500 Essays Celebrating May Day International Labor Day

1889 On July 4th, the socialist congress convened by Marxists from all over the world was grandly opened in Paris, France. At this congress, French representative Lavin proposed that May 1 886, the day when American workers fought for the eight-hour working day, be designated as the International Proletarian Day. The delegates unanimously agreed to adopt this historic resolution. Since then, "May 1" International Labor Day was born.

Why should this day be designated as International Labor Day? This has to start with the 19 American workers' movement in the 1980s. At that time, many countries in the United States and Europe gradually developed from capitalism to imperialism. In order to stimulate the rapid economic development and extract more surplus value to maintain this high-speed capitalist machine, capitalists constantly exploit workers by increasing labor time and labor intensity. In the United States, workers have to work 14 to 16 hours a day, and some even as long as 18 hours, but their wages are very low. The supervisor of a shoe factory in Massachusetts said, "Let a strong and healthy boy 18 years old work next to any machine here, and I can make his hair turn white at the age of 22." The heavy class oppression aroused the great anger of the proletarians. They know that the only way to survive is to unite and fight against capitalists through strike movement. The strike slogan put forward by the workers is to demand an eight-hour working day.

1877, the first national strike in American history began. The working class took to the streets to demonstrate and proposed to the government to improve working and living conditions, demanding that working hours be shortened and an eight-hour working day be implemented. Shortly after the strike, the ranks were expanding day by day, the number of trade union members surged, and workers from all over the country also took part in the strike movement. Under the strong pressure of the workers' movement, the US Congress was forced to enact laws on the eight-hour working day. However, the vicious capitalists simply ignored it. This law is just a dead letter, and the workers are still living in dire straits and suffering from capitalists. The workers who can't bear it decided to push this struggle for the right to life to a new climax and prepare to hold a larger strike movement.

1884 in June, eight international and national workers' groups in the United States and Canada held a rally in Chicago, USA, and decided to hold a general strike on May 1886, forcing capitalists to implement an eight-hour working system. This day has finally arrived. On May 1 day, 350,000 workers from more than 20,000 enterprises in the United States stopped working and took to the streets to hold a large-scale demonstration. Workers of all colors and jobs went on a general strike together. In Chicago alone, 45,000 workers poured into the streets. In this case, all major industrial departments in the United States are paralyzed, trains are frozen snakes, shops are silent, and all warehouses are closed and sealed. At that time, an "eight-hour song" was popular among striking workers. Sang Song: "We want to change the world. We are tired of working in vain, only getting paid for living, and never have time to think. We want to smell the flowers, we want to bask in the sun, and we believe that God only allows eight-hour working days. We gather our team from docks, workshops and workshops, and strive for eight hours of work, eight hours of rest and eight hours for ourselves! " Passionate songs sang the voices of workers and the common aspirations of proletarians all over the world, infected the broad masses, and supported the workers' strike movement in succession, pushing the strike movement to a new climax. The great power of the strike movement made the government authorities and capitalists extremely panic. They are not willing to agree to the workers' conditions, showing their ferocity. On May 3, the Chicago government finally tore off the mask of "democracy" and suppressed the workers with violence. They organized strikers to sneak into the workers' strike team under the protection of the police, deliberately creating chaos and using this as an excuse to shoot and kill six workers on the spot. This atrocity aroused the great indignation of the workers in the city, and they were determined to avenge the dead workers' brothers!

In order to commemorate the strike movement of American workers on May 1886+0 1 and promote the struggle enthusiasm of the working class all over the world, this day was designated as the International Proletarian Day. Every May 1 day, the working class of all countries hold large-scale demonstrations to fight for their rights.

China people's activities to celebrate Labor Day can be traced back to 19 18. That year, some revolutionary intellectuals distributed leaflets introducing May Day to the masses in Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Hankou. On May 1920 and 1 day, workers from industrial cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Jiujiang and Tangshan marched to the market and held a massive procession and assembly, which was the first May Day in the history of China. After liberation, the State Council, the central people's government, designated May 1 day as February's legal Labor Day 1949, which is a national legal holiday. In this festival, the whole country celebrates, people wear festive costumes and happily gather in parks, theaters and squares to participate in various celebration gatherings or cultural and entertainment activities to commend workers who have made outstanding contributions.

Labor day in the United States is not May Day;

"May 1" International Labor Day is a festival for working people all over the world to unite and struggle. Everyone knows that this festival originated in the United States, but Labor Day in the United States is not on May Day, but on the first Monday in September every year. Why is this?

1886, 1 In May, when the capitalist industry had leapt to the top in the world, a nationwide workers' strike took place, with the goal of realizing the eight-hour working system (at that time, the working hours of American workers were 12- 16 hours a day or even more). On this day, more than 65,438+065,438+0,000 enterprises and 350,000 workers in the United States stopped work and held demonstrations. However, they were suppressed by the American authorities. For example, more than 200 people were killed or injured in Chicago, and seven workers' leaders were sentenced to death and life imprisonment. However, the May 1 strike won the sympathy and support of international workers, especially European workers, and finally forced the American bourgeoisie to make concessions: in that year, the United States185,000 people won an eight-hour working day; No matter how stubborn the enterprise is, it is necessary to shorten the daily working hours to 9- 10 hours.

The following year, a resolution was passed at the second international founding conference held in Paris, stipulating that May 1 day of each year is the International Labor Day. However, the leaders of the American Federation of Trade Unions did not actively organize the commemoration and celebration of May Day. Later, when the American government set up Labor Day, it deliberately avoided May Day and stipulated the first Monday in September as Labor Day. On Labor Day in September every year, Americans can have a day off. People all over the United States generally hold parades, rallies and other celebrations to show their respect for workers. In some states, people have a picnic after the parade, eating, drinking, singing and dancing. At night, fireworks will be set off in some places.

