Today is May 1st, recognized in all but a handful of countries in the world as “International Workers’ Day.”  The U.S. is one of those handful, that does not commemorate the struggles of working people on the first of this month.  But in fact, May Day originated in the U.S in the late 19th century.

The demand for safe conditions at work places, the right of workers to organize, and above all an eight-hour work day was at the forefront of the burgeoning workers’ rights movement of the 1800s.  In Chicago, the movement culminated with a rally at Haymarket Square that ended violently, with a bomb thrown into the crowd and police opening fire on the marchers.  Subsequently, a group of eight anarchist men were scapegoated for the bombing.  All were convicted, some of them even hanged, and 3 eventually pardoned.

The (organized) labor movement in the U.S. has a history of classism, racism and gender discrimination.  Strides made in the 20th century often came with a price—most notably, in the exclusion of agricultural and domestic workers from the union-affirming Wagner Act of 1935.  Agricultural and domestic workers also happened to be overwhelmingly either people of color, women, or immigrants.  This continues today, as our most vulnerable workers, especially undocumented migrants, are still not protected from exploitation.

Let today’s May Day be about confronting what has and continues to divide workers, and affirming the right to dignity and economic security that all people deserve.