The Rebirth of May Day’s Message
from Consortium News:
The Rebirth of May Day’s Message
May 3, 2012
Since the rise of Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, America’s rich have been on a roll, with their tax rates slashed by more than half and a concentration of both wealth and power at the top, a restoration of an earlier time of inequality and exploitation, as Lawrence S. Wittner recalls.
By Lawrence S. Wittner
Many people might be surprised to learn that the May Day celebrations that occurred around the world Tuesday were born more than a century ago out of a struggle by American workers for the eight-hour day.
The late 19thCentury was a particularly hard and brutal time for working people in the United States. The rise of giant corporations fostered accelerated exploitation of workers in the interests of profit by the wealthy few.
In the new, giant factories, it was common for workers to labor from 60 to 80 hours a week. Many workers had a six-day workweek, but a seven-day workweek was the standard for steel mills, oil refineries, paper mills, and other highly mechanized plants.
The industrial accident and death rate soared to new heights — not only thanks to new, dangerous machines and the use of child labor, but because of worker exhaustion. In 1881 alone, an estimated 30,000 American railway workers were killed or injured on the job. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://consortiumnews.com/2012/05/03/the-rebirth-of-may-days-message/
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