Foreign Labor Day celebrations:

Russia: There are many parades, rallies and entertainment activities. Since the establishment of Labor Day internationally, Russia has always attached great importance to this special festival. On May 1 day, there was a national holiday in Russia, and various celebrations and mass demonstrations were held. In the past, the above activities were mainly organized by the government, and the procession included representatives from various enterprises and institutions. Now, in addition to the government's overall celebration, non-governmental organizations and labor groups with different political views will spontaneously hold various celebrations on this day, which can not only take this opportunity to fully explain their political views, but also expand the influence of the organizations. Generally speaking, the "May Day" parade first passes through the main streets and squares of the city, and finally holds a large-scale rally and celebration in the old or wide central square. At the same time, various clubs all over Russia will hold colorful entertainment activities, and people's holiday mood is very high.

Japan: Labor Day coincides with the "Golden Week". Japan is a country with many festivals. There are many festivals around May 1, such as April 29th Arbor Day, May 3rd Constitution Day, 4th National Holiday and 5th Children's Day. These holidays are linked together. Generally, Japanese people have at least one week's holiday, and the longest even reaches 1 1 day. For the working class, the meaning of this long holiday is really unusual. Therefore, in Japan, the special celebration of Labor Day is gradually replaced by the "May Day Golden Week". And from April 29th, Japan entered the "Golden Week". Many hotels, hot springs and other entertainment facilities in Japan put out various advertisements to attract tourists before May Day, and the price of ordinary hotels has more than doubled.

Canada: Labor Day in September marks the end of summer. As a North American country, Canada, like the United States, also celebrates Labor Day on the first Monday in September every year. In Ottawa, Toronto and other cities, parades and rallies are held every year on Labor Day in recognition of the contributions made by workers under the trade unions to Canadian society. In addition, what is even more unusual is that in the minds of most Canadians, Labor Day in September this year marks the end of summer. Under normal circumstances, parents will use the Labor Day holiday to buy school supplies for their children in the new semester, and businesses often take the opportunity to promote stationery.

Thailand, Peru: Take a day off. Thailand promulgated the labor regulations for the first time in 1932, and then designated May 1 every year as National Labor Day to reward hard-working workers. On this day, Thailand will have a unified national holiday, and the capital and some big cities will also have related celebrations, but the scale will generally not be too large.

Similar to the situation in Thailand, Peru, a South American country, also stipulates that May 1 day is the national labor day, with national statutory holidays.

Italy: No celebrations, no holidays, and European countries such as Britain and France all regard May as Labor Day. Many countries have a day off, and some countries put the public holiday on the first Monday in May according to the situation. However, unlike most countries in the world, although Italy recognizes the "May 1" International Labor Day and the government shows respect to workers, most people do not hold special celebrations or have a national "May 1" holiday.

Danbury Hart case:

In the event of a conflict of interest, the tradition of Americans seeking solutions through judicial channels has also injected rational norms into a worker's "mass movement" that seems to be very easy to get out of control. The first famous strike case that was brought to court was the Danbury Hatter case.

A company in Danbury, Connecticut 1902 filed a civil lawsuit, accusing workers of obstructing trade and violating the anti-monopoly law, because the Hatters' Union of the American Labor Union (AFL) organized workers to boycott the company because the company did not allow workers to form unions. The case took several years to appeal to the federal court. 1908, the federal supreme court ruled against workers by 5 votes to 4 votes. This ruling means that workers can "directly boycott" a company as workers or consumers, such as not buying the company's products, or going on strike, or not recruiting for the company. This direct boycott is completely legal. But workers can't force other companies not to buy the products of this company, nor can they force others not to cooperate with this company (for example, they are not allowed to go to work during a strike). Such a "second boycott" is illegal. In other words, you can resist yourself, but you can't force others to resist like you. The court imposed a fine of $250,000 on 65,438+084 hat makers in Danbury. After the Supreme Court ruled, the All-American Federation of Labor launched a fund-raising campaign to pay fines for 184 hat workers to prevent their houses from being confiscated.

This ruling conveys two messages. First of all, judicial procedure may become a way to solve labor conflicts. Trade unions and employers may use this method, and it is necessary for them to know what is legal and what is illegal. Second, the trade union's boycott of the company can only be carried out within the scope of "direct boycott". 1947, Taft-Hartley Act clearly stipulates that the second boycott is illegal. Since then, a similar second boycott has disappeared in the American trade union movement. However, in the same case, the Supreme Court also ruled that according to the freedom of speech clause of the Constitution, trade unions can set up propaganda slogans and propagandists at the door of businesses to inform the public that the products of a company they want to boycott are "unfair" and appeal to the public not to buy them. This is legal, but it can't be said that these businesses selling goods are also "unfair", and the public can't be appealed not to buy all the goods of these businesses. The latter practice is a "second boycott", which is illegal. Here, the American judicial independence and the efforts of the judicial system to establish the credibility of "justice" first established the legal culture of the American people, which played a great role in the development of the situation towards a virtuous circle. If there is no such provision, the court will unreasonably favor the government or enterprises, and the workers will attack the court if they refuse to accept it. That is really a mess and there is no antidote.

1909, 20,000 garment factory workers, mostly women workers, almost all new immigrants from Eastern Europe, went on strike under the banner of the Garment Women Workers' Union. They won wide public support and finally won the conditions of working 52 hours a week and increasing wages. 19 10, 50,000 garment workers in new york went on strike. They invited the famous lawyer Louis Brandis to negotiate. Thanks to his efforts, the strike has achieved important results, which not only won favorable remuneration conditions for workers, but also set an example for peaceful negotiations. Brandis later served as a judge of the Federal Supreme Court.