July 14, 1889, by Marxist socialist congress convened in Paris, France, the grand opening. The conference, proposed by France on behalf of the Latin text: May 1, 1886 workers in the United States for eight-hour working day in the struggle, as the International Festival of the proletariat common. Participants agreed that the adoption of this historic resolution. Since then, "May 1" International Labor Day was born.
Why should this day as the International Labor Day this? This is also from the 1880s about the American labor movement.
At that time, the United States and Europe in many countries, step by step from the imperialist stage of capitalist development, in order to stimulate rapid economic development, to extract more surplus value in order to protect the high-speed operation of the capitalist machine, capitalists continue to be taken to increase working hours and Labor intensity approach to the exploitation of workers in cold blood.
In the United States, workers every day to work 14-16 hours, some even up to 18 hours, but the wages are very low. Massachusetts supervision of a shoe factory, said: "Let a strong able-bodied 18-year-old boy, here's a machine next to no work, I would be able to make the 22-year-old when he turned gray hair." Heavy class oppression Stirred up a great proletarian anger. They know that if we are to fight for survival, united only by a strike movement and the fight against the capitalists. Workers raised the slogan of the strike, is demanding eight-hour work system.
In 1877, the United States for the first time in the history of the national strike began. To demonstrations in the streets of the working class, to the Government to improve the working and living conditions, the request to shorten working hours, to implement the eight-hour work system. Strike in the near future, the team continues to expand, the surge in the number of union members, workers have participated in various parts of the strike movement.
In the powerful labor movement, under pressure from the United States Congress was forced to work eight hours a developed legal system. However, the vicious capitalists simply ignore the law is only a piece of paper, the workers will still be living in an abyss of misery, much of the suffering of the capitalists.
Intolerable workers decided to fight for the right to life of struggle, to a new high tide, ready to hold more large-scale strike campaign.
In October 1884, the United States and Canada in eight international and national groups of workers in the United States held a meeting in Chicago, decided in May 1, 1886 general strike to force the capitalists to implement the eight-hour work system.
On this day has finally come. May 1, the United States more than 20,000 enterprises lay-off 350,000 workers took to the streets, have held huge demonstrations, a variety of color, various types of workers together for a general strike. Chicago is only a city, there are 45,000 workers took to the streets. This, the major U.S. industrial sector in a paralyzed state, the train turned into a stiff snake, the store is silence, all the warehouses are closed and sealed. At that time, workers in a strike in a popular "Song of the eight-hour", singing songs in:
"We should become a kind of world,
We are fed up with a hard message,
Light can only get workers to live by higher rates,
From that we did not have time to think.
We hear news flowers,
We have to the sun,
We believe that:
God only allows eight-hour working days.
From shipyards, factories and workshops,
We convened the team for
Eight hours of work, eight hours of rest
In the eight-hour own! "
Passionate voice to sing the voice of the workers, calling out the common aspiration of the world's nots, but also infected with the overwhelming majority of the masses, they have solidarity with the movement of workers to strike, strike movement to a new climax.
Strike movement has shown great strength of the government authorities and capitalists of great panic, they can not be reconciled to the workers agreed to the conditions, they reveal their hideous face. May 3, Chicago, the Administration finally tore off the "democratic" mask the use of violence to suppress the workers. They organized a strike in the destroyer under the protection of the police from entering into the ranks of workers to strike, deliberately create chaos and use it as an excuse, was shot and killed six workers. The violence has aroused the great indignation among workers in the city, they are determined to workers for the dead brothers, revenge!
7:00 p.m. the next day, more than 3,000 workers gathered in Chicago City Plaza, horse feed, with a heavy heart for the victims held a memorial service workers to denounce the Administration's atrocities.
Orderly meeting, 10 minutes faster when the General Assembly draws to a close, all of a sudden, there are 200 armed police stormed into the venue. A police officer cried:
"Disperse! Spread fast! Gathered to make trouble are not allowed here!"
The workers are protesting: "Why are we not allowed to open memorial service for the General Assembly?" "You deliberately to create a bloody incident, we are also not allowed to silence for the victims, there is no justice?!"
"If a small fee? We have orders to disperse unlawful assembly! If you do not listen to advice, we will use force to settle!" The police officers arbitrarily cried.
"We held a rally is the freedom, you have no right to disperse!" Workers strive to resist arguments.
Jianshibumiao police officers, raised a gun yelled: "brothers, this group of poor workers to drive away immediately!"
Rulangsihu the police immediately rushed into the square, waving a stick effect, workers in North Korea heads to beat them, the workers rose up against the square immediately into chaos.
"Bang!" Suddenly the sound of a strong explosion. It turned out that this is an ambush in the ranks of workers in the capitalist running dog, and deliberately into the crowd threw the bomb. Four workers on the spot lying in a pool of blood, and several police were killed and wounded.
This is the capitalists deliberately create disturbances in order to give the Administration an excuse for a large-scale repression of workers. This, the government immediately mobilized a large number of soldiers and police opened fire on the ranks of workers to the madness, there are more than 200 workers were killed and wounded, more workers were arrested together.
As a result, the bourgeois press to mold public opinion, slander made the eight-hour work system of people "who threw the bomb."
Administration easily push a boat, the leader of the eight workers to deliver the court, they made a false murder.
The main jury by the large factory foreman, and to testify in court, the police have been buying the scab.
As a result, on August 20, the court sentenced seven people to death by hanging, one to 15 years in prison. Against the workers, to the state Supreme Court appeal, the ruling is upheld. After an appeal to the Supreme Court, they do not accept the case.
This, throughout the United States provoked strong protests from the masses of workers, who together have held protest rallies. However, the Administration is still in the following year in November which killed four workers leaders of the three commuted to life imprisonment. One died in prison. Chicago, the blood of the workers, ignited a national struggle of the workers in the fire and quickly spread to Europe and other continents. The working class around the world have been on strike movement, the root of all evil capitalists do with the life-and-death struggle.
Progress in the world with the broad support of public opinion, especially the labor movement's struggle in the world, the U.S. government in the last month, announced the implementation of the eight-hour work system. U.S. labor movement has finally achieved a preliminary victory.
To commemorate the workers of the United States on May 11, 1886 strike of the campaign to promote the world of the working class struggle enthusiasm, it took a day as the International Festival of the proletariat common. In the future each year on May 1, the working class have a large-scale demonstrations to fight for their rights.