zito1
family photos with permission of the Zito family
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Posted by David Ballela at 6:13 AM 0 comments
Labels: joseph zito, triangle shirtwaist fire
This is the first and only International Labor Day. It belongs to the working class and is dedicated to the revolution! -- Eugene V. Debs. On May 1, 1886, the Working People of Chicago called a general Strike, demanding an 8 hour working day and decent work conditions. The workers were brutally repressed by their employers and city officials. On May 3rd, 6 workers were murdered, and the next day, in Haymarket Square, 11 more people were killed after the police attacked a crowd of workers. The Radical Labor movement went nationwide, with 11,562 business's hit by strikes that year. Although much work remains for the Labor Movement, the beginnings of widespread action began on May Day. May Day is the Workers Day!
One of Northland's earliest posters! This print commemorates the struggle for the eight-hour day, which involved a general strike in Chicago on May 1st, 1886, and culminated later that same week with the Haymarket massacre. Offset poster, black ink on mustard-colored paper.
