Chaparral 2024-2025: The Spirit of May Day with Guild President Richard Kamei

This month’s theme for the Chaparral is “start small, grow wild.” The first thing that came to mind as I reflected on this theme was the idea of the labor movement. In fact, at the time of this writing, we are approaching May 1, which is an important day for labor unions and workers in general. May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day, celebrates the labor movement. This commemoration that takes place every year across the world began with ideas and actions that set forth a chain of events.

In October 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions held a convention where the delegates unanimously set May 1, 1886 to be the day that the eight-hour work day would become the standard. There was much preparation for the date and labor unions planned a general strike in support of the goal of the eight-hour work day standard.

On May 1, 1886, hundreds of thousands of workers participated in a general strike across the nation. Then, on May 3, 1886, at a rally calling for solidarity in Chicago, the police fired on the participants and about half a dozen were killed. This led to organizing another rally on May 4, 1886 at Haymarket Square. Thousands attended the rally. As a large number of police arrived to attempt to disperse the rally, a homemade bomb was thrown in the direction of the police, which killed one police officer and wounded many other police officers. Then an exchange of gunshots occurred and when the violence stopped, several police officers and workers were dead. In the aftermath, eight activists were arrested. Despite the lack of evidence to directly link the accused to the bombing, seven of the defendants were sentenced to die and one was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.

These events that capture the courage of workers to demand better working conditions for all despite the significant challenges and the oppressive violence bestowed upon them by the power of the economic elite and the state apparatus is celebrated on May Day. The spirit of May Day, which is for workers to be organized, disciplined, strategic, and courageous in the face of recent challenges, is needed now more than ever.

I am encouraged to see the many unions and their allies organizing to effect positive changes in our society. Going back to the theme of “start small, grow wild,” each union is a critical piece of the larger society, where we emphasize fair wages, equal treatment, and participation in the democratic process within our individual workplaces. At the same time, on a larger scale, together with other unions and community organizations, we become a formidable force to improve our society. From grassroots organizing to policy advocacy, together we play a critical role in advancing all that we hold dear. In this way, we start small but grow wild, meaning that we flourish wildly beyond our starting point to an organized movement capable of uniting diverse sectors of labor, mobilizing millions of workers and our allies, and challenging systemic inequities and all forms of injustice through collective bargaining and strategic alliances.

Richard T. Kamei

April 21, 2025