May Day is nearly upon us again. Did you know

that the May Day started not in Red Square but

in Chicago with the execution of anarchist union

organisers in 1887?

You can read about the history of this event and

print out PDF files of an anarchist leaflet and

poster explaining the origins of May Day at

http://struggle.ws/about/mayday.html

We invite you to make copies of these leaflets

and posters and distribute them at May Day

events (or simply on the streets or at work)

this year. Last year tens of thousands of copies

of these were distributed across the globe, from

Chicago to Brazil to South Africa to Turkey to

Latvia to New Zealand. See the end of the PDF

pages for details.

The history in brief

In 1887 four Chicago anarchists were executed. A

fifth cheated the hangman by killing himself in

prison. Three more were to spend 6 years in

prison until pardoned by Governor Altgeld who

said the trial that convicted them was

characterised by "hysteria, packed juries and a

biased judge". The state had, in the words of

the prosecution put "Anarchy .. on trial" and

hoped their deaths would also be the death of

the anarchist idea.

The anarchists were trade union organisers and

May Day became an international workers day to

remember their sacrifice. They were framed on

false charges of throwing a bomb at police

breaking up a demonstration in Chicago. This was

part of a strike demanding an 8 hour day

involving 400,000 workers in Chicago that

started May 1st 1886 .

The anarchist idea did not die in Chicago in

1887. Today it inspires a new wave of struggle

against global capitalism. Join in this

struggle. Tell others about May Day

Print out and distribute your own May Day

posters and leaflet/pamphlets from

http://struggle.ws/about/mayday.html



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