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Along with October, May is one of the most densely packed months of the year. It's before the summer humidity and the last whole month of the school year. The weather is warming in t...
The solstice on the 20th marks the onset of summer (Northern Hemisphere) or winter (Southern Hemisphere). Many people, particularly in Europe, North America and Asia, will be embarking o...
Spring has sprung in the north, and the first hints of Autumn are on the horizon in the south. April is the month spring (or fall) gets underway, and it is filled with religious celebrations, including the Mu...
Labour Day in Australia is a national holiday, but it is complicated as each province has its day to celebrate, which can occur in March, May, or October. West Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria provinces observe in March., albeit on different days.
Labour Day represents the international celebration of organized labor and was conceived first in North America. A conference of American and Canadian unions in 1884 declared May 1, 1886, as a day of strike action in support of the eight-hour day. In Chicago, a crowd of 80,000 workers was attacked by police, and six workers were gunned down. In subsequent protests, another 11 workers were killed. A further seven workers were arrested, of whom four were hanged, and a fifth killed himself to cheat the noose. Two others received life sentences.
In Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald reported in 1890 that in Vienna, the wealthy business owners and elites were so unnerved by worker support for May Day that they placed their valuables in banks' custody.
Two years earlier, Australian workers rallied to the cause of British dockworkers during the famous Dockers Strike of 1888. Of $48,000 contributed from overseas, more than $30,000 was sent by Australian workers.
In 1891 squatters in Queensland determined to break the Shearers union employed scab labor. The Shearers and the Queensland government sent police and armed troops to arrest strikers.
A call to create an international day during the nineteenth century failed due to ideological splits within the trade union movement. May Day gathered in strength in Australia and is now part of the worldwide celebration recognizing labor. However, Australia's territories maintained state-supported Labour Days throughout the year.
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