Labor Day and May Day emerged from the movement for a shorter workday

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A uthor: Jeffrey Sklansky , University of Illinois Chicago

Most of the world observes International Workers’ Day on May 1 or the first Monday in May each year, but not the United States and Canada.

Instead, Americans and Canadians have celebrated Labor Day as a national holiday on the first Monday in September since 1894, 12 years after the first observance of Labor Day in New York City.

The celebrations aren’t the same.

In much of Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America, the event commonly called May Day honors workers’ political and economic power , often with demonstrations by socialist or workers’ parties and tributes to national labor rights. Amer