O Labor Day it is a holiday in several countries. The date is celebrated on the day May 1st, in honor of the historic event that took place on a Saturday, in U.S, in 1886.
At the time, several workers took to the streets to ask for the maximum workload to be reduced. There were more than 300,000 protesters on the streets of New York, Chicago, Detroit, among other cities.
During the period, Americans worked exhaustively, for up to 100 hours a week. So, at the turn of the 20th century, a good part of the workers managed to conquer the rhythm of 8 hours a day. That way, the fight was a success!
Origin of May 1st
In the nineteenth century, workers lived with an exhausting workload. These people remained in their services for about 100 hours a week, that is, approximately 16 hours every 6 days of occupation.
To fight this, around 300,000 protesters gathered on the streets of New York, Detroit, Chicago, among other cities. the slogan Eight-hour day with no cut in pay (“Eight-hour daily with no reduction in pay”) was repeated during the marches.
On May 4, nearly 2,500 people gathered in Chicago's Haymarket Square. The idea of the event was to debate how the movement would be, since, the day before, two protesters had been killed by police officers.
Afraid that there would be new clashes, the city's mayor, Carter Harrison, went to hear the speeches. Realizing that everything was going smoothly, he left. Despite this, after most of the protesters went home, 176 police arrived.
Then 200 people who were still in the meeting were surrounded. In this mess, there were shootings. Four workers and seven police officers died. In addition, more than 130 people were injured.
After that, several unions were occupied by the police and more than 100 union members were arrested. Seven were sentenced to the death penalty. Of these, three were acquitted and, according to the governor at the time, John Altgeld, the trial was mishandled.
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Influence of immigrants
Due to the repercussion of the movement, the agenda of labor rights came to be seen. Then, Americans began to push for changes in the workload.
The incident took place in Chicago because it is one of the most industrialized places in the country. In this way, several immigrants were attracted. The growth lost control and in 1880 there were already more than 500 thousand inhabitants.
These immigrants, who had other ideals, already made several demonstrations for better working conditions.
In Brazil, with the arrival of Europeans at the end of the 19th century, labor ideals came closer. Until, because of the struggles, the then president, Artur Bernardes, decreed the Labor Day on May 1st.
The main change only came in 1925, with the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT). On May 1st, the president Getulio Vargas signed the decree n° 5.452 and guaranteed basic rights to Brazilian workers.
Statue on Haymarket Square
Since the 19th century, different memorials have been placed in the square, celebrating the police. Despite this, several times, protesters destroyed these statues, which were soon replaced.
In 2004, the square received a statue that reproduced the cart that the protesters climbed on on May 4, 1886, as a tribute to the workers' rights.
See too: Labor Day Activities
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