Day of the International Solidarity of Workers, aka May Day or Labour Day. Today in History (1884) - Proclamation of the demand for eight-hour workday in the United States. Two years later, the general strike that eventually won the eight-hour workday began. Eight years after that, Coxey's Army, the first significant American protest march, arrives in Washington D.C. to lobby the government to create jobs. Happy 174th birthday to labor activist Mother Jones.