International Workers' Day 2027 is on Saturday

About International Workers' Day

The day commemorates the struggles and gains of working people, and in many places it is both a day off and a day of marches, rallies and union events. Demands vary by country and year, but they usually center on wages, working hours, job security and the right to organize.

Its roots are in the American campaign for an eight-hour workday. On May 1, 1886, unions across the United States went on strike for shorter hours, with Chicago at the center of the action. On May 4, a rally in Chicago's Haymarket Square ended in a bombing that killed police officers, followed by gunfire, mass arrests and the sentencing of several anarchists to death in a trial that drew international attention. In July 1889 the Second International, a federation of socialist parties and trade unions meeting in Paris, called for demonstrations on May 1, partly in solidarity with the Chicago workers. The first coordinated May Day demonstrations took place across much of Europe on May 1, 1890.

Encyclopaedia Britannica notes that May 1 is a public holiday in dozens of countries, including India, South Africa, China, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal and Greece. It became especially prominent in the Soviet Union and Eastern bloc, where it was marked with large state parades.

The United States and Canada are notable exceptions. Both honor workers on Labor Day, the first Monday in September, instead. In 1894 President Grover Cleveland signed the law making that September date a federal holiday, and Britannica notes he was uneasy with May Day's socialist associations. In the US, May 1 is an ordinary working day. Many European countries also keep older May Day traditions, such as maypoles and spring festivals, on the same date.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica: Is Labor Day the Same as May Day? (archived April 2026), Encyclopaedia Britannica: May Day (international observance), Library of Congress, In Custodia Legis blog: A Spring Holiday for Workers (2016). How we check dates.

How to mark International Workers' Day

• Read about the Haymarket affair and the eight-hour-day movement, or visit the Haymarket Memorial if you are in Chicago.
• Check your own employment rights, such as overtime rules, breaks and leave, on your government's labor department website.
• Thank the people whose work you rely on every day, from delivery drivers to cleaners and care workers.
• If you are traveling on May 1, check whether shops, banks and transit in your destination will be closed or reduced for the holiday.
• Talk with older relatives about their working lives and how conditions have changed.

International Workers' Day dates