The 1st of May every year is International Workers' Day, which is a day of identification and struggle for the working class, better working conditions and the strengthening of workers' organizations.
Labor Day is a very old holiday. It began in the 1980s, when workers demanded that the working day be limited to eight hours. Workers' unions in Toronto, Canada, demonstrated on April 15, 1872, for the release of 24 printing workers who went on strike in order to limit the working day to 9 hours. They were arrested because workers' union and strike were then illegal. May 1 was set as the ultimatum to change the workday to 8 hours. The workers' demands were not met and they launched a general strike. On May 4, 1886, a demonstration in the city of Chicago went out of control and turned into a riot, killing about 60 protesters and seven policemen. Following this, the socialist movement turned its flag into a red flag, as a reminder of the blood of the working class that was shed. The riots that erupted that day were called the Haymarket affair.
Today the holiday is celebrated in most countries of the world.
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| In the photo: the demonstration in the Haymarket affair, May 15, 1886 |
May 1st is also Lei Day