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EDITOR’S NOTE
Volunteer at the DC Labor FilmFest—see films for free!
Want to catch some of this year’s DC Labor FilmFest—and help make it happen? Volunteers are a vital part of the festival, assisting with everything from ticket-taking and ushering to guest check-in and event support. As a thank-you, volunteers receive free passes to festival screenings. It’s a great way to support the festival, connect with fellow labor activists and film lovers, and be part of bringing these powerful stories to the screen. Interested in volunteering? Email info@laborheritage.org for details and available shifts.
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General Strike Deadline: Submit Your Song by Saturday!
Submissions are already coming in from Tokyo to Philadelphia—now it’s your turn. The General Strike Song Contest is looking for songs and chants that a crowd can learn quickly and sing together in the streets: simple words, lots of repetition, and easy (or familiar) melodies. If a crowd can sing it—we want to hear it. In moments like this, we need new songs and new voices. At the Pittsburgh Labor Choir, we’ve seen how music can lift spirits, build solidarity, and turn a crowd into a movement.
Entries close this Saturday, April 11. Winning songs and chants will be featured in a special FREE online teach-in and concert. Submit your entry here.
- Kira Yeversky and Edwin Everhart
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THIS WEEK'S LABOR HERITAGE POWER HOUR RADIO SHOW
Rude Mechanical Orchestra’s sounds of solidarity
On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour, we take it to the streets with the Rude Mechanical Orchestra, a New York City-based activist marching band that’s been showing up for more than two decades in support of workers, organizers, and movements for justice.
We also get the latest labor arts news, including the announcement of the 2026 DC Labor FilmFest lineup, organizing victories across the cultural sector, and updates from unions representing musicians, writers, performers, and library workers.
Plus: a Labor Landmark of the Week from the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum’s Courage in the Hollers trail, and a special excerpt from What They Could Never Kill, our recent Billie Holiday/Paul Robeson special, featuring Billie Holiday’s haunting “Strange Fruit,” followed by Paul Robeson’s “Joe Hill.”
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LABOR ARTS NEWS BRIEFS
ProPublica Walk Out over AI, layoffs, and wages
Unionized staff at ProPublica, one of the country’s leading nonprofit newsrooms, walked off the job Wednesday and asked the public to honor a digital picket line. Read more.
IATSE and The Juilliard School Reach Tentative Agreement for Production Staff
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) members who work in production roles at The Juilliard School have secured a tentative agreement. Read more.
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Workers Ratify First Union Contract
Staff at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago—who are represented by AFSCME—have successfully ratified their first union contract. Read more.
AFSCME and American Library Association Prevail in Fight to Protect Libraries and Museums Nationwide
The American Library Association and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees have reached a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that protects the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and ensures the agency will continue carrying out its congressionally mandated work. Read more.
WHAT WE’RE READING
The New Museum Returns, but Humans Are Left Behind
Dance protest at Lincoln Memorial channels Epstein and Trump accusers
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LABOR VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Canton 1918
Performed by Greg Artzner and Terry Leonino, the duo known as Magpie. The song chronicles the famous anti-war speech delivered by Eugene V. Debs in Canton, Ohio, on June 16, 1918. Featured on their 2017 album When We Stand Together, the song honors Debs' protest against WWI, which led to his imprisonment.Video by Saul Schniderman, LHF Board Chair.
Got labor video? email us at info@laborheritage.org
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LABOR QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Bruce Springsteen
“The mighty E Street band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock and roll, in dangerous times."
| LABOR SONG OF THE WEEK: "People Have the Power"
Patti Smith performs at Democracy Now!'s 30th Anniversary Special on March 23; catch Democracy Now host Amy Goodman at screenings of the new film Steal This Story, Please! at the upcoming DC Labor FilmFest Opening Night; click here for details and tix. | | |
LABOR LANDMARK OF THE WEEK: Anthracite Coal Miner
This solid bronze statue stands as a tribute to miners everywhere. It previously stood at the Schuylkill Mall near Frackville, Pa from its opening in October of 1980. With the impending closure of that shopping facility, the statue was moved here and erected in June of 2017.
Details on the LHF Labor Landmarks Map.
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Breaking Chains from Memphis to Baseball
On this week’s Labor History Today: In April 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. stood with striking sanitation workers in Memphis—members of AFSCME Local 1733—delivering his powerful “Mountaintop” speech just one day before his assassination. We reflect on King’s labor legacy and what it means for organizing today.
With the 2026 baseball season underway, we also take a look at the business of the game, featuring a segment from the Heartland Labor Forum on how players organized to break free from a system that bound them to their teams—and built one of the most powerful unions in the country.
Along the way, Conor Casey, Labor Archivist and Head of the Labor Archives at the University of Washington, brings us the story of the Seattle Union Record, a pioneering labor newspaper that showed the power of workers telling their own stories.
| | Like this newsletter? Help us spread labor art by passing it along! | | CLICK HERE for our complete labor arts calendar; look for our Labor Arts Calendar edition on Monday | | |
TODAY'S LABOR HISTORY
1880: Birth of Francis Perkins, the first US Secretary of Labor
1930: Birth of United Farmworkers co-founder Delores Huerta
1997: Dancers San Francisco’s Lusty Lady Club ratify their first union contract
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| Frances Perkins was the first woman to do what? | | | | LAST WEEK’S QUIZ: On April 3, 1913, 20,000 textile mill strikers in Paterson, NJ gathered on the green in front of the house of Pietro Botto, the socialist mayor of nearby Haledon, to receive encouragement by novelist Upton Sinclair, journalist John Reed and speakers from the Wobblies. Today, the Botto House is home to the American Labor Museum. | | |
SUPPORT LABOR ARTS!
Please CLICK HERE NOW to pledge your financial support to our 2026 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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