LABOR ARTS NEWS BRIEFS
Atlantic Theater crew walks off job over bad faith negotiations: Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) members who work as crew for the Atlantic Theater Company went on strike Sunday after management continually stalled negotiations.
SAG-AFTRA donates $1 million for LA fires relief: In the wake of destructive wildfires in Southern California and mounting displacement, SAG-AFTRA has pledged $1 million in relief for impacted members experiencing hardship. “The very essence of a labor union is solidarity: that we all work to elevate each other during times of stability, and we’re there for each other in times of crisis,” said SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland.
IATSE and Ensemble Arts reach Tentative Agreement for Philadelphia Ushers: Ushers at popular Philadelphia theaters, represented by Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local B29, reached a tentative agreement (TA) with Ensemble Arts Philly on January 7, averting a potential strike.
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Public Art in the Queen City: Cincinnati’s Labor Murals
When the Cincinnati city government decided in 1930 to build a large new rail station, they chose German immigrant artist Winold Reiss (1886-1953) to decorate parts of the interior with sixteen large 20’ x 20’ mosaics—murals, really– depicting the principal industries of the area. Not only did Reiss accomplish this with real artistry, but he depicted workers at labor in each mosaic. The mosaics depict myriad area industries, including pork processing, piano building, paint manufacture, soap, machine tools, aircraft, drugs and aircraft manufacture. Two of the murals are based on the artistic pottery of Rookwood, a woman-owned business that employed many craftswomen. The mosaic-murals have since been moved and as of early 2025, only five are on display. They can be found in the public areas of the Cincinnati airport, across the river in northern Kentucky. The remaining murals depicting the bygone world of working-class Cincinnati are expected to be installed in the downtown Duke Convention Center when the building’s reconstruction is completed in 2026.
Thurman Wenzl; click here to read the rest of his post on the LAWCHA (Labor and Working-Class History Association) blog
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Labor Grammys voting ends at midnight tonight
The power is in your hands, but time is slipping through your fingers. At midnight tonight, voting for the Labor Grammys’ “Guthrie Awards” will close; “Do not miss this opportunity to cast your ballot,” urges Power At Work’s Seth Harris. If you are not a PAW subscriber, you can subscribe for free on the bottom of the front page of Power At Work and they’ll send you a ballot. Click here for info on the Labor Grammys’ six categories, lists of the nominated songs, and a link to the Spotify playlist including all the nominated songs.
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On Tuesday, Costco fleet drivers represented by Teamsters Local 174 in Sumner, Wash., held a practice picket outside the company’s distribution center. Last year, these drivers made history as the first Costco distribution workers to organize with the Teamsters. Now, the 150-member group is fighting to join the Costco Teamsters National Master Agreement, which expires on January 31. Across the country, more than 18,000 Costco Teamsters are demanding an industry-leading, record-breaking contract that reflects the company’s massive profits. Workers are prepared to strike if Costco fails to deliver an acceptable offer by the contract deadline. See more here.
Sent in by Al Bradbury; send your suggestions to us at info@laborheritage.org
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This week's Labor Heritage Power Hour: Work is a real-life Squid Game
What is a life worth? Kathy Newman talks class, work and horror in Squid Game, the dystopian South Korean hit TV show in which desperate players risk their lives for a chance at financial security. Interview by Lisa Raye Garlock. PLUS: TWU Local 100’s Official Union Anthem, and two helpings of Labor History in 2:00: Fighting for Opportunity & Johnny Cash Plays Folsom Prison
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MLK
A short, pensive piece written as an elegy to Martin Luther King Jr. This piece, made famous by Irish rock band U2, is a sweet, hymnal tune that speaks volumes in its simplicity. Arranged by Bob Chilcott, performed by the University of Pretoria Camerata, conducted by Dr. Michael Barrett.
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"The Worker of Steel"
From the 1991 movie, "The Night Before the Strike,” based on the Great Workers' Struggle in South Korea following the democracy movement in June, 1987. That movement’s goals included safe working conditions, living wages, establishment of a democratic union -- Minju Nojo – and democratization of company unions. “The Worker of Steel” has since been adopted as one of the most popular protest/labor union songs in South Korea. Check out a discussion about the South Korean hit TV show Squid Game – which just released Season 2 – on this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour.
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“Something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee -- the cry is always the same: "We want to be free."
Martin Luther King Jr.
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CLICK HERE for our complete labor arts calendar; look for our Labor Arts Calendar edition on Monday | |
January 17, 1915
Radical labor organizer and anarchist Lucy Parsons leads hunger march in Chicago; IWW songwriter Ralph Chaplin writes "Solidarity Forever" for the march.
Video: Solidarity Forever, Risky Biscuit, a group of full-time musicians from Atlanta, Georgia.
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On this week’s Labor History Today: The Battle of the Eureka Stockade. Australia’s history closely tracks American history; the subjugation of indigenous people is the most obvious parallel, and the battles for basic worker rights is another. On this week’s show -- which comes to us from Stick Together, Australia's only national radio show focusing on industrial, social and workplace issues -- the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, the first major event of post-colonial Australia, where in 1854, during the Victorian gold rush, the army and police violently attacked miners – killing dozens -- for daring to call for the end of mining licenses and universal suffrage.
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JFK’s Executive Order 10988 did what? | | | |
LAST WEEK’S QUIZ: Former AFL-CIO President George Meany was originally a plumber; he led the labor federation from the time of the AFL and CIO merger in 1955 until shortly before his death on January 10, 1980. | |
"The worker must have bread, but she must have roses, too."
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