What holiday is May 1st?

The origin of May Day International Labor Day:

On July 14, 1889, the Socialist Congress convened by Marxists from various countries grandly opened in Paris, France. At this conference, French representative Lavin proposed that May 1, 1886, the day when American workers fought for the eight-hour working day, be designated as the international proletarian holiday. Delegates at the meeting unanimously adopted this historic resolution. Since then, the "May Day" International Labor Day was born.

Why should this day be designated as International Labor Day? This has to start with the American labor movement in the 1880s. At that time, many countries in the United States and Europe were gradually developing from capitalism to the imperialist stage. In order to stimulate rapid economic development and extract more surplus value to maintain this high-speed capitalist machine, capitalists continued to take measures to increase labor hours and Labor-intensive methods are used to brutally exploit workers. In the United States, workers have to work 14 to 16 hours a day, some even as long as 18 hours, but the wages are very low. The supervisor of a shoe factory in Massachusetts said: "Let an 18-year-old boy with a strong body and a sound body work next to any machine here, and I can make his hair turn gray at the age of 22." Heavy class oppression It aroused great anger among the proletarians. They know that the only way to survive is to unite and fight against the capitalists through a strike movement. The strike slogan put forward by the workers was to demand the implementation of an eight-hour working day.

In 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 shorter working hours and the implementation of an eight-hour working day. Soon after the strike, the team gradually expanded, the number of union members surged, and workers from all over the country also participated in the strike movement. Under strong pressure from the labor movement, the U.S. Congress was forced to enact an eight-hour work day law. However, the ruthless capitalists ignored it at all. This law was nothing more than a piece of paper. The workers were still living in dire straits and suffered from the torture of the capitalists. Unable to bear it, the workers decided to push their struggle for the right to survival to a new climax and prepared to hold a larger-scale strike movement.

In October 1884, 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 1, 1886, forcing the capitalists to implement an eight-hour strike. work system. The day finally came. On May 1, 350,000 workers from more than 20,000 companies in the United States stopped work and took to the streets to hold massive demonstrations. Workers of all colors and types of work went on a general strike. In Chicago alone, 45,000 workers took to the streets. At this time, the main industrial sectors of the United States were in a state of paralysis, trains turned into snakes, shops were silent, and all warehouses were closed and sealed. At that time, there was a popular "Eight-Hour Song" among the striking workers. The song sang: "We want to change the world. We are tired of toiling in vain. We only get a subsistence salary and never have time for us." To think. We want to smell the flowers, we want to bask in the sun, and we believe: God only allows eight hours of work. We gather our team from the dock, the workshop and the factory, and strive for eight hours of work, eight hours of rest, and eight hours of rest. Belong to yourself!" The passionate song sang the voices of the workers and the common aspirations of proletarians all over the world, and also infected the masses. They supported the workers' strike movement one after another, pushing the strike movement to a new climax. . The huge power displayed by the strike movement made government authorities and capitalists extremely panicked. They were unwilling to agree to the workers' conditions and showed their ferocious side. On May 3, the Chicago government authorities finally took off the mask of "democracy" and used violence to suppress the workers. They organized strikebreakers to sneak into the strike ranks of workers under the protection of the police, deliberately causing chaos, and using this as an excuse, they shot and killed six workers on the spot. This atrocity aroused great indignation among the workers in the city, and they were determined to avenge the dead worker brothers!

To commemorate the strike movement of American workers on May 11, 1886, and to promote the struggle enthusiasm of the working class throughout the world, this day is designated as the International Proletarian Day. On May 1st every year thereafter, the working class in various countries held large-scale demonstrations to fight for their rights.

The Chinese people’s celebration of Labor Day can be traced back to 1918. That year, some revolutionary intellectuals distributed leaflets introducing the "May Day" to the masses in Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Hankou and other places. On May 1, 1920, workers in various industrial cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Jiujiang, and Tangshan went to the markets and held massive parades and rallies. This was the first May Day in Chinese history. Labor Day. After liberation, the Government Affairs Council of the Central People's Government designated May 1st as the statutory Labor Day in December 1949, making it a national holiday. On this festival, the whole country celebrates with joy. People put on festive costumes and gather happily in parks, theaters, and squares to participate in various celebration rallies or cultural, sports and entertainment activities, and to commend workers who have made outstanding contributions.

The American Labor Day is not on May Day:

The May Day International Labor Day is a holiday for working people around the world to unite and fight. Everyone knows that this holiday originated in the United States. However, Labor Day in the United States is not on May Day, but on the first Monday of September every year. why is that?

On May 1, 1886, the United States, which at that time had ranked first in capitalist industry in the world, went on a nationwide workers' strike to strive for an eight-hour working day (at that time, workers in the United States had 100 hours of labor per day). All within 12-16 hours, or even more). On this day, more than 11,000 companies and 350,000 workers in the United States stopped work and held demonstrations. However, they were suppressed by the US authorities. For example, more than 200 people were killed and injured in Chicago, and 7 labor leaders across the country were sentenced to death or life imprisonment. However, the "May Day" strike won the sympathy and support of international workers, especially European workers, and finally forced the American bourgeoisie to make concessions: 185,000 people in the United States fought for an 8-hour working day; no matter how stubborn a company was, it had to sacrifice every day. Working hours are shortened to 9-10 hours.

The following year, at the founding conference of the Second International held in Paris, a resolution was passed stating that May 1st of each year would be International Labor Day. However, leaders of the American Federation of Labor Unions did not actively organize commemorations and celebrations of May Day. Later, when the U.S. government established Labor Day, it deliberately avoided May Day and designated the first Monday in September as Labor Day. Every September on Labor Day, Americans have a day off. People across the United States usually hold parades, rallies and other celebrations to show respect for workers. In some states, people hold picnics after the parade, where they eat, drink, sing, and dance lively. At night, fireworks will be set off in some places.

