International Labor Day, also known as international workers' day or may day, is a national holiday in more than 80 countries in the world. It's on the first of May every year. It is a festival shared by working people all over the world.
We have just finished the May 1st Labor Day. Our GT team has just taken a vacation. We are all very active and involved in the work.
In the 19th century, many countries, such as the United States and Europe, gradually developed from capitalism to imperialism. In order to stimulate the rapid economic development, extract more surplus value, and maintain this high-speed capitalist machine, capitalists continued to exploit workers cruelly by increasing labor time and labor intensity.
In the United States, workers have to work 14 to 16 hours a day, some even as long as 18 hours, but the wages are very low. The supervisor of a shoe factory in Massachusetts once said, "let a strong and healthy 18-year-old man work next to any machine here, and I can turn his hair gray at the age of 22." The heavy class oppression aroused the great anger of the proletariat. They know that the only way to survive is to unite and fight against the capitalists through the strike movement. The strike condition put forward by the workers is the eight hour working system.
In 1866, the first international conference in Geneva put forward the slogan of eight hour working system
In 1877, the first national strike in American history began. The working class marched and demonstrated in the streets, and proposed to the government to improve the working and living conditions, and to shorten the working hours and implement the eight hour working system. Soon after the strike, the ranks of workers were expanding, the number of trade union members increased sharply, and workers from all over the country also took part in the strike movement.
Under the strong pressure of the workers' movement, the US Congress was forced to enact the eight hour working system law. However, some capitalists simply ignored this law. The workers are still living in dire straits and suffering from the capitalists. The unbearable workers decided to push the struggle for the right to survive to a new climax and prepare to hold a larger-scale strike movement.
Countries around the world generally hold corresponding celebrations. However, not all countries have designated May 1 as labor day. Those countries that have been "May 1" have different ways and habits of celebration.
