International Worker’s Day – May 3rd
Sunday, May 3, we celebrate International Worker’s Day with a service of hymns, scriptures, and stories planned by Lee Bains and Lanny Peters.
History: In 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions announced that eight hours should constitute a legal day’s work from May 1, 1886. On that day, around 300,000 workers across the U.S. walked off their jobs, with Chicago as the epicenter of the strike. Following police violence against workers on May 3, a protest rally at Chicago’s Haymarket Square on May 4, 1886, turned violent, resulting in police and civilian deaths. Following a controversial trial, seven labor leaders were sentenced to death; four were hanged in 1887. To honor the “Haymarket Martyrs” and continue the fight for the eight-hour day, the Second International (a socialist organization) declared May 1 a worldwide workers’ day.
Today, it is a public holiday in more than 80 countries. It has transformed from a day of industrial revolt into a day for workers’ rights marches, demonstrations, and, in many countries, a day of rest and celebrations. In 1955, the Catholic Church established May 1st as “Saint Joseph the Worker” feast day. Of course, Jesus himself was a working class person for most of his life. The Greek word commonly translated as carpenter suggests a skilled tradesperson capable of handling various construction tasks, usually working with their hands. So the day could also be called “Joseph and Jesus and Other Workers Day.”