Labor Arts News & Updates

Editor’s Note: May Day

May Day isn’t just a date on the calendar—it’s a reminder that every gain working people have won was fought for, organized for, and often paid for at great cost. From the struggle for the eight-hour day to today’s fights for fair wages, dignity on the job, and the right to organize, May 1 connects past and present in a single throughline: solidarity works.

This year, that history feels especially alive. Across the country and around the world, workers are taking action—on the shop floor, in the streets, and in our culture—to demand a future that values people over profit. The stories we’re sharing today reflect that energy: voices rising, songs being written, movements building.

May Day also reminds us that labor isn’t just economics or policy—it’s culture, community, and creativity. The art and soul of the labor movement are what sustain it, inspire it, and carry it forward.

So wherever you are today—marching, organizing, listening, or learning—take a moment to recognize the generations who got us here, and the work still ahead.

In solidarity,

Chris

WEEKEND LABOR ARTS CALENDAR


Fri: Join The NJS IUC Solidarity Singers at a Workers Over Billionaires May Day Rally and March (NJ)

Fri: American Dream (DC Labor FilmFest)

Fri: Steal This Story Please! (DC Labor FilmFest)

Fri: May Day DC: Concert and Celebration at the House of Labor (DC)

Fri: May Day Festival With The NJS IUC Solidarity Singers

Fri: Eugene V. Debs Memorial Kazoo Night (MI) 

Fri: So What Do You Do?: Work Stories Live (CT)

Fri - Sat: Working Class Literature Festival (DC)

Sat: Steal This Story, Please! (DC Labor FilmFest) 

Sat: Mother Jones Festival (IL)

Sat: New York City Labor Chorus (NY)

Sat: Witness History: The Colorado Labor Hall of Honor (CO)

Sun: Antifascist Singalong - NJS IUC Solidarity Singers (NJ)

Sun: Rallying Resistance Through Song (WA & Virtual)

Sun: Union Miners Cemetery Tours (IL)

Ongoing Events

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

THIS WEEK'S LABOR HERITAGE POWER HOUR RADIO SHOW


From Union Hall to Art Studio: Building Worker Power

On this week’s show, we preview the 2026 DC Labor FilmFest, UNITE HERE launches an arts residency giving union members paid time to develop their creative voices (apply by May 15), historian Rudy Batzel talks with America’s Workforce Radio Podcast about race, class, and strikebreaking, while Joe McCartin introduces the #Peoples250 campaign. Plus: a Labor Landmark in Birmingham, workplace safety in Labor History in 2, and “Hope” by Carsie Blanton.

LABOR ARTS NEWS BRIEFS


Magic: The Gathering Devs Move to Unionize: A supermajority of developers behind Magic: The Gathering Arena have announced plans to unionize with the Communications Workers of America. Read more.

WGA Ratifies New 4-Year Contract: Members of the Writers Guild of America have approved a new agreement with studios and streamers, boosting health plan contributions, minimum pay, and residuals. Read more.

OPB, KMHD Staff Ratify SAG-AFTRA Deal: In Oregon, content creators at Oregon Public Broadcasting and KMHD Jazz Radio have unanimously ratified a first contract with raises and new protections on AI, safety, and grievance procedures. Read more.

Ubisoft Halifax Dispute Ends in Settlement: In Canada, the Game and Media Workers Guild has reached a settlement with Ubisoft over the closure of its Halifax studio, ending a long-running dispute. Read more.

Hachette Workers Unionize With NewsGuild: Employees at Hachette Book Group have unionized with the Washington-Baltimore NewsGuild, seeking stronger protections and improved working conditions. Read more.

#Peoples250 Lifts Up Workers’ Stories: As the U.S. nears its 250th anniversary, the #Peoples250 campaign is highlighting labor and working-class history through short-form video across social platforms. Read more.

UNITE HERE Launches Arts Residency: In Detroit, the UNITE HERE Education and Support Fund has launched an arts residency for rank-and-file members, supporting creative work and building solidarity. Applications are due May 15. Read more.

WHAT WE’RE READING

“I Don’t Want Your Millions (Billions), Mister,” – Art and the Working Class

LABOR VIDEOS OF THE WEEK: American Dream & Steal This Story, Please!


AMERICAN DREAM - FREE SCREENING TODAY! (DC Labor FilmFest)

Special Features: New 4K Restoration | FREE for Silver Cinema Club members and union members (with the presentation of a union card) on May 1.

Winner of the 1991 Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature, Barbara Kopple’s AMERICAN DREAM unflinchingly details the explosive 1985–86 labor strike against Hormel Foods in Austin, Minnesota, a city ripped apart in the tumult. 
CLICK HERE for details.


STEAL THIS STORY, PLEASE! (DC Labor FilmFest)

Friday, May 1, 6:45 p.m. — additional tickets just released! Limited tickets also available via WHUT

Q&A with subject Amy Goodman and Academy Award®–nominated filmmaker Tia Lessin, moderated by Ryan Grim, Co-Founder, Drop Site News

Saturday, May 2, 12:00 p.m. — Limited tickets available via WPFW

Q&A with subject Amy Goodman and Academy Award®–nominated filmmakers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, moderated by Katea Stitt, Program Director, WPFW

Saturday May 2, 3:00 p.m. — CLICK HERE for latest ticket availability

Q&A with subject Amy Goodman and Academy Award®–nominated filmmakers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, moderated by Chris Garlock, Director, DC Labor FilmFest


Got labor video? email us at info@laborheritage.org

PICKET SIGN OF THE WEEK 

LGBG Workers United Picketing at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Henrico, VA.

Got labor art? Email us: info@laborheritage.org

LABOR SONG OF THE WEEK: General Strike - Steve Jones

The winning entry in the 2026 Strike Song Of The Year Contest. Video by Saul Schniderman.

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

LABOR QUOTE OF THE WEEK 
“Part of what we do in the labor movement is we empower people to be able to change and transform the world around them. That's what art and creativity also empowers us to do.”

Annemarie Strassel, UNITE HERE Union Hall Arts Residency; applications due May 15. 


Got a labor quote? Email us: info@laborheritage.org

LABOR LANDMARK OF THE WEEK: The Haymarket Martyrs’ Monument

This monument in Forest Park, IL marks the graves of 7 of the 8 Chicago labor leaders convicted of criminal activity in the largest U.S. demonstration for the 8-hour day (the Haymarket Riot) on May 4, 1886. 

Details on the LHF Labor Landmarks Map.

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Can resistance to Trumpism help rebuild worker power? 
Jeremy Brecher, author of Strike!, joins labor historian Joe McCartin and organizer Stephen Lerner to discuss their argument that bold, disruptive action—from strikes to economic pressure campaigns—can revive the labor movement, drawing on both history and on-the-ground organizing to map a way forward.

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CLICK HERE for our complete labor arts calendar; look for our Labor Arts Calendar edition on Monday

TODAY'S LABOR HISTORY
1830: Mary Harris “Mother” Jones born in County Cork, Ireland

1886: Eight-hour day demonstration in Chicago and other cities begins tradition of May Day as international labor holiday

1931: New York City’s Empire State Building officially opens after 3,400 workers, mostly immigrants, and hundreds of Mohawk iron workers participated in its construction. Five workers died during construction.

LAST WEEK’S QUIZ: On April 25, 1886, The New York Times declared the struggle for an eight-hour workday to be “un-American” and called public demonstrations for the shorter hours “labor disturbances brought about by foreigners.” Other publications said that an eight-hour workday day would bring about “loafing and gambling, rioting, debauchery and drunkenness”.

RECENT NEWSLETTERS
May Day is coming: films, songs and solidarity (4/24)
Janna Ahrndt Does Not Dream of Labor (4/17)
Songs, Strikes, and Sounds of Solidarity (4/10)

Springsteen Takes On Trump; Midler Sings Guthrie (4/3)
The Singing TradesWoman (3/27)