Latest News & Updates

EDITOR’S NOTE: Tuesday night’s performance of “We Were There” with Bev Grant, CarolAnn Solebello and the DC Labor Chorus was absolutely transcendent; there wasn’t an empty seat in the house nor a dry eye as the performers brought women’s labor history brilliantly alive and Elise Bryant brought us all to our feet at the end, leading a foot-stomping communal performance of Solidarity Forever. Very special thanks and appreciation to the American Federation of Musicians’ Music Performance Trust Fund, which made it possible for LHF to present the evening free of charge. - Chris Garlock; photo by Hetty Scofield

Sen. Warren Backs MASS MoCA Strike as It Enters Second Week

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is throwing her support behind the MASS MoCA Union (UAW Local 2110), members at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) who have been on strike since March 6 amid stalled contract negotiations. In a post on X, Warren said she stands in solidarity with them and that “Museum management should negotiate with union workers in good faith for a fair deal.”

Chicago Labor Mural Preservation Update: The effort to preserve the “Solidarity” mural on the inside walls of the former UE Hall in Chicago began recently when workers began removing pieces of the mural -- believed to be one of the oldest pieces of public art in the city -- last week. Click here to donate to the effort.

Keep Mother Jones Marching

Mother Jones (the inflatable) has become a featured and much-loved part of the Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade, coming up this Saturday. Click here to make a contribution to keep Mother marching!

Young Creatives Should Be Able to Dream of a Future in the Performing Arts. Unions Fight to Make That Possible SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland explores the SAG-AFTRA strike and explains why labor organizing is so impactful in and out of Hollywood.

The Living Wage for Musicians Act: Dave Rovics on Why We Should Support It and Why Big Tech Won't

Costume Designers Guild Gains Nationwide Support from Hollywood Stars and Labor Unions for Pay Equity Demands As Hollywood crew contract negotiations are underway with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the Costume Designers Guild (CDG) Local 892—an affiliate of the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)—is ramping up its fight for pay equity with the support of union brothers, sisters and siblings.

ON AIR: LISTEN TO OUR RADIO SHOW! The Labor Heritage Power Hour, hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant, airs every Thursday at 1p on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC, and you can listen to the show's podcast here: The Labor Oscar winners! Winners of the first-ever Labor Oscars, the Meany Labor Archives reviews 1955’s “For Fair Play” short film, and two versions of labor classic “Roll the Union On.”

PICKET SIGN of the Week

At NYTGuildTech’s practice picket yesterday at The New York Times

Labor SONG of the Week

Pay Gap-Margo Price In observance of Equal Pay Day – March 12 this year – which symbolizes how far into the year the average median woman must work in order to have earned what the average median man had earned the entire previous year.

Labor VIDEO of the Week

Amy Shows an Anti-Union Video – Superstore

LHF's comprehensive listing of labor's cultural events: music, films, theater, books, history and more...

Click here to add your labor arts event!

Bread & Roses Soundoff and Weaving Textile Justice Workshop

Sat, March 16, 12pm – 3pm

Join us at this free workshop. Everyone is welcome! RSVP HERE Hosted by The Bread & Roses Heritage Committee, Lawrence, MA

HISTORY: "We are going to save McLouth once again---only this time for ourselves"

Wed, March 20, 12:15pm – 1:30pm

Economic nationalism, Environmental blackmail, and workers' ownership at McLouth Steel during the Downriver Disaster of the late 20th Century"

Green Room, MSU Library, and available as an online webinar, the password is odwodl.

RADIO/PODCAST: Labor Heritage Power Hour Thu, March 21, 1pm – 2pm

WPFW 89.3 FM or listen online (map)

FILM: Fight Like Hell: The Testimony of Mother Jones

Thu, March 21, 4pm – 6pm

Damen Student Center Auditorium, Loyola University Chicago, Lakeshore campus. (map)

FILM: Local 1196: A Steelworkers Strike

Thu, March 21, 6:30pm – 8:30pm

590 Pittsburgh Mills Cir 590 Pittsburgh Mills Circle Tarentum, PA 15084 (map)

HISTORY: Women of General Motors

Thu, March 21, 7pm – 9pm

R.E. Olds Transportation Museum, 240 Museum Dr, Lansing, MI 48933, USA (map)

Theatre: Elise Bryant is QUEEN OF THE NIGHT!

Thu, March 21, 7:30pm – 9:00pm

Ann Arbor, MI (map)

Click here for tickets/info

LABOR HISTORY TODAY

March 17

Staffers at San Francisco progressive rock station KMPX-FM strike, citing corporate control over what music is played and harassment over hair and clothing styles, among other things. The Rolling Stones, Joan Baez, the Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead and other musicians request the station not play their music as long as the station is run by strikebreakers - 1968

On this week’s Labor History Today podcast, The Labor Oscars! The Power at Work podcast’s Joseph Brant reveals the winners of their Labor Oscars, all of which are classics of the genre. On this week’s Labor History in Two: The Slovak Strike.

LABOR HISTORY QUIZ OF THE WEEK

The 1894 U.S.-China treaty did what?

Banned Tik-Tok

Prevented Chinese laborers from entering the U.S.

Provided Chinese laborers with special visas.

LAST WEEK'S QUIZ: The Westmoreland County (Pa.) Coal Strike was known as the "Slovak strike" because some 70 percent of the 15,000 strikers were Slovakian immigrants. It began on March 9, 1912 and continued for nearly 16 months before ending in defeat. Sixteen miners and family members were killed during the strike.

"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.

RECENT NEWSLETTERS

Women’s history is America’s labor history (3/8)

Studs Terkel’s “Working" this weekend (3/1)

Toppling Columbus (2/23)

Update on saving the UE ‘Solidarity’ mural (2/16)

Help Mother Jones march again (2/9)

Graduate Labor Union choir builds solidarity through song (2/2)

Share This Email