Labor Arts News & Updates

EDITOR’S NOTE: Elise Bryant to Receive Paul Robeson Award

I’m so pleased that my friend and Labor Heritage Power Hour co-host Elise Bryant will receive the Paul Robeson Award on November 7. From leading LHF and CLUW to raising voices with the DC Labor Chorus, Elise shows us how art can move people to action. I get to hear that spirit every week—and I can’t think of a more fitting honor. Congratulations, Elise! Tickets and details
- Chris

WEEKEND LABOR ARTS CALENDAR


FRI-THU: Select films at the Workers Unite! FilmFest will screen virtually on WUFF’s Eventive streaming page; click here for details/tix.

Fri: Rochester Labor Film Series: Late Shift (NY)

Sat: Detroit Labor History Bus Tours (MI)

Sat: Stayed on Freedom: Community Sing (DC)

Got a labor arts or history event? Email us: info@laborheritage.org

THIS WEEK’S LABOR HERITAGE POWER HOUR 


Dolores Huerta, Presente!

On this week's Labor Heritage Power Hour: We remember Dolores Huerta and Jack Metzgar. Plus: Big Annie stands tall in Calumet Michigan, Robert Suits shares hobo history, the Rabble Rousers’ “Union Maid,” and Darryl Holter on Love and the Shorter Workweek.

LABOR ARTS NEWS BRIEFS


Entertainment Unions Step Into OpenAI Copyright Infringement Case

The unions have jointly filed an amicus brief in the ongoing copyright infringement battle between OpenAI and a slew of news outlets and writers. Read more.

CommonWealth Beacon Staff Win Voluntary Recognition

MassINC informed workers that they were ready to move forward with negotiations with the CommonWealth Beacon Guild following a vote by the board of directors. Read more.

WGAE Members at RadicalMedia Ratify First Union Contract 

The WGA East members are behind popular titles such as “This Is a Gardening Show,” (photo above), “Conversations with a Killer,” “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich” and more. Read more.

What we’re reading:

Working People Mourn Labor Icon Dolores Huerta

The Dolores Huerta I’ll Remember

Photos From The Edge 48: Remembering Dolores Huerta

IATSE’s First Tech Czar Wants Crew Members Involved in the Creation of AI Tools

photo (below) by David Bacon: At the start of the 2023 Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride in San Francisco, Dolores Huerta and hotel workers marched to demand immigrant reform.

LABOR VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Dolores (2017)
Got labor video? email us at info@laborheritage.org

Dolores Huerta: All in the family

Steve Jones (left) shared this photo of Dolores Huerta with Steve’s brother Peter (second from right) and her son, Ricky Chavez (second from left), from a trip to Los Angeles for the memorial for UAW leader Paul Schrade, a strong early supporter of the United Farm Workers. Steve and Peter both worked with the UFW and Steve recalls Ricky helping lead dancing at a Great Labor Arts Exchange years ago. “¡Sí se puede!” writes Steve.

Mother Jones Lives!

Mother Jones (Loretta Williams) at the annual Miners' Day gathering at the Union Miners Cemetery in Mount Olive on Sunday, October 11, commemorating those killed at the 1898 Battle of Virden. Photo by Mike Matejka; more photos here.

PICKET SIGN OF THE WEEK

LHF producer Tony Dominczak happened upon an “All Unions Rally” for CSU workers while photographing at San Francisco State University’s Malcolm X Plaza earlier this week. With contract negotiations at an impasse, workers are gearing up for a strike authorization vote and more campus action.

photo: Tony Dominczak.
Got a creative picket sign to share? email us at info@laborheritage.org

LABOR SONG OF THE WEEK
Corrido De Dolores Huerta #39 -- Los Lobos and Friends

Remembering Dolores Huerta, who died this week, we’re sharing two songs celebrating her life and tireless commitment to working people. Rest in power, sister. ¡Sí se puede!

BONUS SONG: Si Se Puede (For Dolores) - The R.J. Phillips Band

Got a Labor song? Email us: info@laborheritage.org

LABOR ART OF THE WEEK

“Hurry”💀 Spooky editorial cartoon about time studies used in factories to speed up assembly lines to dangerous and unhealthy levels. 1956 issue of Dodge Main News, newspaper for @uaw.org Local 3.

From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

LABOR QUOTE OF THE WEEK


“ I think about what Dolores meant to women in our movement, especially women of color. She showed us that we belonged at the bargaining table, that we could lead, and that our voices could change lives.”


Elise Bryant, Coalition of Labor Union Women president emeritus, on this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour radio show. 


photo: Dolores Huerta presents the union's proposals for a fair contract to the managers of the Bear Mountain Rose Nursery in the San Joaquin Valley. Photo by David Bacon.

Hear Elise on this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour. 


Check out LHF’s Labor Arts and Culture Database for more labor quotes like this!

LABOR LANDMARK OF THE WEEK 

Dolores Huerta Mural in Clark Square

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

In 2021, a 1,200-square-foot mural featuring civil rights activist and United Farm Workers Association co-founder Dolores Huerta was unveiled in Clark Square. The artwork beautifies a parking lot while serving as a tribute to women who make meaningful contributions to their communities, and aims to highlight Huerta's story to inspire younger generations. The completed work features the prominent quote from Huerta, "honor the hands that harvest your crops." The mural was painted by artists GirlMobb and Nyia Luna. Find out more at UrbanMilwaukee.com. 

Details on the LHF Labor Landmarks Map.

THIS WEEK'S LABOR HISTORY TODAY

Mother Jones’ Boys and Jack Metzgar’s Legacy

On this week's Labor History Today: UMWA Secretary-Treasurer Michael Phillippi connects Mother Jones’ legacy with today’s labor struggles at Miners Day in Mount Olive, Illinois. Then, we remember Jack Metzgar with our 2021 interview about Bridging the Divide and the value of working-class culture.

TODAY'S LABOR HISTORY


1829: George Henry Evans publishes the first issue of the Working Man’s Advocate, “edited by a Mechanic” for the “useful and industrious classes” in New York City.

1891: Tennessee coal miners revolt when the state sends in leased convict laborers to break their strike in Anderson County. The miners burn the stockades and send the captured convicts back to Knoxville by train (photo).

1986: Ed Meese, attorney general in the Ronald Reagan administration, urges employers to begin spying on workers "in locker rooms, parking lots, shipping and mail room areas and even the nearby taverns" to try to catch them using drugs.

Find more labor history in the LHF Labor Arts & Culture Database.

LAST WEEK’S QUIZ: 20,000 workers, black and white, staged a general strike in New Orleans on November 8, 1892, demanding union recognition and hour and wage gains.

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