Skip to main content
"The Art and Soul of the American Labor Movement"

Join LHF Now! Support LHF

HomeNews List

News / Articles

Search News / Articles

Featured News

Published On 10/19/2024
Originally published in 2015 and later updated in 2019, an even newer edition featuring a half-decade of JR’s latest works is slated for release by Phaidon later this month.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/19/2024
New York City agrees to pay women school teachers a rate equal to that of men - 1911
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/19/2024
Labor History Today: Bill Pancoast’s Road to Matewan
“I could not put this away. Once I saw what happened here: the orange Tug River from the strip mines…the strip mining, the desecration, the poverty. I owed it to the world to tell what happened.”
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/18/2024
The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) and local labor allies protested the Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s (DBDT’s) season opener
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/18/2024
On this week's show, we talk with Brett Story and Stephen Maing, the directors of the new film Union.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/18/2024
Labor Video of the week..."Billionaires Suck"
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/18/2024
Posted by AFA United MEC
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/18/2024
In honor of Lilly Ledbetter, the trailblazing activist whose fight for fairness in the workplace led to the passage of groundbreaking equal pay legislation. She died last Saturday.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/18/2024
See what's happening this weekend here
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/18/2024
We have this nice blow-up of Jeff Bezos here over my shoulder.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/13/2024
On September 24th the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the last of Nexstar/KOIN-TV's last appeal...See more https://conta.cc/4h1BpXc
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/13/2024
Picket sign of the week
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/13/2024
The new Minneapolis Strike Mural...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/13/2024
“Decades of deep-seated inequality (and) deep-seated poverty…
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/13/2024
Chris talks with labor historian Dana Frank
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/12/2024
Frequently described as “the Broadway of burlesque,” the Chippendales Dancers are famous for their high-production value and elaborate choreography.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/12/2024
Reminder that the 2025 Great Labor Arts Exchange will be held June 20-22 in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/12/2024
Musicians at the Toledo Symphony Orchestra won a 39% wage boost in the new five-year contract they ratified last month...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/12/2024
Workday Magazine's Isabela Escalona wrote about a very cool photography exhibit that's currently on display at St. Paul's East Side Freedom Library...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/12/2024
Participants in an online Johns Hopkins University class will use the prism of labor films to view both labor history and current efforts by workers to organize...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/12/2024
The Labor Heritage Power Hour: Working Theater/Workers Unite! Film Festival:  ”Something is fundamentally broken when you can only go see a Broadway show if your family takes in $300K a year…
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/7/2024
What Can We Learn From the Great Depression, Patronage & Culture in Nashville’s Honky-Tonks and more!
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/6/2024
"I wear the black for the poor and
the beaten down
livin' in the hopeless, hungry
side of town..."
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/5/2024
Whether you’re looking for union musicians, artists, authors or merch, the LHF Shop is the place to start.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/5/2024
The Cradle Will Rock director Shanara Gabrielle and labor historian Dana Frank on "What Can We Learn From the Great Depression?"
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/5/2024
Different struggle, same militance.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/5/2024
Posted by @MachinistsUnion
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/4/2024
“[Charleston, SC is] the place that imported more enslaved Africans than anywhere in this country.”
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/4/2024
This morning, while you get ready for work and drink your favourite coffee, thank a longshoreman...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/4/2024
Members of the World of Warcraft Gamemakers Guild-CWA recently gained union recognition, becoming the first wall-to-wall union at Activision Blizzard.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/4/2024
Alex Lin is Working Theater’s Inaugural Playwright-in-Residence for their milestone 40th season.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/4/2024
In the summer of 1934, in the midst of the Great Depression, Minneapolis made national headlines when a truckers’ strike culminated in Bloody Friday as 67 picketers were shot and two died...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 10/1/2024
📚 Tuesday: NoVa Labor Book Club - James: A Novel (Updated Date!)
🎙 Thursday: The Labor Heritage Power Hour (Radio)
🎥 Friday: Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (Film)
🎞 Saturday: The Farmer-Labor Movement: A Minnesota Story (Film)
Don't miss out! Details 👉 https://conta.cc/4gOpCeM
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/30/2024
The musicians of the National Symphony Orchestra went on strike Friday morning, and reached an 18-month labor agreement with the Kennedy Center by midafternoon.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/27/2024
The Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Federation of Musicians, Local 161-710, American Federation of Musicians announced on Monday of a unanimous vote for strike authorization.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/27/2024
More than 150 workers at A+E Factual Studios—the nonfiction television production arm of A&E Networks—are calling on management for voluntarily recognition.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/27/2024
The Animation Guild (TAG), IATSE Local 839, announced ratification of their first contract.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/27/2024
Joe Hill is alive and looking for performance space next month.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/27/2024
On hiatus since the pandemic, the conference is returning this year.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/27/2024
Overtime series, "Lucifers" by Lauren O'Donoghue. What a triumph!
