REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA \u2013 1 May is known as the celebration of\nInternational Labour Day, also referred to as May Day. The occasion is\ncommemorated by workers in various countries. Typically, workers\norganise mass actions to demand the fulfilment of their rights.<\/p>\n
How did Labour Day come about? According to the Marxists website, the\norigins of May Day are inseparable from the workers\u2019 struggle for\nshorter working hours, which became the primary demand of the working\nclass.<\/p>\n
That struggle began almost from the start of the factory system in\nthe United States (US). Demands for higher wages also became the most\ncommon cause of early strikes in the US, alongside expectations of\nshorter and more humane working hours, and the right to unionise.<\/p>\n
Workers in the US had been voicing complaints about working from\n\u2018sunrise to sunset\u2019 (around 14-18 hours a day) since the early 19th\ncentury. As exploitation became increasingly intensive, workers\nformulated demands against bosses and the government.<\/p>\n
The 1820s to 1830s era was filled with strikes related to those\ndemands. The Philadelphia Mechanics\u2019 Union is considered the world\u2019s\nfirst labour union, formed after a strike by building trades workers in\nPhiladelphia in 1827.<\/p>\n
However, the first strike among the US working class occurred in\n1806, carried out by Cordwainers workers. That strike then elevated the\nstruggle for reducing working hours to a common agenda for the US\nworking class.<\/p>\n
On 5 September 1882, the first Labour Day parade was held in New\nYork, US. Around 20,000 people paraded carrying banners reading \u20188 hours\nwork, 8 hours rest, 8 hours recreation\u2019. In the following years, this\nidea spread to all states in the US.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/history-of-labour-day-the-events-behind-may-day-1777603989", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }