Tuesday, March 18, 2014

May Day

May day or International Worker Days observed on May 1 all over the world today to commemorate the historical struggle and sacrifices of the working people to establish an eight-hour workday. It is a public holiday in almost all the countries of the world.

Since the Industrial Revolution(¹) in the 18th and 19 the centuries in Europe and the Us, the workers in mills and factories had been working a long shift, fourteen or even more house a day

On May 1st in 1886, insured by the trade unions (²), half of the works at the McCormick Harvester Company in Chicago wanton strike demanding an eight-hour workday. Two days later, a workers' rally was held near the McCormick Harvester Company and about 6000 workers had joined it. The rally wad addressed by the labor leaders. They urged the workers to stand together, to go on strikebreakers started leaving the meeting place. The strikers went down the street to bring them back. Suddenly about 200 policemen attacked them with clubs and revolvers. One striker was killed instantly, five or six others were seriously wounded and many of them were badly injured.

The events of May 1, 1886 is reminder that workers will continue to be exploited unit they stand up and speak out to gain better working conditioned, better pay and better lives.

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