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/27/2024
“Labor Day” with Si Kahn & George Mann.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/27/2024
Future union leaders join the Boeing picket line.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/27/2024
Mighty Mighty SF Symphony Chorus Sings Out On The Strike Line
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/27/2024
While working on the historic Memphis sanitation workers’ strike. Bill Lucy coined the famous slogan, “I Am A Man!” that became the rallying call for the Memphis strikers.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/27/2024
Check out our Weekend Labor Arts Calendar!
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/27/2024
The International Typographical Union renews a strike against the Los Angeles Times
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/27/2024
This week’s Labor History Today podcast: The Disney Revolt: historian Jake Friedman on “The Great Labor War of Animation’s Golden Age”.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/27/2024
2010 Solidarity Forever Awardee Bill Lucy – who died Wednesday -- speaking to attendees at the Labor Heritage Foundation’s 2023 MLK Gonna Take Us All Ball
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/25/2024
“This is a true story about an action I took when I was nine.”
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/25/2024
At the IAM hall for Boeing strikers
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/25/2024
I'm Going to Organize; Sarah Ogan Gunning
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/20/2024
The Animation Guild (TAG), Local 839 of the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), resumed negotiations with Hollywood studios this week and are fighting for pay equity for color designers, a job historically staffed by women.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/20/2024
On Thursday (9/12), stagehands at the Louisville, Kentucky-based Mercury Ballroom voted unanimously to join Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 17
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/20/2024
“In the Works,” the centerpiece of Narsiso Martinez’s solo exhibition at Charlie James Gallery in Los Angeles, spans three walls and is made from dozens of found produce boxes.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/20/2024
George Mann has announced the release of his latest album Labor Day, a collaboration with legendary songwriter Si Kahn.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/20/2024
Children’s book author J. Albert Mann, author of “Shift Happens: The History of Labor in the United States”
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/20/2024
The leadership of American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) and AGMA members of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike on Monday.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/15/2024
Embroidered Garment, Alice Eugenia Ligon, on view now in the Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women exhibit at the Renwick
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/15/2024
Leave it to performing arts unions to make a picket line that grabs attention.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/15/2024
James Earl Jones in Matewan
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/15/2024
PICKET SIGN OF THE WEEK: Boeing strike
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/14/2024
You Are the 'u' in Union – Si Kahn, from the new Labor Day CD.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/14/2024
The Arts, Entertainment and Media Industries (AEMI) coalition released a series of new federal policy suggestions on Tuesday that aim to create more sustainable careers in the nonprofit arts and media sectors.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/14/2024
It was great to catch up with so many LHF friends and family Sunday at the Takoma Park Folk Fest, especially when festival-goers were treated to impromptu concert by members of the DC Labor Chorus.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/14/2024
Jennifer Morales on Caring Out Loud; Lorna Gonsalves on Little Meena and the Big Swim
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/14/2024
Art allows us to process our lived realities and dream of the realities that could be ...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/8/2024
“Even Willie Mays challenged corporate greed at the CWA Local 9415 picket ⚾️🪧” (posted by Dripped Out Trade Unionists)
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/8/2024
“They’re forming a union,” said @CWAUnion in a post this Wednesday.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/8/2024
“It isn’t about you alone. It’s about the people who will come after you.”
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/7/2024
The Union is a hit on Netflix, but it’s not really about the labor movement, and it’s a pretty lousy movie, despite starring Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/7/2024
The 2025 Great Labor Arts Exchange will be held June 20-22 in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/7/2024
Our theme song contest, Chris and Elise play songs submitted in our Labor Heritage Power Hour Theme Song Contest; which will be the winner?
