History Of Commemoration Of International Labor Day May 1 And How To Commemorate May Day

Illustration of workers (Unsplash)

YOGYAKARTA The history of the commemoration of Labor Day which falls every May 1 is quite long. The commemoration, also known as May Day, has even become a national holiday. Then, what is the history of the commemoration day?

Did you know that May Day was born from a major demonstration that occurred in the 19th century and was carried out on May 1 in the United States. This action was carried out by workers who demanded the right to working hours.

The reason for choosing May 1 as Labor Day was at the same time commemorating the Haymarket riots in 1886. At that time there were approximately 300,000 workers who carried out work strikes and demonstrated to demand workers' rights which were met by capital owners.

During the demonstration, workers filed demands in the form of imposing working hours for 8 hours in one day. This was done because the workers were previously forced to work for 10 to 16 hours a day to trigger many deaths among the workers.

The VALuation has actually been going on for a long time. Among the workers themselves, since the 1860s, many have opposed the regulation. However, massive actions could only be gathered and deployed in the 1880s. The most peak action occurred on May 1, 1886. At that time it was reported that 300,000 to 500,000 workers had striked in several major cities, one of which was Chicago.

It must be noted that the actions carried out by the workers did not only occur one day. Because the demonstration continues. The police even tried to disperse the mass demonstration that was held at Chicago's Haymarket Square on May 4.

At Haymarket Square, the action was actually conducive. However, this calm only happened at the beginning of the action. The situation changed when a bomb was thrown into the crowd. As a result, there were 7 officers and 4 civilians died.

In the aftermath, many labor leaders and sympathizers were arrested by the police. The number is uncertain, but some sources say that 8 people have been arrested as the culprits of the action. A total of 7 people were tried with the death penalty, namely 4 people were hanged, 1 chose suicide, and the other two were imprisoned for life. The remaining 8 people were imprisoned for 15 years.

Due to the ongoing struggle of workers, in 1889 The International Socialist Conferences was held in Paris. The congress was held as a way to commemorate the chaos that occurred during a demonstration by workers at the Haymarket in Chicago.

This commemoration is used as the basis for International Labor Day or International Worker Day or more broadly known as May Day.

Every May 1, workers celebrate May Day in various ways. Meanwhile, in 2023 May Day falls on Wednesday. How to celebrate Labor Day is also diverse. Labor organizations often conduct studies related to the labor world to actions to support each other between workers.

That's information related to the history of International Labor Day commemoration. Visit VOI.ID to get the latest news.