International Workers' Day

Wealth vs. Labor and “Shareholders’ Day”

• Thread opens with sarcastic complaints that workers get a holiday but shareholders and billionaires do not.
• Many replies extend the satire: every other day is already “shareholders’ day,” owners get 364 days, workers get one.
• Jokes about Black Friday, Berkshire Hathaway meetings, “National Entrepreneur Day,” and an actual “National Shareholders Day” link underline the feeling that capital already dominates public life.
• Several comments mock the idea that simply having large account balances is a great social contribution.

Nazis, Socialism, and May Day

• One commenter notes Nazi Germany was the first non-communist state to make May 1 a holiday, prompting a long debate on whether Nazism was in any sense socialist.
• One side: Nazis had price controls, state-directed war economy and “socialist” in the party name; communist regimes also had repression and elites, so labels are fuzzy.
• Opposing side: Nazis crushed unions, killed socialists and trade unionists early, collaborated with industrialists, and explicitly rejected socialist values; “socialist” was propaganda, later purged.
• Others introduce distinctions among communism, socialism, Leninism, and “state capitalism,” arguing that many so‑called communist regimes were hierarchical and exploitative.
• Some push back against modern rhetoric equating fascism with socialism, calling it historically illiterate but politically useful.

US Labor Day, Law Day, and Symbolic Capture

• US Labor Day is described as a domesticated alternative to May 1, intentionally distancing from the radical memory of the Haymarket massacre.
• May 1 in the US is officially “Law Day,” framed as celebrating obedience to law; one commenter reads this as an attempt to overwrite May Day.

Labor Struggles, Rights, and Media Representation

• Several comments emphasize that current labor protections were won through deadly conflict and can be lost if forgotten.
• Broad agreement that May Day is important for remembering those struggles, though some note they are still “working all day.”
• Debate over how often labor struggles appear in mainstream media:
  • One view: almost never, especially in US TV/film, because it doesn’t “resonate” or isn’t exportable.
  • Others list numerous examples but concede the theme has faded in recent decades.
• Explanations range from commercial constraints and corporate control of content to US political culture; European cinema is cited as more labor-conscious.

Wages, Power, and Contemporary Conditions

• Commenters note the US federal minimum wage has been stagnant since 2009, eroding real purchasing power.
• Counterpoint: most US workers live in states with higher minimums, so the federal minimum affects relatively few.
• Disagreement on raising the federal minimum:
  • Pro: if it affects few workers, raising it should not be problematic and would restore some justice.
  • Con: raising it further centralizes economic control in Washington and may limit state flexibility, seen as risky in uncertain times.

Global and Personal May Day Traditions

• Descriptions of Finland’s Vappu as a combined spring, labor, and student/industry festival with big park parties and visible school/company symbols.
• In Switzerland, observance varies by canton; some still work, others treat it as a banking holiday.
• In former communist countries, people recall mandatory marches under previous regimes; those parades ended after 1989 but the holiday remained.
• A few lighthearted cultural jokes (e.g., “all of Europe” celebrating May Day except one “village”) highlight regional variation and lingering stereotypes.