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/7/2024
10,000 hotel workers strike for better working conditions and pay
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/6/2024
Check out the latest LHF Newsletter here: https://shorturl.at/J7Y88
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/6/2024
Sunday, September 8, 2024, 10:30 AM until 6:30 PM; Takoma Park Middle School (rain or shine), 7611 Piney Branch Rd, Takoma Park, MD
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/6/2024
A free online screening over the long Labor Day weekend of "Fight Like Hell: The Testimony of Mother Jones" went viral, racking up nearly 600 views.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/2/2024
Tune in to WPFW 89.3 FM from 9-11 AM on Monday for the Labor Heritage Power Hour’s Labor Day Special.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 9/2/2024
Join us for a labor walk in Wheeling as thunder and history collide on this latest Labor History Today episode!
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/31/2024
Fight Like Hell: The Testimony of Mother Jones screens free online this weekend.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/31/2024
Just in time for Labor Day, the AFL-CIO has launched its new union store, featuring union gear that’s comfortable, high-quality and union-made.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/31/2024
Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU-UFCW) members at six Guitar Center locations in Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada and New York have ratified a new three-year contract.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/26/2024
Socialism Song - Boomer Stoop
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/26/2024
Help spread the word about labor’s heritage at the 2024 Takoma Park Folk Festival!
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/24/2024
From @michelleeisen: The start of another #redforbread weekend! Stop in to show your support for @SBWorkersUnited and grab a Rascal the raccoon cake pop!
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/24/2024
Chickens and the whole barnyard unite to defeat the tyrant cockadoodler.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/23/2024
The Fruit of Labor World Cultural Center is one of the 2024 Raleigh Medal of Arts awardees. The Raleigh Medal of Arts is awarded for extraordinary achievement in the practice or support of local arts in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/23/2024
The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) last week issued a Do Not Work Order for the Dallas Black Dance Theatre (DBDT) after nine main-company members were fired in an attempt at union-busting...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/23/2024
Jamie Raskin’s favorite labor song; Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin on why he loves Tom Morello’s Union Town...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/18/2024
“I wish I had this resource back when I was teaching middle and high school Social Studies,” says Tobias Harkleroad...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/18/2024
Mr. Lee - Rock Bottom Broke (Official Video) | Workers Song
Speaking of which, the AFL-CIO just released this year’s Executive Paywatch. This year’s report puts CEO-to-worker pay ratios in historical perspective...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/17/2024
Retail workers at a Bookmans Entertainment Exchange location in Tucson, Arizona, have filed a petition to join United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 99...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/17/2024
After a weekend of rallies and solidarity events with other Hollywood labor allies, The Animation Guild (TAG)—Local 839 of the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)—officially began its contract negotiations...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/16/2024
“6 inch is commonly understood that song to be an anthem for strippers,” says MacGyver Williams on this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour. “Sex workers need respect and dignity at work as well.” MacGyver co-hosted the show and serves on the LHF Board as Treasurer.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/16/2024
Check out this week's Labor Heritage Power Hour: "Blood in the Streets" featuring photographer Chuck Avery's visual history of labor struggles, Kurt Stand's essay on Peekskill 1949, and MacGyver sharing her favorite labor songs.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/12/2024
In addition to the usual parades, picnics and politics, this year’s Labor Day festivities will include labor arts events as well. Here’s our preliminary preview of what’s on tap across the country.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/9/2024
Lisa Simpson’s Union Strike Song leads off a new LHF YouTube playlist put together by longtime labor activist Karen Nussbaum (9 to 5, Working America), designed specifically for youngsters.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/9/2024
Last week, workers at Storm King Art Center (SKAC), in New York’s Hudson Valley, ratified their first contracts, ending months of negotiations over benefits and better wages. See more here: https://shorturl.at/nBfTh
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/9/2024
Box office workers at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) unanimously voted last week in favor of joining the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 154. See more here: https://shorturl.at/fAVKt
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/9/2024
Hundreds of SAG-AFTRA members, union allies and other supporters picketed in front of the Warner Bros. Studios on Thursday, fighting for fair artificial intelligence (AI) protections for workers who perform in video games. See more here: https://shorturl.at/2TiIm
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/9/2024
Musicians who perform at Arden Theatre in Philadelphia have filed for a union election to join the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 77 after a supermajority of workers signed union authorization cards. See more here: https://shorturl.at/CGaJv
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/9/2024
Late last week, the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) filed unfair labor practice charges against Dallas Black Dance Theatre with the National Labor Relations Board, after management terminated a veteran dancer and banned dancers – who voted to unionize in May -- from teaching.
Send a Letter: Let DBDT Leadership Know that You Support the Dancers – American Guild of Musical Artists
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/3/2024
At work as a guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Emilie Lemakis, 58, wears a pin she created that shows how many years she has worked there and her hourly wage.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/3/2024
Producer MacGyver Williams’ audio postcard from The Fruit of Labor’s 40th anniversary celebration at the Fruit of Labor World Cultural Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/3/2024
Saturday, August 3, 2024, 2:00 PM until 3:00 PM, Turner Station in Dundalk, MD; Event is at the park, corner of William Wade Avenue and Main Street.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/3/2024
Florence Reece dies in Knoxville, Tenn. at 86.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/3/2024
From the Fragile Juggernaut podcast; the escalating confrontation between fascism and anti-fascism in the 1930’s and ‘40’s.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/2/2024
August is slow, but Fall is coming; email us at info@laborheritage.org with tips and links!
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/2/2024
Employees at Bethesda Game Studios have voted to unionize with the Communications Workers of America.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/2/2024
A long-overdue tribute was paid to the iconic “Rosie the Riveter” and the millions of resilient women who worked on the WWII home front when Rosies were honored with the Congressional Gold Medal.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/2/2024
Dereck Stafford Mangus, a beloved Baltimore-based artist, writer, and cultural worker, passed away on Sunday, July 7 at the age of 46.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 8/2/2024
The New York Times asked five guards at five of the world’s most renowned museums to share their favorite pieces, and why.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 7/29/2024
On a recent drive to Portland, Maine, musician, organizer and LHF co-founder Joe Uehlein stopped at Red Square in New London, CT to visit with internationally acclaimed muralist Mike Alewitz. Here’s his report.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 7/29/2024
WPFW Program Director Katea Stitt on Sweet Honey in the Rock founder Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, who died last week, here in Washington, DC, at the age of 81.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 7/29/2024
Marilou Schultz (Navajo/Diné)
Read More navigate_next
Published On 7/29/2024
SF LaborFest wraps; NoVa Labor Book Club; A History of ILWU’s Labor Solidarity Actions & more!
Read More navigate_next
Published On 7/28/2024
“Eighteen months of negotiations have shown us that our employers are not interested in fair, reasonable A.I. protections, but rather flagrant exploitation.”
Read More navigate_next
Published On 7/28/2024
“We have fought hard for the past four months and this tentative agreement would not have been possible without the strength we showed this past week with our rally and Unfair Labor Practice vote.”
Read More navigate_next
Published On 7/28/2024
In an open letter, members of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are sounding the alarm about proposals from management to slash their budget by 80%.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 7/26/2024
Event Saturday in Minnehaha Park will commemorate the 1934 Minneapolis truckers strike, a bloody, six-month clash that made the city a union town.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 7/16/2024
What happens after Election Day 2024? The best answer I’ve seen comes from Art Works, by longtime organizer and strategist Ken Grossinger.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 7/1/2024
The San Francisco LaborFest starts today and runs throughout the month. While most of the events take place in San Francisco, some are online.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/29/2024
Both editions of the LHF newsletter will be on summer hiatus July 1-15; look for our next edition on Friday, July 19. The Labor Heritage Power Hour will also be on hiatus July 4 and 11, tune in on July 18 for our next show.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/28/2024
Remembering civil and labor rights apostle Rev. James Lawson and labor radio pioneer Frank Emspak.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/27/2024
The DC ’23-’24 Avodah Corps class took a DC Labor Walk through downtown Washington on May 30th with LHF Executive Director Chris Garlock.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/27/2024
Guthrie Theater Front-Facing Crew Votes to Join IATSE; Blue Cubicle Press’ latest a “cornucopia of great writing; More than “Finding The Money’: MMT, Political Strategy, and the State
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/27/2024
By Amber Kim, an incarcerated writer in the Washington Corrections Center for Women.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/24/2024
Check out our weekly run-down of labor arts and culture around the country!
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/23/2024
Philip Tipperman's painting.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/23/2024
“If you put some effort into how things look, it really can change and carry the message better…"
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/22/2024
An exploration of nonviolence and organizing through the life and teachings of Rev. James Lawson.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/22/2024
Now THIS is what solidarity looks like!
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/21/2024
Actors’ Equity Association (Equity), the union representing professional actors and stage managers in live theater, will cease issuing contracts for work on the Development Agreement.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/21/2024
Four of the winning entries in this year’s National History Day contest had a labor focus, reports Mark Pattison.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/21/2024
Elise and Chris play some listener suggestions for the show’s new theme song...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/20/2024
Upcoming events
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/20/2024
One of the entries in our Labor Heritage Hour Theme Song Contest.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/16/2024
For Pride Month this year, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various LGBTQ+ workers...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/16/2024
“LGBTQ+ musicians often tell me that my simply existing in this role has helped them to see that their own aspirations are possible. If you don’t see yourself out there, you begin to doubt you can do it.”
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/16/2024
I believe in the Union
I believe in the union…
Because...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/15/2024
une 15, 1990
Battle of Century City, as police in Los Angeles...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/15/2024
Workers at National Sawdust Successfully Vote to Join Union: Ushers at Brooklyn’s nonprofit music venue National Sawdust in New York voted overwhelmingly last week to join Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 306.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/15/2024
When we launched the Labor Heritage Power Hour last year we knew we needed a theme song to open and close the show...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/15/2024
AFA United MEC: “The time is NOW!
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/15/2024
Rockin’ Solidarity
Reed Fromer on piano and Redd Welsh on lead vocal; an entry in our just-launched Labor Heritage Power Hour Theme Song Contest.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/15/2024
Brief History of Juneteenth
From the Union of Southern Service Workers: ” On this day in Southern labor history:
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/9/2024
1934 & Now: Connections of the Minneapolis Truckers’ Strike of 1934 is an art exhibit organized by Keith Christensen in conjunction with members of the Remember 1934 Collective.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/9/2024
From the popular TV show.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/9/2024
Created and performed by 1,000 mill workers from the silk industry strike, New York City
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/8/2024
“Not only are workers in a corporate office setting having to fawn over their boss, but the representation of childcare labor is striking,” writes Lynn Arner.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/8/2024
From the Wayne State University Digital Collections, with over 50,000 images and texts celebrating Detroit's contributions to the arts, fashion, history, architecture, interior design, medicine and more.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/8/2024
USW musician and worker Mike Stout
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/7/2024
Workers from four Twin Cities Half Price Books locations voted to ratify their first union contracts last Friday, ensuring that their jobs are protected, safe and sustainable.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/7/2024
Members of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) Union—a chapter of Philly Cultural Workers United, AFSCME Local 397, and an affiliate of AFSCME District Council 47—and management have successfully settled a contract dispute, ensuring longtime workers get the longevity pay they deserve.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/7/2024
Joe Uehlein in Concert; Chopped Liver and Unions (last day!); "Voters in Revolt" art exhibit (opens Saturday!); We Are One – Honoring Immigrant Garment Workers
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/6/2024
THIS WEEK'S RADIO SHOW: This year marks the 90th anniversary of the 1934 Minneapolis Teamsters’ strikes, which changed the course of history and the lives of tens of thousands of working people. On today’s show, an excerpt from “Labor’s Turning Point,” a documentary on the strike.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/3/2024
Keith Christensen; Part of the 1934 & Now Exhibit.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/3/2024
“In the winter of 1934, a small group of experienced, dedicated labor activists began to change the course of history.”
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/2/2024
Includes John DeGraaf's film "Labor's Turning Point," followed by a panel discussion with Peter Rachleff (East Side Freedom Library), David Van Deusen, President of the Vermont AFL-CIO, and Kieran Knutson, President of CWA Local 7250 (AT&T workers, Minnesota).
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/2/2024
@dowjones just laid off more employees at @wsj — on top of the 45 IAPE members laid off this year — despite its record profits. We’ve had enough.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 6/2/2024
The banned and long-lost performance of "The Internationale" by the NBC Symphony Orchestra, with the Westminister Choir, conducted by Arturo Toscanini.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/31/2024
This year marks the 90th anniversary of the 1934 Minneapolis Teamsters’ strikes. These strikes changed the course of history and the lives of tens of thousands of working people.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/31/2024
More than a year and a half after winning voluntary recognition, workers at the Academy Foundation—the nonprofit arm of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that is dedicated to protecting film history—have ratified their first collective bargaining agreement.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/27/2024
Working Class Goes To Hell, NoVA Book Club, Filipino Pullman Porters & more!
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/26/2024
Black Wobbly Ben Fletcher woodcut art by Jax, who’s featured in the audio postcard on this week's Labor Heritage Power Hour.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/26/2024
“Let this mural stand as a commemoration to fellow workers"
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/26/2024
Small town, Small job folks, Factory folks.
The man enters
home, wears work on his breath. She dodges
broken glances with dinner and a peck.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/25/2024
A mural celebrating Ben Fletcher – “The Black Wobbly” – was unveiled in Philadelphia on May 18; check out our audio postcard.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/25/2024
Joanna quits with flair
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/25/2024
UCLA service workers with @afscme3299 and allies picketing in front of Luskin Conference center demanding a fair contract.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/25/2024
The Overall Brigade
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/24/2024
An overwhelming majority of the Disneyland Resort cast members who bring the magic of the amusement park to life voted to form a union on Saturday with Actors’ Equity Association.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/24/2024
This Memorial Day the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives suggests that one way to honor veterans is by taking part in the Lincoln Brigade Memorial Project, which remembers those who died fighting fascism in Spain.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/24/2024
Chopped Liver and Unions, AAPI Heritage Month Virtual Screenings, Remember 1934: "Voters in Revolt" art exhibit (Opening Reception)
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/21/2024
Wall-to-wall staff union at Mobilization for Justice Inc | Civil Legal Services Workers; on strike for 12 weeks.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/21/2024
By Brooks Turner; 2023, from the 1934 & Now: Connections of the Minneapolis Truckers’ Strike of 1934 art exhibit.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/20/2024
Matewan, Office Space , Chopped Liver and Unions & more!
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/20/2024
This video was shown at the 50th Jubilee Gala in Niagara Falls, NY on May 10, 2024.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/20/2024
"Your power is in your folded arms. You have killed the mills; you have stopped production; you have broken off the profits."
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/20/2024
Lynn Marie Smith, The Super Union Label Diva, shares a mini history lesson about the importance of Union Label and the goods and services made in the USA.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/18/2024
The 90th anniversary of the 1934 Minneapolis Truckers’ Strike will be commemorated by a series of events from May through July, including exhibitions, film screenings, music, and a picnic gathering.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/18/2024
Click here for links.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/18/2024
In 1938, 600 crab pickers struck for higher wages and a union in Crisfield, Maryland; on today’s show, an audio postcard from the May 10 dedication of an official state historical marker commemorating the strike.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/17/2024
Twelve Starbucks baristas in a mid-town Manhattan store, declaring they couldn’t live on $7.75 an hour, signed cards demanding representation by the Industrial Workers of the World, or Wobblies.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/17/2024
Workers at Glenstone, the sprawling contemporary art museum in Montgomery County, Maryland, are moving to unionize.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/17/2024
Members of Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) and Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) at Sesame Workshop have overwhelmingly ratified a new five-year collective bargaining agreement.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/17/2024
The Illinois Labor History Society is recruiting volunteers for the Pullman Railroad Days, a weekend of historic railcars, exhibits, tours, food, music and family fun.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/14/2024
Our new comprehensive preview of the week’s labor arts events!
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/12/2024
Bernie Sanders talks about how songs can bring souls together in solidarity.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/12/2024
“If I go broke, I'll know I did it doing something culturally valuable. I haven't wasted my time."
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/12/2024
Before last Friday, to know about the 1938 crab pickers strike in Crisfield, Maryland, you had to know about it. Now there's an official state historic road marker; here's our audio postcard.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/11/2024
I put the groceries on a credit card
So when the 1st comes round
We’ll have money in the bank to pay the rent
It never used to be so hard
But lately I’ve found
Before the checks come in, the money’s spent
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/11/2024
“There are major, systemic pay inequities at @audubonsociety,” tweeted The Bird Union on May 8.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/10/2024
Crab Picker's Day, Eugene V. Debs Memorial Kazoo Night
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/10/2024
Click here for the complete list: https://bit.ly/3Uveqtg
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/10/2024
Live from the 2024 LHF Solidarity Forever Awards, the annual wreath-laying at the Mother Jones historical marker, clips from the DC Labor Chorus May Day Concert, photojournalist Earl Dotter on "Power & Light: Russell Lee's Coal Survey"
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/10/2024
“Finding the Money,” which tackles the seemingly arcane subject of Modern Money Theory or “MMT”, is the sleeper hit of this year’s DC Labor FilmFest, attracting nearly 200 attendees to last night’s screening at the AFI Silver.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 5/3/2024
AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler emphasized the “deep connection between the arts and activism” at the Labor Heritage Foundation’s annual Solidarity Forever award last night in the AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Room. “In these times where it's so challenging and difficult, art uplifts us,” said Shuler.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/29/2024
UAW: No deals, no wheels. No bucks, no trucks. It’s time for record profits to mean record contracts at Daimler Truck. Tick tock, Daimler! #StandUpDaimler
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/29/2024
Ramsey Lewis Trio - The "In" Crowd (1973)
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/29/2024
Mother Jones celebrated her birthday of May Day, so she’s been popping up all over the country recently.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/29/2024
“As a young union activist I had another bible," UAW President Shawn Fain said on Sunday in the final main session of the 2024 Labor Notes Conference.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/28/2024
Highlights from Saturday night’s concert at the Great Labor Arts Exchange in Chicago, a preview of the DC Labor FilmFest’s Opening Night screening of The Old Oak, and Elise remembers Ed Smith and Dennis Serrette.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/28/2024
What have American Unions ever done for us?? Turns out: quite a bit!
