This May Day, the Labor Commission of the American Party of Labor surveyed its members about two questions: “What does May Day mean to you?” and “Why are you a Communist?”

As the world pushes further and further towards the inevitable contradiction of capital and the flames of Inter Imperialist War, International Workers’ Day serves as a stark reminder of why we are here as communists and what the task that lies ahead of us is.

The Labor Commission of the American Party of Labor has recently been engaged in ideological discussions about the nature of the contemporary business unions and what role they still have to play. As well, we have been engaging with struggle on the shop floor developing strategies for organizing your workplace and hosting educational seminars on the topic. If these are of any interest to you please consider applying to the Party! We need all the help we can get!

Workers of the world, unite!

“Communism, in its essence, is as Engels wrote, ‘the doctrine of the liberation of the proletariat.’ Communism is not just a tool that gives the workers power in the economic and political spheres of life, but also gives hope to each and everyone of us. Our Communist future is why we fight everyday and roll with the punches. It is the very lives of children, our grandchildren, our coworkers, our comrades, and us as individuals that we fight for. This is our constant reminder. The fate of the world hangs on the work that we do. With the ever looming threat of climate crisis and inter-imperialist war, the choice is obvious. It is no longer a matter of ‘Socialism or Barbarism’ as our ancestors thought, it is ‘Socialism or Extinction.’ Extinction not just of our species, but of all species and even perhaps the planet we call home, Earth. I am a Communist because I believe not only in the future, but in the historic mission of the proletariat. It is a mission I will fight with all my might and life for (although I would much prefer to live to see it).”
— Leon V., Florida.

“May Day is a demonstration of the strength and joy of the world’s working class. It is a promise of a better world, a reminder in the grim conditions of the present that resistance, justice, and revolution are possible and necessary. The current authorities, systems, and societies disregard or oppose the task of securing common wellbeing now and always. Only the workers can arrest the ongoing descent into barbarism in Palestine and around the world. That is what May Day is to me: a testament to our resolve to deliver ourselves from the oppression of the owners and fascists, and to shape a socialist future for all people.”
— Steven A., Washington.

“I am a communist because I feel it is my duty as both a worker and a transgender woman to fight to ensure our liberation from all of the cruelty and depravity of imperialist capitalism even in the rural area that is south central Pennsylvania we must keep up the fight even when dark forces threaten to engulf us. May Day is a day to celebrate the victories of our working class movement whether that be 1917, the ending of traditional colonialism, or even as simple as the 8 hour day. Do not let the darkness of reaction consume you! Let them boast of our defeat! We know full well that their actions only fuel us further and turn more of us to the cause. We will rise anew and smash the capitalist class once more. Long live the revolution and all power to working people!”
— Alexis G., Pennsylvania.

“May Day makes me remember the sacrifice of coal miners in Eastern Kentucky. It makes me think of the hard working people, the union victory and defeats, the hope and yet suffering of the fighting laboring class. This is what makes me a communist, to see with my own eyes the struggle of some of the hardest working Americans while being exploited just like they were in history in Harlan Bloody Harlan. I want to be a communist not just to fight for these workers in Appalachia but for all my siblings of the world proletariat.”
— Corey J., Kentucky.

“What May Day means to me is renewal and rebirth. It’s a reminder that the working class revolution is the springtime of the world, blooming out of the over-ripe and rotting core of capital. May Day being placed at the height of springtime should be a reminder to us all of the hopefulness of our cause and also that there is so much to do. There’s a long year ahead of us comrades, but remember, ‘we have nothing to lose but our chains!’ Unite!”
– Monty S., New York.

“I am a communist because my entire life I have seen the struggles of the working class minorities around me, including myself, and wanted to change our situation. People always told me that life isn’t fair, and I asked, why can’t we make it? I believe that someday, we can. May Day is a testament to that. Countries around the world celebrate the workers on this day, and it’s also full of history of our fight and victories as the proletariat. It’s a truly uniting holiday unlike any other.”
— Moth J., Kentucky.

