Labor Day is annually celebrated on May 1 in Taiwan and most commonly associated as a commemoration of the achievements of the labor movement. On May 1, we will be given a day-off, and if it happened to be on Friday, we usually planned a family trip or hang out with friends. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the government advised the public to stay at home during the holiday this year.
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By this opportunity, we could trace back to Labor Day's history, in memory of past laborers and their contribution. Here are some surprising facts and historical backgrounds that you may now know!
In the late-19th century, socialists, communists and trade unionists chose May 1 to become International Workers' Day.
The date was symbolic, commemorating the Haymarket affair, which took place in Chicago, in the US, in 1886. For years, the US working class - often forced to work up to 16 hours a day in unsafe conditions - had been fighting for an eight-hour workday. In October 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labour Unions of the United States and Canada decided that May 1, 1886, would mark the first day that an eight-hour workday would go into effect.
When that day arrived, between 300,000 and 500,000 US workers went on strike in cities and towns across the country, according to various historians' estimates.
Chicago, which was the nucleus of the struggle, saw an estimated 40,000 people protest and strike, without any violence.
In 1889, the Second International, the international organization for workers and socialists, declared that May 1 would from then on be International Workers' Day. The Haymarket affair galvanized the broader labor movement.
In the US, however, the eight-hour workday wasn't recognized until it was turned into law in 1916, after years of strikes, protests, and actions in favor of it.
After the eight-hour day was initiated in the US in 1916, it was endorsed by the Communist International, an international coalition of socialist and communist parties, and by communist and socialist parties in various countries.
In dozens of countries, May Day is an official holiday, and for labor rights campaigners it is particularly important. But in the US, Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September. Whether it's celebrated in May or September, the day worldwide commemorates past labor struggles against a host of workers' rights violations, including lengthy workdays and weeks, poor conditions, and child labor.
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