Podcast produced by Upstream in conversation with John from Working Class History talking about the history of May Day, International Workers’ Day, from its modern origins in Chicago in 1886, to its mediaeval roots, and its relevance today.

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This is an episode produced by the excellent Upstream podcast, in conversation with John from the Working Class History podcast. Made exclusively for Upstream’s patreon supporters, we are happy to be able to share it with our patreon supporters as well.

Episode

E85: [TEASER] May Day with Upstream – Working Class History

Listen to the full episode here:

Militant workers, strikes, murder, dynamite, massacres—working class history is stained with the blood of martyrs and the atrocities of the ruling classes—a centuries-long struggle of class war that began at the dawn of capitalism itself.

On today’s episode, Upstream is recognizing and celebrating International Workers’ Day, held every year on this day—May 1st. The history of this day goes all the way back to the late 1800s, and yes, it includes massacres and strikes and dynamite. It’s a story about class war—quite literally.

John is a researcher at Working Class History—an online people’s history project that includes a daily calendar of working class historical events, a longform and a daily podcast, a stories app, a map app, and much more. 

In this episode John recounts the harrowing, violent, and sometimes humorous stories of how International Workers’ Day came to be what it is today. We explore this day’s legacy from the 1880s to the present, what working conditions were like in the late 19th century and how they resemble our current conditions, and why it’s important to keep the legacy and lessons from this important day in our hearts, minds—and in our actions.

Listen now

More information

Walter Crane May Day poster

Acknowledgements

  • Thanks to our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands, Jamison D. Saltsman, Fernando López Ojeda and Jeremy Cusimano.
  • Produced by Upstream

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History isn't made by kings or politicians, it is made by us: billions of ordinary people.