MAY DAY what happened to the radical workers' holiday?

Michelle Cobban

The fact that workers had it tough in the early years of the American  Industrial Revolution is widely taught in schools. Sixteen-hour workdays  in dangerous conditions, child labor, exploitation, and accidents were  common; then, magically, everything became better in a civilized,  twentieth-century way. The forces behind this change are left ambiguous  at best, and the radical labor movement isn't discussed--too difficult  for young minds, perhaps. And so the visions of masses of militant  workers parading through the streets of cities, towns, and villages on  May Day is lost in the revision of history.

May Day is not just about the arrival of spring. It is also 1880s  workers demanding humane treatment; it is men and women around the world  marching in solidarity against the factory owners who would have them  work all day, every day but Sunday; it is anarchists, socialists, and  leftists of every kind working together within the labor movement. This  association of May Day with radicalism is ultimately what led to it  being downplayed in contemporary accounts, while Labor Day remains as a  state-sanctioned holiday.

The first May Day, in 1886, was a call for eight-hour workdays by the  workers in many American cities; it is now mostly associated with the  Haymarket Martyrs. A bomb thrown by an unknown person at a labor rally  in Chicago's Haymarket Square killed one policeman; authorities rounded  up whom they considered to be the leaders of the local labor movement  and put them on trial. Mother Jones said of the incident: "The workers  asked only for bread and a shortening of the long hours of toil. The  agitators gave them visions. The police gave them clubs."

The charge against the accused, eight anarchists, was conspiracy--labor  unions were illegal at the time under conspiracy laws. The prosecution  summed up their arguments with: "Anarchy is on trial...[These men] are  no more guilty than those thousands who follow them...convict these men,  make examples of them, hang them and you save our institutions, our  society." All were found guilty; four of the eight were hanged, one  committed suicide in jail, and the remaining three were freed years  later when public opinion turned against the rigged trial.

Because of the chilling effect this event had on labor, the next May Day  wasn't observed until 1890. Spurred by a resolution from the American  Federation of Labor (AFL) and the International Socialist Congress, this  day saw parades not only in American cities but simultaneous  demonstrations throughout the European industrial centers and in Havana,  Cuba. The common theme was the demand for guaranteed eight-hour  workdays, and to raise awareness of the common class struggle existing  in all countries. From that time on, May Day became an annual gathering  of the working class in industrial countries.

In the US, Labor Day was started in September of 1882, and quickly  became an official holiday at the same time May Day spread throughout  the world. Labor Day is a time to celebrate the contributions American  workers had given their country, unlike May Day events, which focused on  the international class struggle. It remains a patriotic holiday, and  compared to the first May Day demonstrations, Labor Day is recognized by  relatively staid parades and speeches.

Besides the prominence government recognition gave to Labor Day, other  factors led to the diminished importance of May Day in the US. American  newspapers stereotyped the May Day revelers as being "wild-eyed  agitators;" in contrast, those who participated in Labor Day marches  were "sober, clean, quiet." At the turn of the century, the difference  between the two holidays was exaggerated; the press emphasized the large  percentage of immigrants present in May Day celebrations, while Labor  Day was "a demonstration of the honest American workingman." At a time  when the foreign born were increasingly viewed with suspicion, this  portrayal helped push more conservative labor groups in the US (such as  the AFL) to abandon May Day in favor of Labor Day.

Section of 1947 New York City May Day parade. photo from May Day: a Short History of the International Workers' Holiday

But American radicals wouldn't give up. Eugene V. Debs, Socialist Party  candidate for US President, stated in 1907: "This is the first and only  International Labor Day. It belongs to the working class and is  dedicated to the revolution." The Industrial Workers of the World, a  radical labor union, also rallied around May Day. May Day continued to  grow, calling for an end to "imperialist slaughter," throughout WWI and  the beginning of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.

The fear of socialist revolution increased the anti-communist sentiment  in America; in 1919 May Day participants were attacked by police and  anti-labor rioters, which led to the destruction of socialist or  communist party offices in many cities. Workers encountered difficulty  in getting permission for marches, and some cities required that the  American flag be carried. Similar attacks or bans on May Day parades  became common throughout non-socialist European countries, especially in  fascist Italy and Germany.

May Day continued to grow everywhere in the world--Canada, South Africa,  China, Japan, and Korea all saw nascent labor movements celebrate May  Day. The largest turnouts were in the Soviet Union and Cuba; US media  increasingly described May Day as a "commie" event, even though American  leftists of all types continued to participate, calling for fairness and  equal opportunity on the job. Large-scale demonstrations led to  employers recognizing the eight-hour day and forty-hour workweek, among  other achievements. But between the Cold War and McCarthyism,  participation in May Day events in the US dwindled.

May Day is still celebrated by socialist, communist, and labor  organizations in America. May Day 1998 saw a small demonstration in  Olympia against the Washington State "anarchy and sabotage" statute,  which in 1919 made it illegal for anyone to display banners, flags, or  emblems that are perceived to advocate subversion of the US  Constitution, federal or state laws. In Seattle, hundreds marched for  unionization and better pay for child-care workers, and on the UW campus  over 500 participated in the first annual Teach-In on Globalization and  Democracy, subtitled "Do Free Markets make Free People?"

It is ironic that while May Day began in America, participation has  paled in contrast to the millions of activists who still celebrate May  Day around the world. The impetus for May Day still exists; it only  needs the spark of organization to flare up again and command the  attention of America's corporations.

For a more thorough history of May Day, see May Day: A Short History of  the International Workers' Holiday by Philip S. Foner, International  Publishers, New York, 1986.

http://students.washington.edu/ruckus/vol-2/issue-6/mayday.html

Ruckus http://students.washington.edu/ruckus/index.html   version 2.6  http://students.washington.edu/ruckus/vol-2/issue-6/index.html