By Richard Thabah
The origin of May Day is indissolubly bound up with the struggle for the shorter work day – a demand of major political significance for the working class. This struggle is manifest almost from the beginning of the factory system in the United States. Although the demand for higher wages appears to be the most prevalent cause for the early strikes in this country, the question of shorter hours and the right to organize were always kept in the foreground when workers formulated their demands against the bosses. and the government. As exploitation was becoming intensified and workers were feeling more and more the strain of inhumanly long working hours, the demand for an appreciable reduction of hours became more pronounced. Already at the opening of the 19th century workers in the United States made known their grievances against working from “sunrise to sunset.” The twenties and thirties are replete with strikes for reduction of hours of work and definite demands for a lo-hour day were put forward in many industrial centers.
The demand in those localities for a lo-hour day soon grew into a movement, which, although impeded by the crisis of 1837, led the federal government under President Van Buren to decree the lo-hour day, however, continued during the next decades. No sooner had this demand been secured in a number of industries than the workers began to raise the slogan for an 8-hour day. The feverish activity in organizing labor unions during the fifties gave this new demand an impetus which, however, was checked by the crisis of 1857. The demand was however, won in a few well- organized trades before the crisis. That the movement for a shorter workday was not only peculiar to the United States, but was prevalent wherever workers were exploited under the rising capitalist system, can be seen from the fact that even in far away Australia the building trade workers raised the slogan “8 hours work, 8 hours recreation and 8 hours rest” and were successful in securing this demand in 1856.
The 8-hour day movement which directly gave birth to May Day, must, however be traced to the general movement initiated in the United States in 1884. Most people living in the United States know little about the International Workers’ Day to May Day. For many others there is an assumption that it is a holiday celebrated in state communist countries like Cuba or the former Soviet Union. Most Americans don’t realize that May Day has its origins in their country. In the late nineteenth century, the working class was in constant struggle to gain the 8-hour work day. As early as the 1860’s, working people agitated to shorten the workday without a cut in pay, but it wasn’t until the late 1880’s that organized labor was able to garner enough strength to declare the 8-hour workday. This proclamation was without consent of employers, yet demanded by many of the working class.
At this time, socialism was a new and attractive idea to working people, many of whom were drawn to its ideology of working class control over the production and distribution of all goods and services. Workers had seen first-hand that Capitalism benefited only their bosses, trading workers’ lives for profit. Thousands of men, women and children were dying needlessly every year in the workplace, with life expectancy as low as their early twenties in some industries and little hope but death of rising out of their destitution. Socialism offered another opinion. .
Today we see tens of thousands of activities embracing the ideals of the Haymarket Martyrs and those who established May Day as an International Workers’ Day. Ironically, May Day is an official holiday in 66 countries and unofficially celebrated in many more, but rarely is it recognized in this country where it Began. Over one hundred years have passed since that first May Day. In the earlier part of the 21st century, the US government tried to curb the celebration and further wipe it from the public’s memory by establishing “Law and Order Day” on May 1. We can draw many parallels between the events of 1886 and today. We still have locked out steelworkers struggling for justice.
Words stronger than any I could write are engraved on the Haymarket Monument: “The day will come when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you are throttling today.” Truly, history has a lot to teach to us about the roots of our radicalism. When we remember that people were shot so we could have the 8-hour day; if we acknowledge that homes with families in them were burned to the ground so we could have Saturday as part of the weekend; when we recall 8-year old victims of industrial accidents who marched in the streets protesting working conditions and child labor only to be beat down by the police and company thugs, we understand that our current condition cannot be taken for granted – people fought for the rights and dignities we enjoy today, and there is still a lot more to fight for. The sacrifice of so many people cannot be forgotten or we’ll end up fighting for those same gains all over again. This is why we celebrate May Day.
Since the 18th century many Roman Catholics have observed May Day with various May devotions to the blessed Virgin Mary, in works of arts, school skits and so forth, Mary’s head will often be adorned with flowers in a May crowning. May 1st is also one of the two feast days of the Catholic patron Saint of workers, St-Joseph the worker, a carpenter, husband to mother Mary, and surrogate father of Jesus. Replacing another feast of Joseph, this date was chosen by the Pope Pius XII in 1955.
The first May Day celebration in India was organized in Madras by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan on May 1, 1923. This was also the first time the Red Flag was used in India. The Party Leader Chettiar made arrangement to celebrate May Day in two places in 1923, one meeting was held at the beach opposite to the Madras High Court, the other meeting was held at the Triplicate beach. The Labour Kisan Party has introduced May Day celebration in Chennai. Comrade Singaravelar presided over the meeting. A resolution was passed stating that the Government should declare May Day as a Holiday. The President of the party explained that workers of the world must unite to achieve independence in the work.
Today around India, organizations and trade unions arrange pageants, children enter contests so that they can understand the importance of fairness for workers, and political leaders make speeches. I request the government of Meghalaya that the 1st Day of May to be declared as a paid holiday as declared in other states like West Bengal, Kerala, Tripura, Maharashtra, Gujarat. Bihar, and Assam. Long live May Day, Long live workers union, red salute to all the workers.