News & Updates

Updated GLAE Workshop: Flashmob 101 – We Got to Move It, Move It!

Join labor arts legends Elise Bryant and Lynn Marie Smith for a high-energy, hands-on workshop where you’ll learn to plan and perform a powerful flashmob. No experience needed—just bring your creativity and a cause! Walk away with the tools to turn your message into a moving, musical moment. Part of next week’s Great Labor Arts Exchange, June 20-22 at the Silver Spring Civic Building; click here for details and to register.

LABOR ARTS NEWS BRIEFS

Breaking News: Vox Media Union Members Reach Tentative Agreement, Averting Strike

Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) members at Vox Media reached a tentative agreement this morning on a new three-year collective bargaining agreement. The 250-member unit will vote to ratify the contract in the coming days. Read more.

AFSCME Members at Field Museum Win Contract: Despite union-busting tactics from management, AFSCME members (in photo) who work at the Field Museum in Chicago have successfully secured their first collective bargaining agreement. Read more.

SAG-AFTRA and Video Game Companies Reach Tentative Agreement: On Monday, SAG-AFTRA announced that the union has reached a tentative agreement with major video game labels on the terms for a new interactive media contract after months of work stoppage. Read more.

AGMA Announces Historic First Contract with Texas Ballet Theater: American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA)-represented performers at the Texas Ballet Theater achieved a historic milestone late last month when they ratified their new union contract, the first time North Texas dance company workers have done so in more than 40 years. Read more.

Big win for game workers: ZeniMax Workers United-CWA members have reached a historic first contract after 2+ years of bargaining with Microsoft. Major gains in pay, job security & more. Read more.

NABET-CWA Podcast Workers Innovate with New Audio Union Bug: Workers on the hit podcast “Snap Judgment” negotiated something unique in their first contract, ratified in early April; the innovative win came with the creation of an audio union bug, acknowledging union labor at the end of every show. Read more.

Reports from the AFL-CIO Daily Brief and the CWA Newsletter.

Black Panthers & Revolution: Stephen Shames Photo Exhibit Opens in London

Now on view at London’s Amar Gallery, Black Panthers & Revolution features powerful images by Stephen Shames, who documented the Black Panther Party from 1967 to 1973. The Panthers are best known for their open-carry patrols and iconic black berets—but equally important were their community “survival programs,” offering food, clothing, and healthcare. The exhibit highlights both the militant spirit and deep compassion of the Panthers through portraits of leaders like Angela Davis and James Baldwin and scenes of everyday solidarity—Panthers feeding kids, marching in rallies, and standing firm in the face of repression. Shames' work—bold, empathetic, and enduring—offers a vital visual record of one of the most influential movements in American history.

The exhibit runs through July 7. A related show, Comrade Sisters: Women of the Black Panther Party, opens August 7 at LA’s Museum of Social Justice. Learn more at stephenshames.com.

WEEKEND LABOR ARTS CALENDAR

Saturday: Stage Left: La Dureza (NYC)

Saturday: Stage Left: Hit Machine (NYC)

Saturday: WTO/99 Premiere (DC)

Sunday: Stage Left: The Hero U Took (NYC)

Ongoing:

Power & Light: Russell Lee's Coal Survey (DC)

Historic photographs of Yakima Valley farmworkers (WA)

High Iron (WY)

LABOR VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Born in the U.S.A. - Bruce Springsteen

PICKET SIGN OF THE WEEK

LABOR ART OF THE WEEK

“I’ve been making working class murals and paintings for since the late 1990s,” Chris Stain Gregorek tells LHF. “I’m writing to share some of those images in solidarity. I’ve been a member in good standing of the United Scenic Artists local 829 in NYC for over 10 years now.” See more on his Instagram page.

LABOR QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class had nothing to gain and all to lose – especially their lives.”

Eugene V. Debs. On June 16, 1918, Railroad union leader and socialist Eugene V. Debs spoke in Canton, Ohio on the relation between capitalism and war. Ten days later he was arrested under the Espionage Act, eventually sentenced to 10 years in jail.

Songs of Solidarity and Struggle from ICE Raids to Cowboy Strikes

On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: Francisco Herrera calls on music as a tool of resistance against ICE raids and repression in California; Carsie Blanton and Colleen Kattau bring songs of truth and freedom; Will Attig shares his favorite labor anthem; Seth Newton Patel digs into the 1883 Cowboy Strike; plus a double dose of Labor History in 2:00 and Little Steven’s Bitter Fruit.

CLICK HERE to listen to the show!

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

LABOR HISTORY TODAY

June 13, 1926

Tony Mazzocchi born in Brooklyn, N.Y. An activist and officer in the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers union, he was a mentor to Karen Silkwood, a founder of the Labor Party and a prime mover behind the 1970 passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. In 2001 he co-founded the DC Labor FilmFest with Jos Williams, Chris Garlock and Katherine Isaac.

LABOR SONG OF THE WEEK

This Land is Your Land - Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen (& tens of thousands of friends) at the 2014 Obama Inauguration.

LABOR HISTORY TODAY PODCAST

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW!

Songs of the Line and Stall

This week on Labor History Today: From the Library of Congress’ America Works podcast: Bill Favaro shares the origins of his family’s Louisiana rod & reel shop, and Juan Salcido Sanchez reflects on a lifetime caring for racehorses. Plus, we mark two deadly events in mining labor history—from Butte, Montana (1917) to Cripple Creek, Colorado (1904).

Music: “The Miners” by The Elders.

LABOR HISTORY QUIZ OF THE WEEK

Miners' Union Day on June 14 features which of these?

Free General Admission to Butte's World Museum of Mining

Reduced rate underground tours

Kids activities

"Honoring Miners" by David Armstrong

All of the above

LAST WEEK’S QUIZ: The "Pageant of the Paterson Strike" was performed by over a thousand workers in Madison Square Garden for a single performance, on June 7, 1913.

"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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