How Labor Day began to be celebrated

On May 1, International Workers 'Day is celebrated, commonly known as Workers' Day or May Day, a holiday that demands the labor rights of all workers. But do you know how Labor Day started to be celebrated? From .com we tell you what is the origin of this celebration, how it came about and what we honor every first day of May.

Claiming the 8-hour workday

In the fourth congress of the North American Federation of Labor, held on October 17, 1884, it was agreed that on May 1, 1886, a general strike would be held to obtain the rights of the workers, mainly the 8-hour workday . During that two-year period between the congress and the strike called, there would be an attempt to negotiate with the bosses and, if this was not achieved, the strike would be effective.

General strike declared

Arrived on May 1, 1886, since it had not been possible to reach an agreement between employers and workers, the strike took place and throughout the country the workers movement was heard. The events lengthened during the days after May Day, and it was May 4 when the biggest altercations took place, with the explosion of an artifact in Haymarket Square in Chicago where a large number of demonstrators and police were concentrated. These events led to a trial, whose sentence forced the execution of a group of trade unionists considered responsible, which is known as the Martyrs of Chicago .

Declaration of International Workers' Day

A few years later, in 1889 during the Second International, a workers 'meeting organized by the Socialist Labor Congress in Paris, it was agreed to celebrate International Workers' Day every May 1 as a day of protest and in homage to the Martyrs of Chicago and the facts occurred during the strike of 1886. This is how it began to celebrate the Day of the Worker that continues being celebrated nowadays in the majority of countries of the world.

Curiosity

Although the origins of how Labor Day began to be celebrated in the United States of America, this country does not celebrate Labor Day on the first day of May, but they celebrate their own Labor Day on the first Monday of September, following a parade held on September 5, 1882 in New York organized by the Noble Order of the Knights of Labor, the Knights of Labor.