May Day commemorates the sacrifice of union workers in the 1880s

May Day commemorates the sacrifice of union workers in the 1880s

In the 1880s, Chicago workers had had enough because of long hours and harsh conditions that pushed them to demand change. The International Working People’s Association, formed in 1883, championed the eight-hour workday. The movement gained national momentum. At its 1884 convention, the American Federation of Labor called for a nationwide strike on May 1, 1886. On that day, over 340,000 workers took to the streets in support of an eight-hour wo…

The day of May 1 was officially proclaimed ''International Workers' Day' on the occasion of the Paris Congress of 1889, which kicked off the Second International. That date was chosen to commemorate one of the many conflicts between strikers and police that led to the historic conquest of the 8-hour working day (“If 8 hours seem few to you, try to work/and you will understand the difference between working and commanding” was the beginning of a …