Opinion

Op-Ed: May Day: Of loyalty and labor

Posted on April 27, 2009, at 6:17 a.m.

It’s crunch time for University of Maine students. The semester is wrapping up and this Friday, May 1, is the last day of classes before finals. By Friday, students will be relieved or stressed – or maybe a combination of both – in anticipation of the last big tests and papers of the year.

Doubtless, no one will be celebrating the little-known legal holiday that falls on May 1 – Loyalty Day. The U.S. Congress established May 1 as Loyalty Day back in 1958 for the purpose of reaffirming “loyalty to the United States and for the recognition of the heritage of American freedom.” Every president since then has made a Loyalty Day proclamation.

Loyalty Day is widely understood to be a repudiation of another worldwide holiday, also rooted in American history: International Workers Day, also called “May Day” by celebrants. In the late ’50s, many Americans perceived May Day as a “communist” holiday. Perhaps this was a result of the Soviet Union celebrating it, but it was probably because of the dominant culture that brought us the Red Scare, the suppression of freedoms of speech and association legislated into law by the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 and exacerbated by the witch hunts of Sen. Joe McCarthy.

International Workers Day is a celebration of the victories and struggles of the labor movement – the people who brought us the eight-hour workday, workplace safety standards, minimum wage and even the concept of the “weekend.” It’s also a commemoration of the Haymarket Massacre, a story I’ll have to save for another day.

Around the world, where the anti-left tradition has less of a stranglehold on dominant culture and institutions, thousands of people attend rallies, marches and celebrations of both the national and international labor movement. Despite the appropriation of May Day by the conservative nationalists of yesteryear, labor activists and union members all over our country will also be celebrating our vibrant union history.

International Workers Day is as relevant in our country now as it has ever been. The salaries of CEOs (the “robber barons” of today) skyrocket while the average worker’s wage remains stagnant. Millions of Americans are living without healthcare. Single-minded, profit-hungry companies move overseas to exploit workers with little to no legal protection, leaving our communities ravaged by unemployment. A strong union movement is an important piece of the puzzle necessary to create a more just economy that works for everyone – not just the wealthy few at the top.

So this Friday, take some time away from stressing about finals (or take some time before that last big party of the year) to remember and celebrate the victories the labor movement has won for working families both here and abroad. We all benefit from the blood, sweat and tears shed by activists working together to build a better world.

Mario Moretto is co-chair of Student Labor Action Project.

Campus Currents: Labor