Remembering the workers of that toddling town

What's up with this "Labor Day" thing on the first Monday of September? I mean, back in Mexico, we celebrate Labor Day with the rest of the world: on what's known on the US of A simply as "May Day." And the funny part is, this day that's observed in most countries was instituted to remember something that happened on America: the Haymarket Massacre on 1886, when a labor rally held at Haymarket Squere ended in a bloodbath where at least 70 police officers (who were there to disperse the demonstrators) and 200 civilians were seriously wounded, some of them eventually dying. The violence erupted when a bomb was thrown at the police (the responsible party was never found), and they retaliated by firing into the crowd.

Later on, the police arrested 8 labor leaders (the "Chicago Eight," seven of whom were nowhere near Haymarket), who on the basis of their political beliefs were senteced to death; most of them were eventually executed. It is in memory of these "Chicago Eight," or the Chicago Martyrs as they are recognized by workers around the globe, that May 1st was instituted as Labor Day.

So what's going on here in these United States where everything happened? Though some states initially observed May 1st, others decided to settle for early September, to distance themselves from the "socialist" nature of the holiday. Having a holiday in September allowed for a nice intermission between July 4th and Thanksgiving, two important American holidays with no "subversive" overtones.

At this point the reader might wonder what will the scribbler propose regarding May Day. Well, I have no proposals. What difference would they make? I'm sure the first Monday of September as the last day of Summer and a break from work is already deeply rooted in the American psyche. And indeed it is the only officially sanctioned break from work between July and November.

Maybe the only thing that can be done is for every worker who has to deal with today's extended workload to remember what the Chicago Martyrs were fighting for back in 1886: an eight-hour work day. And then stop working every day at the eighth hour and go back home to enjoy the rights their sacrifice gave us. And maybe when you're out with your kids rushing to enjoy the beach for that one last Summer day, or with your friends and neighbors grilling on the backyard for one last evening, you could ask them if they can explain why America has a Labor Day holiday on early September, while the rest of the world is working, having already enjoyed their leisure time way back on May.