“I am a communist because I am hopeful and an optimist, and I am an optimist and hopeful because I am a communist. It would be easy to become overwhelmed and paralyzed with the terrors of the world around us, and I certainly cannot blame those who crumple under the weight and believe the system is unmovable. Marxism-Leninism and the study of history has shown that things can get better, and even the most immovable systems can be moved but also how they did it, where they succeeded and where they failed. I often dream humanity will take to the stars someday in our own Star Trek like future, when I look at those around me, especially on celebrations like May Day, I can see that path towards the future, and how many others desire a future like that and want to work towards it, and that even if I may never see it those after me someday will and may even in their own time take to the stars.”
— Allison P., Florida.

“To me May Day is a time for the working class to see its strength. As the crisis of the imperialist system deepens, it becomes apparent to more and more of the proletariat that only organized collective action can bring about the radical change we need. As the working class consciousness grows I look forward to future May Days where the revolutionary will and organization of the masses will reach the point of general political strikes. Seeing the mobilizations and direct actions each May Day strengthens my resolve to keep fighting for the environment, the liberation of all oppressed peoples, and our socialist future. We have nothing to lose but our chains! Free Palestine!”
– Myles D., Oregon.

“I’m a communist because I grew up seeing how capitalism devalues human life-especially the lives of the poor, the disabled, the marginalized. I became a mother in a world that made survival feel like a privilege instead of a right. Communism gave language to my suffering and showed me that what I experienced wasn’t personal failure-it was systemic violence. Marxism gave me the tools to understand the world-not as a chaotic mess of random injustices, but as a system designed to exploit and alienate. It showed me the roots of my pain, but more than that, it gave me hope and a path toward liberation. I live and breathe to fight for a world where no one is disposable. I believe, as Che Guevara once said, the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love. Communism, to me, is the radical act of loving people so much that I refuse to accept a world that breaks and consumes them. I’m a communist because I want to live in a world where care, dignity, and solidarity are the foundations of life. NOT profit.

May Day is a day of memory, mourning, and militant joy. It’s a day to honor and to carry the torch and stand in the tradition of every worker who dared to fight back. It reminds me that I’m not alone, that our struggle is global, and that our fight is generational. May Day connects me to comrades across time and borders who also said: ‘We deserve more than this.’ It’s the embodiment of dignity, resistance, and love in motion.”
— Niamh P., Missouri

“May Day is the great commemoration of the centuries-long struggle of the working class for its emancipation. On this day, the international proletariat honors our martyrs, pays homage to the profound developments of our movement, and strengthens our contemporary bonds; to light a path anew towards the glorious final victory of communism against capitalism and reaction! To May Day! To the international proletariat! To the victory of socialism in our lifetimes!”
— Maurice B., New York.

“As we approach May Day 2025 it has been impossible for me to avoid seeing constant reminders of the reason that I am a communist. Our political system is not broken, but is instead working exactly as it is intended – for the benefit of the ruling class, at the expense of all else. May Day is, to me, a reminder of the proud history of our movement and its successes. It is a reminder of the giants who have come before us, and of the challenges that they have overcome. And, because of that, it is a reminder to keep fighting! Because the challenges that we face today are no match for the indomitable might of the working class, and because we do not stand alone but instead stand united with the working people of all nations!”
— Lee W., Georgia.

“This coming May Day will act as an indicator of how prepared the anti-fascist working class is for facing the oncoming storm that is American fascism. All present signs suggest that we are about to stare directly into the face of death. While many of us in the post-Cold War period have often viewed the first of May as a symbolic and gestural occasion, I believe this particular year’s holiday will contain significant foreshadowing.”
— Leif G., Washington.

“May Day is, to me, a beautiful example of internationalism and solidarity among the working class. For over one hundred years the workers of the world have come together annually to celebrate the struggle for their liberation. Seeing that unity every may gives me hope and a warm fraternal feeling I’ve never felt anywhere else.”
– Evelynn R., Florida.

“There are two key lessons to be learned from May Day. First and foremost, it can never be forgotten that the date May 1st itself was chosen to commemorate the Haymarket Massacre, a chilling yet all too familiar reminder of the extreme lengths which the capitalist class will go to in order to continue generating increasing levels of profit. On the other hand however, it also cannot be forgotten that May 1st is also proof that the working class struggle is a struggle which can fight back and win both economically and politically against the violence of the capitalist class. With solidarity and organization, the working class can both defend itself from the current advance of fascism, and even win victories against capital. Learn from May 1st! Fight Fascism! Onwards towards communism!”
— Keegan D., Illinois.

Categories: Labor, U.S. News