Workers' Day

In 1889, the Second International declared May 1st as Workers’ Solidarity Day.The first of May officially became Workers’ Solidarity Day in 1889. On May 1, 1886, a wave of demonstrations broke out in the United States. Workers took to the streets with demands to establish an eight-hour working day, increase wages and provide guarantees for its payment.

The authorities did not pay attention to the calls of the demonstrators. And then the most active workers’ rights activists gathered in Chicago for a protest rally, which gradually turned into riots. The city police tried to stop the pogroms, which only inflamed the crowd. The culmination of the events was the explosion of a bomb thrown at the police by one of the demonstrators. Seven law enforcement officers were killed and about 60 were wounded. In response, police opened fire on protesters, shooting hundreds of people.

In 1889, the Second International declared May 1st as Workers’ Solidarity Day. In the world, May Day remains a traditional day of world solidarity of workers and struggle for their rights.