May Day’s Roots are in Chicago

May 1 is known around the world as International Worker's Day, but did you know that this movement actually started in Chicago?

In the 1880s, there was an increase in advocacy for workers’ rights and standard labor regulations. Following the Civil War, workers from across the nation, primarily immigrants and former slaves, flocked to Chicago as industry began to boom. They were quickly met with the grim reality of what it meant to be a blue collar worker. They were forced to work over 60 hours a week in unsafe conditions. Ethnic minorities often faced the harshest of working conditions and reprimands by their employers. Employers and business tycoons would resort to a slew of suppressive tactics and employee intimidation including firing and blacklisting union members, locking out workers, and recruiting strikebreakers (i.e. Pinkertons)/private security forces to exacerbate tensions between ethnic minorities and further divide workers.

All of this led to a rise in tensions between the workers and the those who owned the capital. On May 1, 1886, workers in Chicago organized a general strike to advocate for a 40-hour work week and 8-hour work day. What started in Chicago quickly spread across the nation, with an estimated half of million protesters joining in solidarity to fight for standard labor rights.

Back in Chicago, what started as peaceful protests quickly intensified as strikebreakers and spies purposefully agitated both workers and police officers to stir controversy. Violence ensued as workers were shot dead in front of their factories. This led to another demonstration on May 4, 1886 at Haymarket Square to reaffirm workers’ advocacy for labor reform, and to protest police brutality. Again, strikebreakers and police officers collaborated with business leader to promote altercations leading to the deaths of both workers and police officers.

On May 1 and every day, we are reminded of the progress that the labor movement has worked for and achieved over the years. As more protests arise calling for labor protections and for liberation, we must remind ourselves that Chicago has always been a beacon for change, for conversation, and for the working class. The fight continues, and the march towards equitable rights and liberation will always be at the heart of our great city.