International Workers' Day 2020 (May Day) Published: May 1 2020 12:46PM
The story of May Day, the Haymarket affair in Chicago, and the fight by working people for an eight-hour workday, is one we encourage you to read. It’s not one corporations and most politicians like to tell, and – sadly – it is one that has been far-too-forgotten by many.
May Day is another example of how much we have now taken for granted. What we today think of as commonplace and fair was instead a hard-fought, exhaustive, battle. Bosses did not grant us 40-hour work weeks, eight-hour days, weekends, holidays, pensions and health insurance out of Christmas cheer and kind-spirit. Those things were fought for, by working people, who were publicly scolded and ridiculed and called traitors and criminals, all because they had the audacity to demand fairness, a better more complete life, and a piece of the pie.
The global pandemic and accompanying economic collapse presents another battle. It isn’t necessarily new; it is borne from the same struggle. You may have seen the call for a May Day strike today of some of America’s largest companies. Workers from Amazon, Instacart, Whole Foods, Walmart, Target, and FedEx are slated to walk out on work, citing their employers’ record profits at the expense of workers’ health and safety during the coronavirus pandemic. If you can, we urge you to boycott those companies today, as well.
The lessons of May Day should never be forgotten, and the people who fought bravely to ensure that workers are treated justly and fairly are heroes. They made this world a better place. Their mantle has been passed. Let us recall their virtue and strength and build upon it.
