The Labor Heritage Foundation presented its annual Joe Hill Awards last Friday at the 2025
Great Labor Arts Exchange, honoring two lifelong champions of labor history, culture, and activism: Mark Dimondstein and Dr. Rosemary Feurer.
Accepting the award on behalf of the American Postal Workers Union, Dimondstein said: “To get an award named after one of our heroes is a deep honor... Joe Hill reminds us of how important history is. It’s not nostalgia; it’s to help guide us and provide inspiration for the battles ahead.”
A longtime president of the APWU, Dimondstein was recognized for his leadership in building a militant, culture-conscious union; founding the APWU’s History Center in 2024; and using platforms like The American Postal Worker magazine to amplify labor arts and voices.
Labor historian Rosemary Feurer was honored for her decades of work keeping the legacy of Mother Jones alive—from co-producing the landmark Mother Jones documentary, to founding the Mother Jones Heritage Project and organizing annual festivals and museum exhibits. She’s now working to bring the first-ever Mother Jones statue to downtown Chicago in 2026.
“Mother Jones was the most important female labor activist of the early 20th century,” and nearly a century after her death, “she is still inspiring many workers to think about a tradition of struggle.”
LHF’s annual Joe Hill Awards honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the preservation and celebration of labor history and culture.
NOTE: This year’s Great Labor Arts Exchange took place last weekend; we’ll be posting more follow-up content soon, including photo albums (here’s our first one), videos, radio shows, newsletter reports and podcasts. If you attended and would like to submit a report, recording or photos, please send to us at info@laborheritage.org