(fyiteam)May 1st (International Workers’ Day) has been established as a day to honor the struggles and achievements of workers and the labor movement.
In most countries (including Greece), it is celebrated on May 1st, while in the United States and Canada, a similar celebration, known as “Labor Day,” takes place on the first Monday of September.
(fyiteam)In the late 1800s, most workers in the U.S. worked 12 hours a day, 6-7 days a week, and even children as young as 5 worked in factories, industries, and mines.
The demand for shorter working hours and better working conditions led to a march of about 10,000 workers in New York for “Labor Day,” which took place on Tuesday, September 5, 1882.
(fyiteam)In 1884, the Federation of Labor in the United States decided that May 1, 1886, would be the day of a strike to demand the establishment of the eight-hour workday.
On May 1, 1886, around half a million people took to the streets across the U.S. with the slogan “8 hours for work, 8 hours for rest, and 8 hours for whatever we want.”
In Chicago, the center of the labor movement in the U.S., violent clashes between protesters and the police lasted for several days, culminating in the bombing at Haymarket Square on May 4, 1886.
(fyiteam)In 1889, in memory of the Chicago uprising, the Socialist International (then the Second International) declared May 1st as International Workers’ Day.
In 1894, U.S. President G. Cleveland, seeking to remove the socialist associations from May Day and prevent similar unrest, signed a law establishing “Labor Day” as an official holiday in the U.S., to be observed on the first Monday of September.
*The Socialist International is an organization made up of socialist, labor, and social democratic parties from around the world.
(fyiteam)The first May Day in Greece was organized in 1893, led by the Central Socialist Association of Stavros Kallergis.
Around 2,000 workers marched, demanding an eight-hour workday, a Sunday day off, and state support (pensions) for victims of workplace accidents.
In 1911, the second May Day was celebrated with strikes across Greece, followed by another in 1912. It was held again in 1919, one year after the founding of the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE).
(fyiteam)The Great Depression of 1929 led to Greece’s bankruptcy in 1932, causing widespread poverty among the working class. In 1936, strikes broke out across the country.
The largest was by the tobacco workers in Northern Greece, with their protests escalating in early May.
On May 9th, a general strike was announced in Thessaloniki, which led to clashes between protesters and the police, resulting in 16 deaths* and dozens of injuries. The unrest lasted for four days.
*The photo of the first casualty inspired Giorgos Ritsos to write “Epitaphios,” which was later set to music by Mikis Theodorakis.
(fyiteam)The strike in Thessaloniki led to the suspension of the Constitution, clearing the way for the Metaxas Dictatorship on August 4, 1936.
He established May Day as “Labor Day” on April 7, 1937, aiming to distort its meaning (following Nazi models*). Later, the Junta made it a public holiday (with a law passed in 1968, which remains in effect today) to limit strike actions.
*The most tragic May Day was in 1944, when the Nazis executed 200 prisoners at the Kaisariani shooting range.
(fyiteam)Although the demand for the 8-hour workday began in 1880, it wasn’t until World War I (1914-1918) and the Russian Revolution (1917) that it was established at the Peace Conferences (1919) that ended the war.
Greece was one of the first countries to sign the agreement for the 8-hour workday in 1919, but due to circumstances like the Asia Minor Catastrophe, World War II, the Civil War, and the Junta, its implementation was delayed.
The 5-day workweek was first established for industrial workers in 1975, and the 5-day, 40-hour workweek for all workers was established in 1984.
