International Labor Day

International Labor Day

Labor Day is most commonly associated with the commemoration of the events and the achievements that happened on the labor day movement.

The first ever Labor Day celebrations happened on May 1st of 1890 after its proclamation by the first international Congress of socialist parties which was held in Europe on the 14th of July 1889 in Paris, France. They dedicated May 1st of every year as the “Workers Day of International Unity and Solidarity.”

The date was chosen because of the events that took place in America, particularly in Chicago. In 1884 the American Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions demanded for an 8-hour workday that they asked to take effect as of May 1st of 1886. This in turn resulted in a general strike and a riot that happened in the Chicago Haymarket in 1886.

Eventually after the series of events, it resulted in the official sanctioning of the 8-hour workday.