News & Updates

LABOR ARTS NEWS BRIEFS

Harmony and Raises: AGMA, Voices of Ascension Ink Deal with 15% Wage Hike: The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) and Voices of Ascension announced the ratification of a new three-year collective bargaining agreement, which includes a 15% increase in wages over the three years. Read more.

Verifying Solidarity, Snopes Moves to Unionize: On Monday, staff at Snopes.com, the oldest fact-checking organization on the internet, went public with their effort to form a union with Media Guild of the West, NewsGuild-CWA Local 39213. Read more.

Power to the Arts: LHF Executive Director Chris Garlock shares the latest in labor arts, previews the San Francisco LaborFest, and spotlights the Labor Heritage Foundation’s newsletter on the latest Power At Work podcast. Listen here.

Anne Feeney Hellraiser Fund Offers New Grants for Activist Artists: The family and friends of legendary labor singer Anne Feeney have announced a new round of rapid response grants supporting artists on the front lines of the fight for justice. The Anne Feeney Hellraiser Memorial Fund, fiscally sponsored by the Labor Heritage Foundation, will award grants of up to $1,000 to emerging musicians, poets, painters, puppeteers, and other artists continuing Anne’s legacy of using art as a weapon for social change. Applications are now open and must be submitted by August 18.

WEEKEND LABOR ARTS CALENDAR

Fri: Laborfest: SF Mime Troupe – “DISRUPTION” (CA)

Sat: Laborfest: Bloody Thursday Walk – By Gifford Hartman (CA)

Sat: Laborfest: Labor History Bike Tour – by Chris Carlsson of Shaping San Francisco (CA)

Sat: Laborfest: CENSORED – Dr. Rupa Marya & Professor Sang Hea Kil With a Performance by Equipto (CA)

Sun: Laborfest: The Attack On Iran (Virtual)

PICKET SIGN OF THE WEEK

At the strike by 9,000 Philadelphia municipal workers on Wednesday; more @PhillyAFLCIO

LABOR VIDEO OF THE WEEK

2025 LHF Joe Hill Awardee Mark Dimondstein

“ When you talk about labor history, it's not nostalgia, it's not just feel good. It's how to help guide us to learn lessons from the past to get inspiration as we deal with the battles ahead.”

LABOR SONG OF THE WEEK

Carsie Blanton at the 2025 Great Labor Arts Exchange

LABOR ART OF THE WEEK

Chris Stain Gregorek; see more on his Instagram page

Class, Power, and Primetime

On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour, cultural critic Kathleen M. Newman joins Chris Garlock to unpack how class, power, and work are portrayed in three hit TV series: The Residence, Running Point, and Your Friends and Neighbors. From the White House to pro sports to suburban secrets, these shows pull back the curtain on the invisible labor that makes elite worlds run—and the messy lives behind the glamour. Plus, what happens when working-class characters finally get their own stories?

CLICK HERE to listen to the show!

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CLICK HERE for our complete labor arts calendar; look for our Labor Arts Calendar edition on Monday

LABOR HISTORY TODAY

1876: Albert Parsons joins the Knights of Labor. He later became an anarchist and was one of the Haymarket martyrs

1916: AFL dedicates its new Washington, D.C. headquarters building at 9th St. and Massachusetts Ave. NW.

1950: Two primary conventions of the United Nations' International Labor Organization come into force: Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize

LABOR QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“The song is the torch that lights the path of resistance.”

Ahmad Kaabour, Lebanese singer, songwriter, music composer and actor.

LABOR HISTORY TODAY PODCAST

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW!

The Battle of Ballantyne Pier: On today’s Labor History Today, from our friends at The Docker Podcast, we join ILWU longshore workers James Brophy and Leith Jasinowski-Kahl to mark the 90th anniversary of the 1935 Battle of Ballantyne Pier. From police violence on Vancouver’s waterfront to the songs that keep resistance alive, they share why this history still matters today.

And on Labor History in 2:00: the year was 1936; Jesus Pallares, a Chicano miner and union organizer was deported from the United States.

LABOR HISTORY QUIZ OF THE WEEK

What did the 1934 “Battle of Rincon Hill” lead to?

The unionization of California’s agricultural workers

The shutdown of San Francisco’s waterfront and a General Strike

The passage of the National Labor Relations Act

LAST WEEK’S QUIZ: Emma Goldman, women's rights activist and radical, born in Lithuania on June 27, 1869, came to the U.S. at age 17.

"The worker must have bread, but she must have roses, too."

Please CLICK HERE NOW to pledge your financial support to our 2025 program, which includes our annual Solidarity Forever Award, the Great Labor Arts Exchange, the DC Labor FilmFest and much more (check out our website for details!).

Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

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