this system.