Trade Union Movement,
Red Flag and May Day
The
modern working class is the product of the industrial revolution beginning with
mid-18th century. But we can find workers’ activities and organizations even in
the pre-industrial phases, when this class was still in the formative period.
Records
of workers’ associations, guilds and unions are to be found in the 14th to 18th
centuries. In 1345 a wool comber tried to organize a union of wage laborers in
Florence (Italy), for which he was condemned to death. Several workers’
uprisings took place in the 14th century Italian principalities. A remarkable
struggle for wage rise and political rights took place in Ciompi (Florence)
from 1378 onwards.
Some
other notable struggles and organi-sations were as follows: Lyons (France)
printers in 1501; first long lasting strike in the same city in 1539 for five
months (demanding wage increase, better meals, shorter work hours, etc); Lyons
(1540-41) and Paris (1570-72); 17th century strikes of workers in England;
strikes of clothing and shipyard workers in the Netherlands in 1718-19;
strikes, riots and organizations in England in 17th-18th centuries; struggles
elsewhere in Europe.
Beginnings
of Workers’ Organizations
By
1721 the journeymen tailors of London built a powerful union of a permanent
nature. In early 18th century the Nottingham hosiery industry workers had
associations which destroyed stocking machines. Wool weavers of Norwich,
England, demanded wage rise in 1754 and led a six-week struggle. Some strong
unions are recorded from 1791 onwards in England, among them the mining
workers’ associations, the National Association for the Protection of Workers
and Grand General Union of Workers of UK
In
1758 the box stewards of 18 unions assembled during the strike of Manchester
weavers. The London hatters assembled several times in 18th century in London,
and several workers’ clubs were formed in Glasgow in those times, as, for
example, in 1780. In 1771 an Association of Hatters was formed to unite clubs
of about ten cities. The workers of Lancashire and West Riding showed growing organizational
and TU activities.
The
workers of different trades began to come together, forming ‘trades unions’
which later evolved into trade unions proper. In the US they were generally
known as the labor unions.
A
General Union of Spinners was founded in 1810 in Lancashire. Similar
associations (unions) were formed by tanners, wool-carders, calico-printers,
iron founders, paper makers, each of them getting united at the national scale.
By 1824-25 the TU movement and organizations began to get consolidated: Steam
Engine Makers’ Society, General Union of Carpenters and Joiners (1827) being
some of the examples.
National
Association of United Trades (1845-50) and Amalgamated Society of Engineers or
ASE (beginning with 1851) were historic TUs in England.
Similarly,
clubs and unions were formed early in France, Australia, Belgium and other
countries.
In
the US, the first labor unions were formed in the late 18th and early 19th
centuries. Among them were the unions of hired shoe-makers in 1792, tailors,
printers, New York furniture mak-ers in 1796, New York shipwrights in 1803,
etc.
According
to a report, the black chimney cleaners of Charleston (USA) formed a
combination in 1763 to press for their demands. One of the earliest unions was
a Draymen’s Union in New York in 1763. Some others were: a Coopers’ Union in
New York in 1770, Journeymen’s Union in New York in 1773, and others.
The
American TU movement spread rapidly in 1833-37. Their membership grew from
33,000 to 300,000. About 150 unions were established. Mechanics’ Union of Trade
Associations in Philadelphia came into existence in 1827 as also General Trade
Union of New York (1833). They included a large number of local unions.
By
the mid-1860s there emerged a strong trade union (labor) movement in the US. By
that period some 207 societies in 53 industries had been organized. By the
beginning of the 1870s there were 32 national unions. Among the powerful was
the International Ironmoulders’ Union of the USA and Canada.
The
first National Workers’ Congress of US opened on August 20, 1866, which founded
the National Labor Union. It recognized the First International in 1867.
Besides,
the powerful Knights of Labor or KL and American Federation of Labor or the AFL
emerged in the USA, which played a historic role in the May Day strike of 1886.
The
industrial revolution increasingly under-mined the position of the artisan
industries. Consequently, the journeymen’s unions assumed greater significance
and played an important role in the rise of the trade union movement. Such
unions existed among tanners, joiners, nail-makers, knife-makers, brick-layers,
stone-masons and such other workers and artisans. They worked according to
craft and trades.
There
also emerged corresponding societies in England and elsewhere during this
period.
Important
Movements
The
rise of labour, TU and working class movements was marked by some historical
movements which have left their deep imprints on history. Among them were the
Levellers’, Diggers’, Poachers’, and the Luddites’ movements. It is not
possible to go into details here for lack of space. Most of these movements
were a reaction to the new machineries on way to the industrial revolution. For
lack of clear scientific consciousness, the workers looked upon the machines as
their enemies and destroyed them, as happened in the Levellers’ and Luddites’
movements. They took place in the 17th to 19th centuries.
The
Peterloo Massacre of workers in England took place on August 16, 1819. The
famous Chartist movement began in England in 1838.
Chartist
Movement
Though
this movement began roughly around 1831-32, it really took shape with the
formation of London Workingmen’s Association in 1836. The Chartist movement
lasted till about 1847, its high point was 1842.
