Remember When: Blood Was Shed for the 8-Hour Workday

It began with a simple demand: eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, eight hours for what we will.

On May 1, 1886, American workers rallied in Chicago, igniting a movement — and a tragedy — that changed labor rights forever.

Thousands of workers across the country had walked off the job, demanding a right that today seems basic: an eight-hour workday. In Chicago’s Haymarket Square, what began as a peaceful protest ended in violence.

When a bomb exploded amidst the crowd, chaos erupted. Police fired into the gathering, and by the end of the night, several people were dead and many more were injured.

Authorities cracked down, arresting eight labor organizers — none of whom were proven responsible for the bomb. Four were ultimately executed, becoming martyrs for the cause of workers' rights.
Their sacrifice shocked the nation and the world, galvanizing a growing movement for fair labor standards, safer workplaces, and the idea that human dignity must come before profits.

Today, we remember that economic justice is inseparable from civil rights.

The fight for livable wages, safe working conditions, and protections against discrimination continues — and the roots of that struggle trace directly back to the blood spilled in Haymarket Square.

At Leading Ladies Vote, we honor those who dared to demand fairness, even when it came at a terrible cost.

Their courage reminds us that rights are never given — they are fought for