Unity

From Unity, 5 May 2007

May Day

Red and proud of it

by Lynda Walker

                    Then raise the scarlet standard high.
                    Within its shade we’ll live and die,
                    Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer,
                    We’ll keep the red flag flying here.

The history of May Day goes back at least as far as 1886 in America. Some debate exists as to who first proposed the first of May as the day of international solidarity. American workers had organised on this date in the 1880s. In 1884 George Edmondson, founder and first president of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, put a resolution to the convention of the New Jersey Federation of Trades and Labour Unions. It read:
     “Resolved . . . that eight hours shall constitute a legal day’s labor from and after May 1st 1886, and that we recommend to labor organizations throughout this district that they so direct their laws as to conform to this resolution by the time named.”
     The demand for an eight-hour day became one that was taken up globally throughout the trade union and labour movement.

                    The people’s flag is deepest red,
                    It shrouded oft our martyr’d dead,
                    And ere their limbs grew stiff and cold,
                    Their hearts’ blood dyed its ev’ry fold.

     In the summer of 1889 “France celebrated the centennial of the Great Revolution of 1789 with a magnificent World Exposition in Paris.”* Several conferences took place in Paris in the summer of that year, one of which was the Marxist International Socialist Congress, with delegates from twenty-one countries, mostly east and west European but including Egypt and America. Raymond Levine, the French delegate, proposed a resolution to the congress on 20 July 1889. It read:
     “A great international demonstration shall be organised for a fixed date in such a manner that the workers in all countries and in all cities shall on a specified day simultaneously address to the public authorities a demand to fix the workday at eight hours and to put into effect the other resolutions of the International Congress of Paris.
     In view of the fact that such a demonstration has already been resolved by the American Federation of Labor at its convention of December 1888 in St Louis for May 1st, 1890, that day is accepted as the day for the international demonstrations. The workers of various nations shall organize the demonstration in a manner suited to the condition in their country.”

                    Look ’round, the Frenchman loves its blaze,
                    The sturdy German chants its praise,
                    In Moscow’s vaults its hymns are sung,
                    Chicago swells the surging throng.

     The latter part of the resolution reflected the fact that the intention to down tools on the first of May might not be an option for some workers. Indeed May Day strikes and demonstrations that took place all over the world carry with them the history of bloody struggles, one of the most well-known being the Haymarket affair. At a demonstration in Chicago on 4 May 1886 a bomb was placed and subsequently killed seven policemen. (There is a whole story leading up to this.) Hundreds of workers were arrested, and eight, who were involved with the anarchist International Working People’s Association, were charged with murder.
     An international labour and trade union campaign was launched to save the Haymarket Martyrs, but seven of them were to be executed; the other, Oscar W. Neebe, was given a sentence of fifteen years’ imprisonment. Yielding to worldwide and public appeals for clemency, two of the men, Michael Schab and Samuel J. Fielden, had their sentence converted to life imprisonment, just before the date of the execution. “Parsons, Engel, Spies and Fisher died on the gallows on November 11, 1887, soon to be known throughout the world as ‘Black Friday.’ Lingg committed suicide (or was murdered) in his jail cell.”

                    It waved above our infant might,
                    When all ahead seemed dark as night;
                    It witnessed many a deed and vow,
                    We must not change its colour now.

     Down the years, May Day demonstrations have taken place all over the world. Some were small events and other were massive, reflecting the different conditions that workers faced. In Belfast the people in the communist, labour and trade union movement have fought to keep May Day on the streets through some of the most turbulent times. The fight to achieve some kind of unity in a sea of repression and sectarianism was long and hard and is still part of an ongoing struggle. It is one of the reasons why communists supported the practice of only having trade union and related solidarity banners, like the Cuba Support Group, on the May Day march, in order to have maximum participation behind the unions and to prevent the problems that political party banners might bring. There are some who ignore this practice, but that is just their short-sightedness.
     However, much of this hard work has paid off, because May Day in Belfast is one of the most successful in Ireland or Britain. Many people travel to Belfast from other parts of Ireland and Britain, bringing with them their union banners. This year, of course, is of particular interest because of the centenary of the dockers’ and carters’ strike, and an excellent programme has been produced by the ICTU.
     However, it must be said that there is still a need to reach out to many in the community who do not participate for one reason or another and who do not feel themselves to be part of the trade union movement. This has to include new immigrant workers, who we welcome into the trade union movement. Many of these workers will experience low-paid exploitation, and some, like paper-sellers, are classed as self-employed, with few or no employment rights regarding their status as workers.
     The demand of the trade union and labour movement still echoes those of our sisters and brothers in the past. In the short term we are looking for shorter working hours, wage increases that reflect the cost of living, and the repeal of the Tory trade union legislation. The Trade Union Bill that will go before the British Parliament in October would help redress some aspects regarding the lack of trade union rights. In the long term we want control and ownership of our land—Ireland—and its natural resources.

                    It well recalls the triumphs past,
                    It gives the hope of peace at last:
                    The banner bright, the symbol plain,
                    Of human right and human gain.

     There are other reasons to be more optimistic this May Day, in that we are seeing the establishment of a Northern Ireland Assembly. This will provide a base for political, social and economic advancement in Ireland, north and south. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has produced a “Statement on the Economy” which is well worth looking at in detail. Hopefully now that the vehicle of the Assembly is moving, the ICTU will pursue some of the action points in their document. And we know that we have to keep our eyes open regarding water charges and privatisation. The need for the campaign is not under the bridge yet.
     The meeting of Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams was, as the Shankill Mirror (April 2007) stated, “once thought of as an unimaginable meeting of minds.” This front-page article, with the heading “Never! Never! Never! Och alright then,” concluded: “On top of all these questions [relating to economic and social problems] no doubt some will ask the question why could this not have happened in 1974 under Brian Faulkner’s watch and saved potentially thousands of innocent lives?”

                    It suits today the weak and base,
                    Whose minds are fixed on pelf and place,
                    To cringe before the rich man’s frown,
                    And haul the sacred emblem down.

     Finally, May Day is a time for international solidarity. We send greetings of solidarity to those beacons of hope, Cuba, Venezuela, and other progressive Latin American countries. Of particular concern and need of solidarity are the people who live in Palestine, the Middle East and Iraq, where thousands of people have been murdered and imprisoned.
     The world may have moved on technologically since 1886, but massive struggle is still needed to get us to a point of social and political sensibility.

                    With heads uncovered swear we all
                    To bear it onward till we fall;
                    Come dungeons dark or gallows grim,
                    This song shall be our parting hymn.

*Historical information and quotations about May Day are from May Day: A Short History of the International Workers’ Holiday by Philip S. Foner, published by International Publishers, New York, 1986.

“The Red Flag” was written by Jim Connell, born in Kilskyre, Co. Meath. Jim left his country because of the hostility to his socialist beliefs. He writes: “On the night I wrote the song I was returning from a lecture by Herbert Burrows. He spoke as if socialism was his religion. This inspired me to write it. The only tune that ever has or ever will suit the Red Flag is the one I hummed when I wrote it—I mean The White Cockade. A. S. Headingly took it on himself to change the tune. May god forgive him, for I never shall.” (Quoted by John McDonnell, Songs of Struggle and Protest, 1979, page 22.)

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