Chartism
was the first sustained political movement of the English working class. It
advanced, among others, two basic political demands: universal suffrage and
10-hour workday. The political demands around the voting rights contained six
important points. The demands and the movement were highly appreciated by Marx
and Engels as the political awakening and consolidation of the working class.
They underlined the significance of the struggle for voting rights for the
workers.
The
years of the Chartist movement were marked by great strikes, giant processions,
petitions signed by more than a million workers of England, peaceful rebellions
and resistance etc. The nationwide forums of the Chartists were the Universal
Convention of Industrial Classes and National Charter Association.
The
second Charter of 1842 contained more than three million signatures and was
partici-pated in by hundreds of thousands of workers. It was the first time in
history that a political form was given to workers’ demands, and thus it was a
prototype of a workers’ party. There took place a nationwide workers’ general
strike in August 1842.
Chartism
helped the development of Marxism in many respects.
Origins
of Red Flag
There
is a common misconception that the Red Flag was born during the May Day events
in 1886 in Chicago. In reality the history of the Red Flag goes much earlier.
The Red Flag was in use before the French Revolution (1789) to mark danger or
to alert. Hence the colour red. After the French Revolution the people declared
that they were using Red Flags to warn the former rulers of the royal family.
An instance is mentioned in history of workers having hoisted the Red Flag in
Lyons on Hotel de Ville in 1789. Not much is known. A French General is
reported to have hoisted a Red Flag over a prominent building in Paris to warn
the people.
The
working people of Paris already considered the Red Flag as their own since June
1832, when in a workers’ uprising the Red Flag was hoisted over the barricades
in the city. (See Marx and Engels, Selected Works, Volume 1, Note No. 104; also
mentioned by Marx in Class Struggles in France) Thereafter the Red Flag became
quite common in France and several other countries of Europe.
The
Chartist movement in England also had Red Flag as their banner 1838 onwards.
The issue of national flag of France became a contentious issue in the course
of the European revolutions of 1848-49. While the represen-tatives of the petty
bourgeoisie and the bourgeoisie wanted the Tricolour as the Republic’s flag,
the workers’ represen-tatives wanted the Red Flag as the flag of France. An
appeal to recognise the red banner as the national flag circulated for 36 hours
in the areas around the Town Hall. August Blanqui, the leader of the revolutio-nary
proletarians, supported the demand most actively.
The
issue was settled by accepting the Tricolour as the national flag with a red
rosette attached to it.
The
Social Democratic Party of Germany was established in 1863. Its flag was the
red banner with a handshake imprinted on it.
The
flag of the First International or the International Workingmen’s Association
was also red, as also that of the Second International (1889). The Red Flag was
hoisted over Hotel de Ville during the Paris Commune of 1871.
Hammer
and sickle was put on the Red Flag during the Russian Revolution of 1905 as the
symbol of worker-peasant unity.
Thus
the Red Flag originated and spread much before 1886. In fact, in the USA itself
the red banners, arm-bands and flags were quite common in the 1860s and 1870s,
that is, much before the Chicago May Day events.
Sources
of May Day
The
origins of May Day are related with mainly two events.
One
is the American Revolution of 1776. It is interesting to note that the workers,
indentured labour, negroes and other working people played a crucial role in
the Revolution which led to the emergence of the ‘United States’, the first of
13 States. The declaration of independence adopted by the USA was considerably
influenced by the workers’ conventions held before the Revol-ution. And Thomas
Jefferson, prominent leader and American President, prepared the draft of the
declaration in the house of a brick-layer. Jefferson was very close to the
workers, who in turn considered him their hero.
This
declaration of independence was to play a crucial role later on. In fact, many
of its points about the independence of the humans were taken from various
workers’ conventions and meetings. This idea evolved further into the 19th
century American labour movement as one of the basic planks. The point was
remembered during the preparations for May Day and its events.
The
declaration of independence was a great source for the emergence of workers’
festivals during the 19th century. A tradition emerged in which every first
Monday of September was celebrated as the day of workers’ holiday all over
America.
The
other event is the struggle of the American working class for eight-hour
workday. It was preceded by widespread struggles for 10-hour workday at the begin-ning
of 19th century. By mid-century the demand was accepted and even implemented in
many parts of the USA. In the second half of the century the US trade union
movement was able to put forward the demand of eight hours as the workday, with
other 16 hours kept aside for rest and recreation. Economic, technological and
political changes played a crucial role in the demand for reduction of work
hours.
Powerful
American trade unions, such as the Knights of Labour, American Federation of
Labour and other national industrial centres, played a central effective
organisa-tional role.
The movement gradually picked up from 1884,
and by 1885-86 it was decided to merge the Labour Day with May Day. A
countrywide struggle took place in May 1885, followed by a one-day industrial
strike and general movement on May 1, 1886. The Hay Market events in Chicago
gave rise to the observance of May Day every year. The Second International
decided to observe May Day worldwide every year 1890 onwards.