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/27/2024
Eighteen months into the strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last week announced that it is seeking an injunction in federal court against the Post-Gazette for dozens of ongoing ULP (Unfair Labor Practice) violations.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/27/2024
Art handlers and facilities workers at the Guggenheim in New York City used their lunch break last week to rally for a fair contract, as negotiations are entering the sixth month.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/27/2024
The workers who perform as iconic characters like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck at Disneyland parades have filed for a National Labor Relations Board election to join Actors’ Equity Association (Equity).
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/23/2024
“When I first started coming to the Great Labor Arts Exchange, it was like I had found my people,” said Alexandra Bradbury on Saturday night as she accepted LHF’s 2024 Joe Hill Award from Labor Heritage Foundation president Ashley See and LHF Executive Director Chris Garlock.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/18/2024
It’s finally here! LHF is at the Great Labor Arts Exchange at Labor Notes in Chicago.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/18/2024
Abolitionist John Brown is mistaken for a Black Lives Matter activist in Gene Bruskin’s latest labor musical, Matewan and Office Space return to the DC Labor FilmFest, and a tour guide keeps Black worker history alive.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/13/2024
Photo by Ryan Caulfield, Ventura, Calif., IBEW Local 952. One of the winning entries in the IBEW’s annual photo contest.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/13/2024
UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta celebrated her 94th birthday on April 10...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/13/2024
April 12: Birth of Florence Reece, active in Harlan County, Ky. coal strikes and author of famed labor song “Which Side Are You On?”
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/12/2024
As the total solar eclipse captivated much of the nation on Monday, two local newspapers went dark.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/12/2024
Production workers from DreamWorks Animation have officially voted to form a union with The Animation Guild (TAG), also known as Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 839, and the Motion Picture Editors Guild (IATSE Local 700).
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/12/2024
@FordhamGSW’s practice picket line on April 11.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/12/2024
Previewing the 2024 DC Labor FilmFest, winners of the IBEW’s annual photo contest, Si Kahn on Coal Mining Woman. Plus: celebrating the UFW’s Dolores Huerta.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/5/2024
The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) announced Tuesday that members have voted to ratify the Basic Theatrical Motion Picture and Basic Television Motion Picture Agreements contract that was unanimously recommended by the bargaining committee in February.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/5/2024
John McCutcheon, who called Si Kahn “The best damn songwriter in the South…in his spare time!” back in 1975, is throwing an online birthday party for his longtime friend on April 14.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/2/2024
After more than two years of management slow-walking negotiations, The NewsGuild-CWA (TNG-CWA), which represents Oxford University Press (OUP) workers in the United States, is making plans for a potential strike.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/2/2024
The Minnesota-based Farmer-Labor Education Committee has issued a call for a community-engaged art commission. Deadline is Friday, April 12th; info session April 5 at 4p CST.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 4/1/2024
We can’t guarantee that your coffee or tea – or other beverage of choice – will taste better in your Labor Heritage Foundation mug, but why take a chance?
