May Day: MADE IN THE U.S.A. — A Brief History

When the immigrant-rights movement chose May Day for its big demonstrations a few years ago, people shouldn’t have been surprised. The worldwide workers’ holiday was “Made in the U.S.A.”
May Day’s roots are deep in American history. In 1886, seeking the spark that would ignite the struggling labor movement, the fledgling American Federation of Labor called a general strike for the eight-hour day to begin on May Day, the carpenters’ traditional day for setting wages and conditions.