When the news of May 1 will bring reports of strikes or rallies in support of better labor conditions, or increased wages, or access to jobs, you can think back to the Haymarket Square affair in Chicago that began the tradition the “May Day” labor movement. It began as large a strike in support of the proclamation by Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada, that a standard working day should be eight hours long. Its aftermath was what made it historical.

On this day, May 1, in 1886 workers at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. in Chicago began a strike for a shorter work day. They were supported with sympathy strikes by the FOTLA, along with the two other main labor organizations.

Attendants marched along peacefully, grateful for a respite from work (Saturday was usually a working day) and a chance to spend time with the family. Three days later at a meeting in Haymarket Square a confrontation between the police and attendants resulted in a bomb being thrown, and police firing on the crowd in response. The affair resulted in several deaths, as well as a highly publicized trial. International labor movements seized on the event as a rallying point for their cause.