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/31/2024
Rockin’ Your Rally and Picket Line, Creative Tactics and Strategic Mischief, and Songwriting for the Movement are just a few of the sessions available at this year’s Great Labor Arts Exchange, being held April 18-21 at the Labor Notes conference in Chicago.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/31/2024
“Is the Folk Music and the New Deal program (streamed March 26) available in archive?” wonders Hazel Schlueter.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/30/2024
Changing Lives, Changing L.A.: four members of UNITE HERE Local 11 share their stories.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/30/2024
Workers at a popular new and used bookstore in Richmond, Virginia, have officially joined UFCW Local 400.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/30/2024
SAG-AFTRA members have ratified new three-year television and basic cable animation contracts covering voice actors, with overwhelming support.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/29/2024
In honor of Women's History Month, the DC Labor FilmFest and Workers Unite! Film Festival are presenting two films On Demand this weekend: Storming Caesars Palace and The Exchange Girl.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/29/2024
Workers at the Universal Cinema AMC at CityWalk Hollywood in Universal City, California, have officially voted to unionize with the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/29/2024
After holding the picket line for nearly three weeks, unionized workers at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) have successfully ratified a new contract that delivers victories on core member issues.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/29/2024
March 29, 1948: “Battle of Wall Street,” police charge strikers lying down in front of stock exchange doors, 43 arrested
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/29/2024
“The most important word in the language of the working class is ‘solidarity’”
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/29/2024
This portrait of two young women who died in the Triangle Factory Fire on March 25, 1911 — sisters Lucia Maltese (age 20) and Rosarea Maltese (age 14)—is carried by family members at the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Factory Fire in 2011.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/29/2024
The Golden Butterfly Band
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/25/2024
Leaders of the Coalition of Labor Union Women celebrated the organization’s 50th anniversary on Sunday at the “Transcending” Labor Legacy Landmark in Detroit, Michigan.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/25/2024
“I had the good fortune, in the mid-1970s, to be invited into a creative writing class as an audit student—my introduction to the craft of engaged poetry,” writes Susan Eisenberg in her March 21 Labor Notes post.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/24/2024
Graduate workers at Northwestern University, members of UE Local 1122, have ratified their first UE contract
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/24/2024
Don't Play With My Money - Don't Play with My Family
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/24/2024
“Gracias a Martín: Courtesy of the Custodian,” by Akilah Lisbon
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/24/2024
"I thought it was going to be a light comedy about actors who get the same day job..."
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/23/2024
The Oakland Museum of California voluntarily recognized OMCA Workers United, an affiliate of AFSCME Council 57 Cultural Workers United and the museum’s first union, last week.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/23/2024
Labor leaders share their favorite sheroes, an REI worker writes a play and the Coalition of Labor Union Women celebrates 50 years.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/23/2024
Storming Caesars Palace
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/22/2024
A 32-day lockout of major league baseball players ends; B.C.’s Tough and Fearless Truck-Driving Woman
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/22/2024
Boss made a $
I made a dime
That was a poem
From a simpler time...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/22/2024
This was a very big week for the Labor Heritage Foundation. After months of painstaking behind-the-scenes work, the new LHF website went live this week, LHF released merchandise featuring our brand-new new logo, and the 2024 DC Labor FilmFest schedule and merch shop was released.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/22/2024
Workers at Nitehawk Cinema’s Prospect Park location in Brooklyn voted in favor of the union last weekend.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/22/2024
Workers at the Denver Art Museum are celebrating their new union.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 3/22/2024
After just over a month since coming forward with their intent to organize, dancers at the Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) have won their election to form a union with the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA).
Read More navigate_next
Published On 2/24/2024
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
Read More navigate_next
Published On 2/24/2024
Fri, February 23, 7pm – 9pm
Read More navigate_next
Published On 2/23/2024
Woody Guthrie wrote “This Land Is Your Land” following a frigid trip -- partially by hitchhiking, partially by rail -- from California to Manhattan.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 2/23/2024
“The #IGNCG has been granted voluntary recognition,” tweeted the IGN Creators Guild yesterday.
Read More navigate_next
Published On 2/18/2024
Art Shields: The People’s Scribe
Read More navigate_next
Published On 2/18/2024
Go Ask Angela- Colleen Kattau
Read More navigate_next
Published On 2/18/2024
Velma Hopkins
Read More navigate_next
Published On 2/18/2024
Black, Red, White and Blue: Union and civil rights organizer Si Kahn on “Black, Red, White and Blue,” his song about a Black World War II veteran...
Read More navigate_next
Published On 2/18/2024
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.”
Read More navigate_next
Published On 2/18/2024
The 2024 Labor Notes Conference – which includes the Great Labor Arts Exchange -- is just two months away: April 19-21. Act fast and register today—the early-bird rate of $140 expires on March 1!
Read More navigate_next
Published On 2/18/2024
“I have bad news and good news about the effort to preserve the ‘Solidarity’ mural at the UE Hall in Chicago,” reports Kari Thompson, Director of UE’s Research and Education Fund.
Read More navigate_next

Menu Links

Programs Calendar News Shop

Other Links

About Archive