The Brief Origins of May Day, by Eric Chase

Image by brent granby via Flickr

Dandelion Salad
Originally published May 1, 2015

Republished with permission from IWW

by Eric Chase
IWW, 1993
April 30, 2023

Most people living in the United States know little about the International Workers’ Day of May Day. For many others there is an assumption that it is a holiday celebrated in state communist countries like Cuba or the former Soviet Union. Most Americans don’t realize that May Day has its origins here in this country and is as “American” as baseball and apple pie, and stemmed from the pre-Christian holiday of Beltane, a celebration of rebirth and fertility.

The Dawn of Labor: Commemorating May Day, by Yanis Iqbal

Image by Tysasi via Flickr

by Yanis Iqbal
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Aligarh, India
Originally published May 4, 2021
May 1, 2022

In 1889, Clara Zetkin wrote: “Wherever busy folk are drudging under the yoke of capitalism, the organised working men and women will demonstrate on May Day for the idea of their social emancipation.” In today’s world, the murderous claws of oppression have dug deeper into the flesh of humanity. The globalization of capital, establishment of post-Fordist economic arrangements of flexible specialization, financialization of the accumulation process and neo-colonial strangulation of the Global South have led to a barbaric situation. Amid this generalized chaos, May 1 acts as a blazing streak, inviting the wretched of the earth to reflect intensively on their own history of joy, tenacious resistance, collective courage and strong solidarity.

The Incomplete and Wonderful History of May Day

Image by brent granby via Flickr

Dandelion Salad
Originally published May 1, 2016

The Laura Flanders Show on Apr 26, 2016

Author and professor Peter Linebaugh discusses his new book, The Incomplete, True, Authentic, and Wonderful History of May Day. Later in the show filmmaker Avi Lewis discusses worker-owned factories in Argentina, and Laura focuses on the intersectional feminism of 19th Century Anarchist Lucy Parsons.

The Dawn of Labor: Commemorating May Day, by Yanis Iqbal

Image by Tysasi via Flickr

by Yanis Iqbal
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Aligarh, India
May 4, 2021

In 1889, Clara Zetkin wrote: “Wherever busy folk are drudging under the yoke of capitalism, the organised working men and women will demonstrate on May Day for the idea of their social emancipation.” In today’s world, the murderous claws of oppression have dug deeper into the flesh of humanity. The globalization of capital, establishment of post-Fordist economic arrangements of flexible specialization, financialization of the accumulation process and neo-colonial strangulation of the Global South have led to a barbaric situation. Amid this generalized chaos, May 1 acts as a blazing streak, inviting the wretched of the earth to reflect intensively on their own history of joy, tenacious resistance, collective courage and strong solidarity.

The Brief Origins of May Day by Eric Chase

Image by brent granby via Flickr

Dandelion Salad
Originally published May 1, 2015

Republished with permission from IWW

by Eric Chase
IWW, 1993
April 30, 2021

Most people living in the United States know little about the International Workers’ Day of May Day. For many others there is an assumption that it is a holiday celebrated in state communist countries like Cuba or the former Soviet Union. Most Americans don’t realize that May Day has its origins here in this country and is as “American” as baseball and apple pie, and stemmed from the pre-Christian holiday of Beltane, a celebration of rebirth and fertility.

Nothing Is Going Back To Normal — May Day 2020

Image by brent granby via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

sub.Media on Apr 30, 2020

This May Day finds us at an important historic crossroads. Amidst a global pandemic, this year the streets will be eerily silent as people forgo the marches, rallies and riots that are the annual rituals of international workers day.

The Incomplete and Wonderful History of May Day + Chris Smalls: Support May Day Strikers

Image by Annette Dubois via Flickr

Dandelion Salad
Updated: April 30, 2020
Originally published May 1, 2016

The Laura Flanders Show on Apr 26, 2016

Author and professor Peter Linebaugh discusses his new book, The Incomplete, True, Authentic, and Wonderful History of May Day. Later in the show filmmaker Avi Lewis discusses worker-owned factories in Argentina, and Laura focuses on the intersectional feminism of 19th Century Anarchist Lucy Parsons.

