Part of GDC’s International May Day 2024 Campaign
Enacted into law in the USA in 1867, the 8 hour work day went unenforced. In 1884 the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions called for May 1, 1886 as the date of nationwide enforcement of the 8 hour work day; labor unions declared a national general strike in solidarity. Thousands went on strike across the country, including 30,000 to 40,000 workers in Chicago, IL. Anarchists Lucy and Albert Parsons helped to organize the Chicago rallies.
“Eight Hours for Work, Eight Hours for Rest, Eight Hours for What We Will!”
The strike continued into its third day, in an attempt to dispel the labor movement, the Police fired into the crowd as August Spies, another anarchist immigrant, spoke to striking workers outside the McCormick Reaper Factory on Chicago’s West Side.
Enraged, anarchists called a meeting at Haymarket Square the following day. As speakers addressed a crowd, police ordered everyone to disperse. It will never be confirmed who threw a bomb, causing an explosion that killed one cop. The police shot into the crowd, even at themselves in the chaos; the protesters began shooting back. 7 police and 4 civilians were killed at Haymarket. The Chicago police suppressed the labor movement, and wrongfully arrested 8 people on charges of conspiracy, related to the bombing. They were found guilty through a faulty trial, known as one of the most unjust trials in USA history. 4 were murdered by the state in a public hanging.
US capitalist imperialism continued to repress its own wage workers, but was met with staunch resistance, the US labor movement only grew stronger. The American Federation of Labor set May 1, 1890 as the date to renew the push for an 8 hour work day. The AFL president contacted the congress of the Second International (Socialists) in Paris asking for solidarity. International Workers’ Day, May 1 1890, was hugely successful in advancing labor rights and establishing May Day as International Workers’ Day globally! May 1 continues to be celebrated as International Workers’ Day/Labor Day around the world, as labor rights activists and the entire working class join in solidarity to resist capitalist imperialism and colonialism.