The origins of May Day are still well known for those of us on the revolutionary Left. For a brief refresher: In 1887 four Chicago anarchists were executed. A fifth cheated the hangman by killing himself in prison. Three more spent several years in jail. The state had, in the words of the prosecution, put “Anarchy .. on trial” and hoped their deaths would also be the death of the anarchist idea. The anarchists were trade union organisers and May Day became an international workers day to remember their sacrifice. They were framed on false charges of throwing a bomb at police breaking up a demonstration in Chicago. This was part of a strike demanding an 8 hour day involving 400,000 workers in Chicago that started May 1st 1886. Read more in the Workers Solidarity Movement (Ireland) website
For over a century, May Day has been a day for workers across the world to come together and fight for our collective liberation. While there have been gatherings and protests of workers on 1st May in Aotearoa (NZ) over the years, Labour Day is associated with a public holiday in late October. Labour Day was first celebrated in New Zealand on 28 October 1890, when several thousand trade union members and supporters attended parades in the main centres. Government employees were given the day off to attend the parades and many businesses closed for at least part of the day. The date, 28 October, marked the first anniversary of the establishment of the Maritime Council, an organisation of transport and mining unions. Read more on the NZ History website
However, there have always been gatherings on May Day by socialist organisations and protest marches were held again with the re-emerging anti-capitalist movement in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Below are a few newspaper clippings.
The only gathering that I could make out this year is the May Day concert in Palmerston North – 5th May at the Globe Theatre. Check out this year’s programme here. Meanwhile workers across the world are marching today, taking a stand against fascism, capitalism and war. Long may it continue. Happy May Day!
Christchurch 1905
Auckland 1930
Petone 1933
Auckland 1934
Wellington 2005
