In honor of International Workers Day, or May Day, Chicagoans marched from Union Park to Federal Plaza. The focus this year was on workers rights, immigration reform and corporate greed, with an active queer contingent. The May 1 celebration is a national holiday in more than 80 countries, and is celebrated unofficially in many others.

May Day finds it’s origins in a strike organized by Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions—the forerunner of the American Federation of Labor—on May 1, 1886. The workers were fighting for an eight hour work day.

The strike lead to the Haymarket riot on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago. During peaceful demonstrations by workers, an unknown person threw a dynamite bomb at police as they acted to disperse the public meeting. The bomb blast and the ensuing gunfire resulted in the deaths of seven police officers and at least four civilians. Subsequent celebrations of May Day began to mark the anniversary of the strike.

At the 2012 rally, Chicago police estimated the crowd at about 1,000, though at times it easily might have been twice that size. No arrests were reported.

Photos from the May Day march in Chicago are up on the Stuff Queer People Need To Know Facebook page. Some of my favorites are below: