May 1 is a worldwide celebration of workers with ancient origins. In the United States, it’s also May Day, and it started with labor’s fight for the eight-hour working day. 

At its national convention in Chicago, held in 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions (which later became the American Federation of Labor), proclaimed that “eight hours shall constitute a legal day’s labor from and after May 1, 1886.” 

Read a “Brief History of May Day” from the IWW – the Industrial Workers of the World.