May 1—May Day or International Workers’ Day—marks a major turning point in the struggle for the eight-hour workday. The modern observance traces to the labor movement’s demand that eight hours become the legal workday beginning May 1, 1886. Hundreds of thousands of workers across thousands of U.S. workplaces participated in actions that day.
In 2026, May Day also coincided with a national call for workers to reject business as usual in response to growing inequality and threats to working people.
Solidarity at MSU
As a newly formed union, UTSF has a responsibility to demonstrate solidarity with one another and with workers across the country.
Faculty responsibilities are closely connected to personal values, intellectual commitments, and relationships with students. Those obligations often extend beyond formal job requirements, particularly during graduation season, when many faculty participate in commencement and celebrate students they have advised and mentored.
UTSF encouraged members to participate in ways consistent with their responsibilities and circumstances. Options included:
- Wearing red or a red-square patch in solidarity with the labor movement.
- Wearing UTSF buttons or shirts at campus events.
- Talking with colleagues about May Day and worker solidarity.
- Joining the May Day Means Solidarity demonstration at the Michigan Capitol.
- Sharing local events and activities with UTSF through social media at @UTSFmsu.
Resources
- National Education Association May Day Toolkit
- May Day events and organizing resources
- History of May Day
- The history of May Day in America
- The True History of May Day: A Workers’ Revolt Turned Global
Collective action gives faculty commitments to students, research, public service, and one another a stronger public voice.