“The Workers’ May-Pole” (1894)
oh & by the way
Happy May Day!
Commémoration du 1er Mai 1886 à Prague par la fédération anarchiste Tchèque
Commémoration du 1er Mai 1886 à Prague par la fédération anarchiste Tchèque
There was little to separate the words of the trade unionists and the anarchic fringes, with the global recession seemingly radicalising the leaders of the unions as they attempt to exploit popular anger.
The mobilizations throughout the world over the last few months of crisis serve to remind us that mass struggle, from below, self-managed, is in the workers’ blood, in their historical memory, and stands in opposition to the leaders of international capitalism and the governments of the whole world in the name of social justice and the defence of the material interests of the world of labour.
May Day and the Haymarket Martyrs
In 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions passed a resolution stating that eight hours would constitute a legal day’s work from and after May 1, 1886. The resolution called for a general strike to achieve the goal, since legislative methods had already failed. With workers being forced to work ten, twelve, and fourteen hours a day, rank-and-file support for the eight-hour movement grew rapidly, despite the indifference and hostility of many union leaders. By April 1886, 250,000 workers were involved in the May Day movement.
The heart of the movement was in Chicago, organized primarily by the anarchist International Working People’s Association. Businesses and the state were terrified by the increasingly revolutionary character of the movement and prepared accordingly. [via]
May 1st, often called May Day, just might have more holidays than any other day of the year. It’s a celebration of Spring. It’s a day of political protests. It’s a neopagan festival, a saint’s feast day, and a day for organized labor. In many countries, it is a national holiday.
anthropophagous
Archive Audio Images RSS FeedThis is just a collection of things I think are neat.
A general overview of 'things I think are neat':abandonment/the post-industrial midwest, anarchism (syndicalism, insurrectionalism, etc), race/ethnicity (esp. defining/constructing the boundaries of whiteness), gender, class (talking/thinking about class generally seems to be an underrated activity), health care (access to, the experience of obtaining, etc), art, science fiction, punk music, conservative talk radio and anthropology (which probably incorporates almost everything else about people).
