A Brief History of May Day

In the 1880s, Chicagoans were fed up with the status quo, where industrial workers toiled long hours in squalid conditions. The International Working People’s Association formed in 1883 and dedicated its resources to establishing an eight-hour work day. Led by Albert Parsons and August Spies, demands for an eight-hour day swept the nation.

At the American Federation of Labor’s 1884 convention, delegates adopted a resolution urging all workers to strike two years later, on May 1, 1886 and on that day more than 340,000 workers took part in national actions in support for an eight-hour day.

Two days later, activists organized a union action at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, where scabs had replaced locked out workers on strike. Police arrived to intimidate the strikers, beating them with billy clubs. As protestors exited, police ran at them and fired into the retreating crowd, killing at least six and injuring many more. In the coming days, tensions escalated between police and workers.

The following day, on May 4, labor leaders organized a rally in Haymarket Square. While the event was meant to be a non-violent protest of police brutality, it became violent, ultimately leading to the deaths of several civilians at the hands of the police, fellow officers, and dozens more injured.

News of the tragedy sent shockwaves through the labor movement worldwide. In 1889, labor advocates declared May 1 International Workers Day – or May Day – to commemorate the struggle of the Haymarket Affair and to build international workers’ solidarity.

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