Community members gathered in downtown Bakersfield on May 1 for a May Day (International Workers’ Day) rally. The rally focused on prioritizing workers’ rights over billionaires’ funds. It recognizes the protests turned riots that took place from May 1 to May 4, 1886.
“May Day is not just a celebration. It is a reaffirmation of our commitment to justice, equality, and dignity for all workers. As we reflect on our journey, we proudly lead the labor movement to stand against corporate greed and corruption,” said Tania Salinas from Kern Inyo and Mono Counties Central Labor Council.
According to the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, in 1884, a campaign was started to advocate for the 8-hour workday. On May 1, 1886, workers across North America had been on strike, and in Chicago, the police shot workers on strike. On May 4, 1886, a bomb detonated among a crowd, killing a police officer and injuring both strikers and officers, according to the Library of Congress (LOC). This is known as the Haymarket Affair or Incident. Eight men were charged with murder, and seven were sentenced to death by hanging, according to the LOC.
In 1989, a labor bulletin tracked domestic workers’ wages and hours, showing that some workers worked 78 to 83 hours a week for nine cents an hour, according to History.com.
CSU Bakersfield professor Gonzalo Santos spoke about the history of May Day. He explained that although the movement happened in Chicago, it is internationally recognized.
“When I grew up as a little boy in Mexico, do you know what the banners of the oil workers and the banners of the campesinos and the banners of the Estibadors they had always remember the martyrs of Chicago,” said Sanotos. “That’s how important the fight for the 8-hour workday was 140 years ago. Do you know when we finally got the 8-hour workday in this country? Even though they had been fighting for decades, they didn’t get it until 1937 in the New Deal legislation of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.”
Santos stated that not only did it take decades for the deal to happen, but that the community also threatened to shut down the country.
“Thanks to the great labor movement of this country, that said, either you get it in federal law, or we’re going to shut this country down once and for all. And we got the 8-hour workday in 1937. That’s how late. It takes not just decades, but sometimes centuries to get it right.”
Several local union organizations were present at the rally. Katie Kane with the California Schools Employee Association stated that while some may think unions are an “unpatriotic plot” and a threat to democracy, she believes carrying a union card is one of the most American things someone can do.
“But I would say that carrying a union card is one of the most American democratic things you can do,” said Kane. “What is more American than a group of individuals seeing a better future than what was handed to them and fighting to achieve it? A union of like-minded men is exactly what brought about our own country in the 1700s. And ever since, we have continually effected change via unions of a passionate few, willing to put aside their personal interests to fight for what’s right over what is easy.”
One community member spoke at the rally about how being a part of a union has impacted his life.
“My union has provided me with more than just a job. It has given me livable wages, health insurance, and the promise of a pension. Because of that, when the time comes, I know I will be able to retire with dignity and respect. Something every person deserves, but not everyone is guaranteed.”