“For more than twenty years have the wage workers of this country begged and prayed their masters, the factory lords, to reduce their burdens. It has been in vain.” – this proclamation could easily have come from a 1st of May rally in 2015, as it remains equally relevant today. But it dates back to the 4th of May, 1886, when August Spies, one of the key protagonists of the Haymarket affair in Chicago incited the rally in support of workers striking for an eight-hour-day, which spiraled into a mass protest and inspired the International Workers’ movement. 130 years on, as the struggle continues, LeftEast spoke with those familiar with workers’ conditions and Union organization in Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, Macedonia and Russia.
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![Goran Lukic, Slovenia](http://www.criticatac.ro/lefteast/wp-content/uploads/Lukic-150x150.jpg)
Goran Lukic, Slovenia
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![Christos Tsadaris, Greece](http://www.criticatac.ro/lefteast/wp-content/uploads/Christos-Tsadaris-150x150.jpg)
Christos Tsadaris, Greece
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![Sylvia Koilakou, Greece](http://www.criticatac.ro/lefteast/wp-content/uploads/Sylvia-Koilakou-150x150.jpg)
Sylvia Koilakou, Greece
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![Ivan Ovsiannikov, Russia](http://www.criticatac.ro/lefteast/wp-content/uploads/Ivan-Ovsiannikov-150x150.jpg)
Ivan Ovsiannikov, Russia
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![Zdravko Saveski, Macedonia](http://www.criticatac.ro/lefteast/wp-content/uploads/10678684_10204273886468748_1348736196186940224_n-150x150.jpg)
Zdravko Saveski, Macedonia
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![Marko Grdesic, Croatia](http://www.criticatac.ro/lefteast/wp-content/uploads/Marko-Grdesic-150x150.jpg)
Marko Grdesic, Croatia
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![Jasmina Husanovic, Bosnia & Herzegovina](http://www.criticatac.ro/lefteast/wp-content/uploads/Jasmina-Husanovic-39429-150x130.gif)
Jasmina Husanovic, Bosnia&Herzegovina