Articles
May Day has a rich tradition in the labour movement. To read internet articles on the origins and history of the International Workers' Holiday, please click the links below.
Origins and Traditions of May Week
- May Day in the USA: A Forgotten History
- International Workers’ Day
Wikipedia article on International Workers' Day, a name used interchangeably with May Day. - Brief Origins of May Day
Most Americans don't realize that May Day has its origins here in the USA and is as "American" as baseball and apple pie... - From Pagan Origins to the Labour Movement
May 1st had special significance even before the fight for the eight hour work day.
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May Day AKA the Real Labour Day
- Labor Day and May Day
By David Montgomery, 6 September 1995 - May Day, The Workers’ Day
"Born in the struggle for the eight-hour day." Andy McInerney, in Liberation & Marxism, issue no. 27, Spring 1996 - May Day and Labor Day
The immediate cause of the establishment of Labor Day as a holiday in September was to appease the working cause after the Crushing of the Pullman strike in 1894. - May Day - the Labour Day
An anarchist take on May Day - The Knights of Labor
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The Haymarket Tragedy
- The Haymarket Affair
This collection showcases more than 3,800 images of original manuscripts, broadsides, photographs, prints and artifacts relating to the Haymarket Affair. The violent confrontation between Chicago police and labor protesters in 1886 proved to be a pivotal setback in the struggle for American workers' rights. - The Drama of Haymarket
- The Haymarket Massacre Archive
from Anarchy Archives