May Day

In 1889, the International Working Men’s Association (the predominantly Marxist "Second International") called for a global demonstration to demand an eight-hour working day. They chose 1 May as the date because the American Federation of Labor (AFL) had already planned a major protest for that day in 1890.

Initially, the event was not intended to be repeated annually. However, the first May Day in 1890 proved overwhelmingly successful, with 300,000 people gathering in London’s Hyde Park alone. The surge in radical trade unionism and worker militancy helped fuel the turnout.

A key debate arose ahead of May Day 1890: should workers stage a symbolic general strike (risking lost wages or retaliation), or hold protests on the nearest Sunday? In the end, enough workers across Europe and beyond walked out to effectively halt production in many industries. Where strikes were impossible, unions sent solidarity messages to be read at demonstrations.

Following this success—and amid growing pressure from labour movements—the Second International officially declared May Day an annual event later in 1890.

From the beginning, anarchists and syndicalists linked May Day to the Haymarket Martyrs—labour activists unjustly convicted and executed after the 1886 Haymarket Affair in Chicago. This connection remains strong in countries like Spain, Italy, and across South America, where May Day also honours workers’ struggles against state repression.