The Brief Origins of May Day by Eric Chase

Image by brent granby via Flickr

Dandelion Salad
Originally published May 1, 2015

Republished with permission from IWW

by Eric Chase
IWW, 1993
May 1, 2019

Most people living in the United States know little about the International Workers’ Day of May Day. For many others there is an assumption that it is a holiday celebrated in state communist countries like Cuba or the former Soviet Union. Most Americans don’t realize that May Day has its origins here in this country and is as “American” as baseball and apple pie, and stemmed from the pre-Christian holiday of Beltane, a celebration of rebirth and fertility.

The Incomplete and Wonderful History of May Day

Image by brent granby via Flickr

Dandelion Salad
Originally published May 1, 2016

The Laura Flanders Show on Apr 26, 2016

Author and professor Peter Linebaugh discusses his new book, The Incomplete, True, Authentic, and Wonderful History of May Day. Later in the show filmmaker Avi Lewis discusses worker-owned factories in Argentina, and Laura focuses on the intersectional feminism of 19th Century Anarchist Lucy Parsons.

The Haymarket Riot: “It is a Subterranean Fire” by Elizabeth Schulte

Image by Annette Dubois via Flickr

Dandelion Salad
Originally published on April 30, 2011

by Elizabeth Schulte
SocialistWorker.org, April 29, 2011
April 30, 2018

ON MAY 1, 1886–125 years ago this month–hundreds of thousands of workers were taking the streets of cities around the U.S. to demand an eight-hour day.

The Brief Origins of May Day, by Eric Chase

Image by brent granby via Flickr

Dandelion Salad
Originally published May 1, 2015

Republished with permission from IWW

by Eric Chase
IWW, 1993
May 1, 2017

Most people living in the United States know little about the International Workers’ Day of May Day. For many others there is an assumption that it is a holiday celebrated in state communist countries like Cuba or the former Soviet Union. Most Americans don’t realize that May Day has its origins here in this country and is as “American” as baseball and apple pie, and stemmed from the pre-Christian holiday of Beltane, a celebration of rebirth and fertility.

May Day General Strike by James E. Rabbit III

Image by Daniel Latorre via Flickr

by James E. Rabbit III
Guest Writer, Dandelion Salad
Founder/Administrator of the Solidarity Facebook Page
April 22, 2017

This May Day (Monday, May 1st, 2017), workers worldwide are invited to participate in an unprecedented call for global unity demanding that all full-time workers are paid a living wage by means of a May Day General Strike, which transcends borders and all other divides among fellow workers. The success of this event is dependent upon word of mouth and social media to invite others who will collectively stand together in solidarity to end the unjustifiable inhumane suffering and exploitation of underpaid workers everywhere.

Federal Government Squeezes Workers, Bloats Pentagon by Carl Lewis + May Day: Struggle For A Mass Strike!

Image by Kheel Center via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

by Carl Lewis
Workers World
March 23, 2017

A recent hiring freeze for federal employees is one of a barrage of anti-worker laws and executive orders recently put forth by the Trump administration. These serve as a cover-up for gutting the people’s social safety net, on the way to implementing brutal capitalist austerity.

The Incomplete and Wonderful History of May Day

Image by brent granby via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

The Laura Flanders Show on Apr 26, 2016

Author and professor Peter Linebaugh discusses his new book, The Incomplete, True, Authentic, and Wonderful History of May Day. Later in the show filmmaker Avi Lewis discusses worker-owned factories in Argentina, and Laura focuses on the intersectional feminism of 19th Century Anarchist Lucy Parsons.

The Brief Origins of May Day, by Eric Chase

Image by brent granby via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

Republished with permission from IWW

by Eric Chase
IWW, 1993
April 30, 2016

Most people living in the United States know little about the International Workers’ Day of May Day. For many others there is an assumption that it is a holiday celebrated in state communist countries like Cuba or the former Soviet Union. Most Americans don’t realize that May Day has its origins here in this country and is as “American” as baseball and apple pie, and stemmed from the pre-Christian holiday of Beltane, a celebration of rebirth and fertility.