|
EDITOR’S NOTE: Two quick reminders: First, don’t forget to vote for the first-ever Labor Grammys; deadline is January 17. Click here for details.
Second, tickets are going fast for our annual MLK "Gonna Take Us All" Ball, coming up on Sunday, January 19 at McGinty’s in Silver Spring; longtime civil rights leader Roz Pelles will join Congressman Jamie Raskin, the DC Labor Chorus and DJ Wah-Heed, plus of course Elise Bryant, Saul Schniderman and, well, click here to see who’s coming and to sign up!
Chris
| |
|
Labor Arts News Briefs
Theater Ushers Reject Management Proposal, Prepare to Strike: Ushers at theater venues throughout Philadelphia, represented by Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local B29, are gearing up for a work stoppage after rejecting the most recent offer from Ensemble Arts Philly.
Philadelphia Museum Workers Vote to Ratify First Contract: Workers represented by AFSCME at the Please Touch Museum (PTM) in Philadelphia have voted to approve their first-ever collective bargaining agreement at the institution.
The Animation Guild Ratifies Contract with Streamers and Studios: Last week, members of The Animation Guild (TAG), Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 839, voted to ratify a new three-year agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
Reports by AFL-CIO Daily Brief
| |
|
UPCOMING EVENTS
Tabitha Arnold’s Gospel of the Working Class: Tabitha Arnold’s solo exhibition of recent new labor-intensive textiles, Gospel of the Working Class, opens January 17 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Relocated back to Chattanooga after the pandemic, Arnold’s new work focuses on both historic and contemporary labor histories unique to Chattanooga. Click here for details on the opening reception and artist talks. Hear our interview with Tabitha of the Labor Heritage Power Hour.
Online class on “Today’s Labor Issues”: Uncover the history and modern resurgence of union activities, analyze recent organizing trends, strikes and management's evolving stance and investigate technology's influence on modern contract negotiations in Today’s Labor Issues, Bill Barry’s 6-week Zoom class through the Community College of Baltimore County. Classes are Thursday afternoons, 1:00-2:30 EST, starting January 23 and running through February 27.
PMN Winter Convergence: The People’s Music Network’s Winter Convergence is coming up January 24-26 in New York City, kicking off with a “Community, Courage and Resistance” concert on the 24th. Click here for details.
| |
After nearly two weeks off the slopes and on the picket lines, United Mountain Workers (CWA 7781) and the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association ratified an agreement on Wednesday. | | ON THIS WEEK’S LABOR HERITAGE POWER HOUR: The king of labor song parodies: A chat with Paul McKenna, who’s written more than 400 labor song parodies; today’s songs include We Just Come to Work Here 2020, and My Nursing Heart (both sung by Ben Grosscup); Labor Notes’ editor Al Bradbury with Union Conga; Plus, on Labor History in 2:00, Taking Care of Our Own. | | |
Like this newsletter? Share the wealth and pass it along to colleagues, friends and family! | | The IWW-organized “Bread & Roses” textile strike of 32,000 women and children began on January 11, 1912 in Lawrence, Mass. It lasted 10 weeks and ended in victory. The first millworkers to walk out were Polish women who, upon collecting their pay, exclaimed that they had been cheated and promptly abandoned their looms. | |
Women of the World presents "Bread and Roses" | |
Colleen Kattau is an award-winning bilingual vocalist songwriter who stirs listeners with her clear voice, collective spirit and rhythmic sensibility. Find more on Colleen and other labor artists, merch and more in the LHF Shop. | |
“Art is more powerful than pundits or politicians, or even the most brutal dictator. It survives the longest. It has an authority that comes from a higher source.”
Ted Gioia, The Honest Broker, in The Parable of Anna Akhmatova; photo: Anna Akhmatova, larger than life, stares down Kresty Prison
| |
CLICK HERE for our complete labor arts calendar; look for our Labor Arts Calendar edition on Monday | |
|
January 11, 1936
Nearly two weeks into a sit-down strike at GM’s Fisher Body Plant No. 2 in Flint, Mi., workers battle police when they try to prevent the strikers from receiving food deliveries from thousands of supporters on the outside. Sixteen strikers and spectators and 11 police were injured. Most of the strikers were hit by buckshot fired by police riot guns; the police were injured principally by thrown nuts, bolts, door hinges and other auto parts. The incident became known as the “Battle of the Running Bulls.” – 1936
photo by The Flint Journal
| |
|
At Sword’s Point: American labor unions have seen an incredible resurgence in recent years, which, suggests public historian Tom Goldscheider, “begs the question: why were they in decline in the first place?” In "At Sword’s Point", Tom revisits a pivotal moment in American history, when the furious power of Joseph McCarthy’s Red Scare found its first true target, and when the dismantling of American organized labor began.
| |
| What was former AFL-CIO President George Meany’s original occupation? | | | |
LAST WEEK’S QUIZ: The “Halfway to Hell Club” was comprised of 19 workers on the Golden Gate Bridge whose lives were saved by safety netting beneath the site, the first-ever use of such equipment. | |
|
"The worker must have bread, but she must have roses, too."
Please CLICK HERE NOW to pledge your financial support to our 2024 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.
| | | | |
