In observance of International Workers’ Day or Labor Day, FAU Digital Library brings you PRISM (Political & Rights Issues & Social Movements), a collaboratively digitized collection of the Florida Atlantic University and University of Central Florida libraries. PRISM, a collection of pamphlets, from the 19th and 20th centuries, reveals a gamut of burning issues reflective of leftist and liberal views  from around the world.

These issues are similar to the experiences of today. For example, fair trade is moving at a slow pace. Despite the growing number of organizations and projects addressing labor rights, social equality continues to be a rallying cry as was made apparent in parts of the Middle East, Europe, and even in Wisconsin, United States.

In a recent statement to observe World Day of Social Justice, International Labour Organization Director-General Juan Somavia declared:

Women and men without jobs or livelihoods really don’t care if their economies grow at 3, 5 or 10 per cent per year, if such growth leaves them behind and without protection.

International Workers’ Day, also referred to as May Day, had its origins in the United States with the 1886 founding of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). In 1955, AFL merged with the splinter group, Congress of Industrial Organizations, to become the AFL-CIO.

PRISM is one of several collections in PALMM (Publication of Archival, Library & Museum Materials), a cooperative digital initiative of the public universities of Florida to provide access to source materials for research and scholarship.