May Day

International Workers’ Day, also known as May Day, stems from the Haymarket Affair of 1886 in Chicago. The conflict arose from a union action that started on May 1st against the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company in Haymarket Square. The labor organizers were part of a larger struggle for an eight hour work day. It was not until May 3rd when violence broke out. Although the beginning of the day was largely peaceful, with the Mayor of Chicago, Carter Harrison, attending, conditions devolved after he and two thirds of the attendees departed following the final speech of the day (Foner, 30). 

 

The Chicago Police moved in, attempting to disperse the crowd that had formed to peacefully demonstrate against poor pay, long hours and bad conditions. At some point a bomb exploded in the police’s ranks, and officers began randomly shooting into the crowd killing anywhere from four to eight and injuring another thirty to forty people. While the culprit of the bomb was unknown, police arrested eight labor organizers, many of whom were not even at the action. None of the officers were charged with misconduct or even punished for their actions. 

 

Eight labor organizers were wrongfully convicted and four died, three were murdered by the state and one committed suicide in protest. The conviction was widely viewed as unfair among labor circles and one piece in a larger attempt to suppress labor movements in the United States. Despite a fervent effort of labor unions across the West to get a retrial, four of the men were hanged on November 11, 1897, which was later referred to as Black Friday. In 1893 the governor of Illinois, John Peter Altgeld, eventually pardoned the remaining living convicts at the bequest of Clarence Darrow due to a packed jury, fabricated evidence and a biased judge.

 

Three years after the Haymarket Affair, in 1889, the first International Workers Day was celebrated on May 1st by the Second Internationale in commemoration of the start of the union action in Chicago. The Second Internationale was a socialist and labor organization founded in Paris. International’s Workers Day was more widely celebrated on May 1st, 1890 when laborers in many major cities in the United States, Europe, Cuba, Peru and Chile. 

 

While International Workers Day has commonly been celebrated on May 1st, it has been moved to other dates in some countries to divorce it from its radical roots. In the United States Grover Clevland grew uneasy from federal recognition of a holiday with socialist roots, and moved it to September 4th. 

 

This exhibit attempts to reroute narrative, by showcasing the efforts of labor organizations in the Pacific Northwest. May Day has provided the spark for many labor strikes, including the Everett Shingle Weavers Union in 1916, during the height of the IWW’s influence in the Seattle area. As you look at the imagery created by the IWW we hope you celebrate International Workers Day in honor of the sacrifices of labor advocates throughout history, who have fought for better working conditions and fair pay for the people in the face of oppression.