How to celebrate Labor Day abroad:

Russia: There are many parades, rallies, and entertainments. Since the establishment of Labor Day internationally, Russia has always paid more attention to this special holiday. On May Day, Russia has a national holiday and various celebrations and mass demonstrations are held. In the past, the above-mentioned activities were mainly organized by the government, and the parade included representatives of various enterprises and institutions. Now, in addition to the celebrations coordinated by the government, non-governmental organizations and labor groups with different political views will spontaneously hold various celebrations on this day. They can not only take this opportunity to fully explain their respective political opinions, but also expand the scope of the organization. Influence. Generally speaking, the "May Day" parade first passes through the city's main streets and squares, and finally holds a large rally and celebration in the ancient or wide central square. At the same time, various clubs across Russia will also hold rich and colorful entertainment activities, and people are in a high festive mood.

Japan: Labor Day falls during the "Golden Week" Japan is a country with many holidays, and there are many holidays around May 1, such as Arbor Day on April 29 and Constitution Memorial Day on May 3. , National Holidays on the 4th, and Children's Day on the 5th. When these holidays are combined, the average Japanese has at least a week's rest, and the longest even lasts for 11 days. For working-class people, the significance of this long holiday is really unusual. Therefore, in Japan, the special celebration of Labor Day is increasingly replaced by the "May Day Golden Week". And starting from April 29, Japan has entered the "Golden Week". Many hotels, hot springs and other entertainment facilities across Japan have put out various advertisements to attract tourists before May Day, and the room prices of ordinary hotels have more than doubled than usual.

Canada: Labor Day in September marks the end of summer. Canada, like the United States, is a North American country and celebrates Labor Day on the first Monday of September every year.

In cities such as Ottawa and Toronto, parades and rallies are held every Labor Day to recognize the contributions of workers organized by unions to Canadian society. In addition, what is more unusual is that in the concept of most Canadians, Labor Day in September marks the end of summer. Under normal circumstances, parents will use the Labor Day holiday to buy school supplies for their children for the new semester, and businesses often take the opportunity to promote stationery.

Thailand, Peru: One day off Thailand promulgated labor regulations for the first time in 1932, and subsequently designated May 1st as the national Labor Day to reward hard-working workers. On this day, Thailand has a national holiday. There will be related celebrations in the capital and some big cities, but the scale is generally not too large.

Similar to the situation in Thailand, the South American country Peru also stipulates May 1st as the country’s Labor Day, and it has a national holiday.

Italy: No celebration, no holiday. The United Kingdom, France and other European countries have designated May Day as Labor Day. Many countries have a day off, and some countries have designated it as a public holiday according to the situation. On the first Monday in May. However, unlike most countries in the world, although Italy recognizes May Day as the International Labor Day and the government expresses respect for workers, most people do not hold special celebrations and there is no national May Day holiday. .

Danbury Hatters Case:

The American tradition of seeking solutions through judicial channels when conflicts of interest occur is also reflected in a workers' "people" who seem to be easily out of control. Movement", injecting rational norms. The first famous strike case to go to court was that of the Danbury hatters.

In 1902, a company in Danbury, Conn., filed a civil lawsuit against its workers for violating antitrust laws by obstructing commerce when the AFL's hatters' union organized a boycott of the company. , the reason is that this company does not allow workers to organize unions. The case took several years to be appealed through the federal courts. In 1908, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against the workers. The meaning of this ruling is that workers, as workers or consumers, can conduct a "direct boycott" against a company, such as not buying the company's products, going on strike, or not being employed by the company. This kind of direct boycott is completely legal. However, workers cannot force other companies not to buy the company's products, or force others not to cooperate with the company (for example, not allowing others to work during a strike). Such a "secondary boycott" is illegal. In other words, you can resist yourself, but you cannot force others to resist like you. A court fined 184 Danbury hatters $250,000. After the Supreme Court ruling, the AFL launched a fundraiser to pay fines for 184 hat workers to prevent their homes and property from being confiscated.

This ruling sends two messages. First, judicial litigation may be a way to resolve labor conflicts. Both the union and the employer may use this method, and it is necessary for both parties to know what is legal. , what is illegal. Second, the union's boycott of the company can only be carried out within the scope of "direct boycott". In 1947, the Taft-Hartley Act clearly made secondary boycotts illegal. Since then, similar secondary boycotts have disappeared from the American union movement. However, the Supreme Court also ruled in the same case that under the Constitution's free speech clause, unions can set up slogans and propaganda in front of businesses to inform people that a certain product of a company they want to boycott is "unfair" and call for It is legal for people to "don't buy", but it cannot be said that these merchants selling goods are also "unfair", and we cannot call on the people not to buy all the goods from these merchants. This latter practice is called "secondary boycott" and is illegal. Here, the American judicial independence and the judicial system's efforts to establish the credibility of "fairness" first established the legal culture of the American people, which played a great role in the development of events into a virtuous circle. If there is no such provision, and the courts unreasonably favor the government or enterprises, and if workers are dissatisfied and attack the courts, then there will be real chaos with no antidote.

In 1909, 20,000 garment factory workers, mostly female workers and almost all new immigrants from Eastern Europe, launched a strike under the banner of the Women's Garment Workers Union. They received widespread public support and eventually Securing conditions for a 52-hour work week and increased wages. In 1910, 50,000 garment workers went on strike in New York. They invited the famous lawyer Louis Brandeis to negotiate. With his efforts, the strike achieved important results, not only obtaining favorable remuneration conditions for the workers, but also creating an example of peaceful negotiation. Brandis later served as a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

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