What do Australian stonemasons, International Harvester Company, Chicago anarchists, dirty 19^th century politicians, and your standard 8-hour workday have in common? International Workers’ Day/May Day, of course!

Let’s reflect on why, as we exit this tumultuous April, now, more than ever, International Workers’ Day is a holiday to be respected and celebrated as we chart a path forward through these turbulent political times.

Beginning in 1788, people convicted of serious crimes who opted to immigrate to Australia from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales were given a trade and set sail on ships of British manifest. These prisoners had little, if any, rights to the location and conditions of their penal labor. Following the end of this practice in 1868, many of the abusive and predatory conditions developed under the penal system remained in place.

In April of 1856, in a bold and brave move, Australian stonemasons who had reached the end of their rope due to their working conditions put down their tools and walked off the job. This action inspired laborers halfway around the world experiencing similar conditions to do the same.

By the late 19^th century, the United States labor movement was in full swing and making demands for humane conditions and saner hours in the workplace. Unsurprisingly, these demands were met with state-supported violence through police actions, hired company thugs, and strikebreakers/scabs. On May 3, 1886, two workers were killed and a handful seriously injured when police intervened during a union-supported strike at McCormick (International) Harvesting Machine Company on the banks of the Chicago River. This strike was planned in conjunction with a national campaign to adopt the 8-hour workday. Anarchist labor leaders called for a mass gathering and meeting the following day in Haymarket Square in downtown Chicago.

What began as a peaceful rally devolved into a horrific scene as an unknown person threw a dynamite-laden bomb at police who were attempting to break up the gathering, which had grown to several thousand. Between the bomb blast and gunfire that immediately followed, 7 police officers and 4 civilians were killed, with dozens more seriously injured. There are varying reports of how the scene turned deadly and who was responsible for the violence, but both sides used the event to rally their cause. Following the bomb explosion and aftermath, police and politicians used the incident to whip the public into a state of fear around the “anarchist threat.”

When the dust settled, 8 labor activists and anarchist organizers were arrested. Seven of those were sentenced to hang, and one was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Of the 7, four did sadly find the gallows, one took his own life on the eve of the execution, and 2 had their sentences commuted to life in prison. Eventually, due to public exposure revealing that their prosecution had been thoroughly corrupted and flawed, leading to a massive public outcry, Illinois Governor John Altgeld pardoned the three surviving defendants.

What was clear in the aftermath of the Haymarket Massacre was that the state and national establishment used the violent incident to strengthen their positions of corporate and state power over a population that was awakening to their rights as workers. They further used the incident to frighten the public through propaganda designed to portray anarchists and communists as the bogeymen of their day. Although the origins of the founding of May Day, or International Workers’ Day in its modern form, are in some dispute, the events of the Haymarket Massacre acted as a catalyst for workers’ rights in North America and have become integral to this day of celebration and remembrance of its historic beginnings.

Shockingly, we haven’t evolved much from the days when government and corporate bigwigs used informational warfare against the blood and sweat workers that make this country go. A century and a half ago, the bogeymen were anarchists and communists; today they’re immigrants and “Antifa” – because, without the work of immigrants in this country, both documented and undocumented, this economy would collapse (for better or worse).

With the current administration actively attempting to erase the true history of this country in every way possible, it feels a little surprising there hasn’t been an executive order redefining what May Day is — or isn’t — about. Recently Trump removed Indigenous Peoples Day off federal calendars so he could bring “Columbus Day back from the ashes” since, according to him, “the Democrats did everything possible to destroy Christopher Columbus, his reputation, and all of the Italians that love him so much” (AP News) on October 12^th, the day they both shared (Columbus Day had never gone away).

Alongside the labor movement’s significance, May 1^st also marks Beltane, an ancient Celtic festival celebrating fertility, regeneration, and the impending arrival of summer. Traditionally observed with bonfires, feasting, and communal gatherings, Beltane represents the community’s hopes for prosperity and abundance in the coming season. This celebration of renewal and collective well-being resonates powerfully with the spirit of International Workers’ Day. Both traditions honor human interconnection and the vital energies that sustain us. As we commemorate the struggles of workers throughout history, Beltane reminds us that our fight for justice is also intrinsically tied to our relationship with seasonal cycles, natural resources, and sustainable practices that support both workers and the environments they inhabit.

Let’s all do our part each and every May 1^st to celebrate the grassroots, political, and labor movements that made working conditions in this country decent for many (but still not for all of us), and let’s continue to expose the places where workers and laborers in this country are taken advantage of — because corporate bosses and shareholders still prefer money over humanity. May Day is a day, like all other days, in which we should pause, thank, and celebrate the people in our communities and lives who continue to labor in the most thankless but truly essential jobs in this country, jobs that keep all of us alive.