2024 LaborFest Event Schedule

The San Francisco General Strike & The Minneapolis General Strike – Lesson from Both

This year is the 90th anniversary of both the Minneapolis Teamster General Strike and the San Francisco General Strike. This panel will look at the victories and lessons of those strikes for today.

Free
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02 July 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

LaborFest Writers Group – Reading at Bird and Beckett

Readers from the LaborFest Writers Group share poetry, memoir, fiction and nonfiction during a live event at the renowned San Francisco bookstore – Bird and Beckett.

Free
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03 July 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

American Dreams – by SF Mime Troupe

The American Dream. It used to mean a job, a house, a car, a spouse, 2.5 kids, and a .4 dog. But what does it mean now? For Gabriel Pearce, a Black man tired of liberal failures, on the day after the presidential election it means victory!

Free
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04 July 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Bloody Thursday Walk

Ninety years ago (1934), a great battle took place between striking workers and the police and National Guard along the waterfront alongside the piers of San Francisco’s Embarcadero.

Free
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05 July 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm

90th Anniversary of 1934 Big Strike

Ninety years ago. San Francisco’s class relations were transformed by the General Strike, This commemorative event  “Bloody Thursday” (this year it’s on Friday), when police shot more than five dozen and killed two strikers.

Free
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05 July 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm

Contracting Out, Union Busting & Privatization In Southern Africa

The destruction of workers in Southern African including in South Africa and Namibia is escalating. Workers are being forced into contract labor which was the type of labor under apartheid conditions.

Free
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06 July 10:30 am – 12:30 pm

Labor History Bike Tour

From the pre-urban history of Indian Slavery to the earliest 8-hour day movement in the U.S., the ebb and flow of class war is traced.

$25
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06 July 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Racism, Labor And White Supremacy

This panel will look at the historic struggle against white supremacy in the labor movement and the growth of fascism in the US today. 

Free
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06 July 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Identity Politics, Unions & The Working Class

Identity politics which pits workers against workers has been used within the labor movement to stop unionization and weaken the labor movement.

Free
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07 July 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Sweden, Worker Rights & The Struggle At Tesla

Today, the Tesla service workers in Sweden who are members of IF Metal union  have been on strike since October 2023. Their union sees the struggle as a fundamental struggle to defend union rights.

Free
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07 July 2:30 pm – 5:00 pm

UBER Lyft, Tech, AI & Autonomous Vehicles & Film

The introduction of UBER and Lyft has decimated the taxi industry and led to a massive growth of the gig economy in the US and internationally. Now Google with Waymo, GM with Cruise and other companies are developing autonomous vehicles in San Francisco and California.

Free
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10 July 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Public Workers, Privatization, Nonprofits and Union Busting

Public workers are under attack in San Francisco, the US and the world. The privatization of all public services are at epidemic proportions and in San Francisco, so called “non-profit” workers are doing public work.

Free
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11 July 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

The Fight to Save People’s Park

The ongoing battle to prevent the development by UC of People’s Park in Berkeley continues. The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and an important Court of Appeal victory was won. However,…

Free
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11 July 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Book Reading – “Postcards to Hitler”

An intimate and dramatic narrative history of Munich residents Benno and Anna Neuburger and their circle of relatives and friends drawn from family stories, interviews, and archival documents, including those from the Gestapo and the Nazi People’s Court.

Free
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11 July 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

The Attack on Public Education: Privatization and the Agencies Fostering It

The political and economic attack on public education is escalating under agencies called the FCMAT and ACCJC.

Free
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12 July 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

WPA-Berkeley History Walk

Walk with Harvey Smith
This walk will explore Berkeley’s “New Deal nexus” that includes Post Office art, Berkeley High School, the Community Theater, Civic Center Park, and the old Farm Credit Building.

Free
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13 July 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

AI, Robotics, Security Privacy & The Future of Workers

At: Tenderloin Museum – 398 Eddy St., SF, CA94102 (Presentation) The development of AI and robotics threatens millions of jobs. This  meeting will look at what AI is and what […]

Donation
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13 July 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

US Labor AFL-CIO, Zionism, Histadrut & The NED Funded “Solidarity Center”

(Zoom event) The AFL-CIO since its formation has been tied to the Israeli trade union called Histadrut. This union grouping has been central in not only supporting the Israeli state […]

Free
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13 July 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

San Bruno Mountain Wilderness Walk

Walk – In 1968, David Schooley chained himself to a bulldozer at the foot of the San Bruno Mountain. The activism of David and many other community members was crucial in protecting much of the mountain….

Free
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14 July 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Celebrate Revolution Day On Woody Guthrie’s Birthday Month

Celebrate Woody Guthrie’s birthday month with music.

Free
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14 July 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Immigration and Labor – Angel Island Events

Three presentations on Angel Island – Angel Island Immigration Station has an important history in California of immigration and labor. Many immigrants from around the world were held at the station and screened with many discriminatory rules particularly against Chinese and Asians.

Free
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14 July 12:00 pm – 3:30 pm

The New Deal & Labor: Looking Back, Moving Forward

(Zoom event) With AL Stein This panel will draw upon the experiences of two historians who have written administrative and cultural histories of the New Deal, by focusing on Frances […]

Free
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15 July 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Palestine, Academic Witch-hunts & Canary Mission

The organized effort to target and retaliate against professors and students in the United States who are critical of Israel is going on at many colleges.

Free
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16 July 5:00 pm

KPFA South Bay Town Hall Meeting “Protecting Community Media, Labor, & The Threat of Fascism

This forum will have members of the KPFA LSB and activists at  KPFA who want more coverage of the South Bay on KPFA, and discuss  why independent media is critical in this dire and critical time of war, peace, and justice.

Free
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17 July 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Musicians Union, Anniversary of The Integration of The Musicians Locals & The Fight Against Segregation

In 2010, a commemoration was held of the merger between the Black and White local of the Musicians union in San Francisco.

Donation
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18 July 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
19 July 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Play – Seven Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza

Seven Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza is a 10-minute play by British playwright Caryl Churchill, written in response to the 2008-2009 Israel military strike on Gaza.

Free
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19 July 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

14th Annual San Francisco Living Wage Coalition Awards Dinner

At: SEIU Local 1021 hall – 350 Rhode Island, San Francisco (entrance on Kansas Street, between 16th and 17th Streets) Street parking available, wheel-chair accessible Honorees: Labor Woman of the […]

$70
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19 July 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Film “The Revolt Of The Good Guys” by Sensible Cinema

This month, Sensible Cinema along with SF LaborFest remembers the letter carriers strike of March 1970 beginning in New York City and spreading across the nation. 

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19 July 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Berkeley Radical 60s Walk

Walk with Harvey Smith – The McGee-Spaulding District could be considered a hotbed of Berkeley 1960s radicalism and counterculture given the number of noted activists and alternative living communities located in the neighborhood.

Free
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20 July 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

From E. Palestine to Hunters Point/Treasure Island

This community labor forum will look at the role of EPA, OSHA, DPH in San Francisco and the State Of California, East Palestine and other toxic sites.

Free
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20 July 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

The New Deal Film Festival: From the Workers Film & Photo League To The U.S. Film Service

Al Stein will lead a discussion about film as art, propaganda and documentary expression in 1930s America, focusing on Pare Lorentz, FDR’s cameraman and his colleagues Ralph Steiner, Paul Strand, Leo Hurwitz, and Willard Van Dyke.

Free
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20 July 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Workers Voices, Workers power – Labor Song and Storytelling Festival

A Night of solidarity song honoring Pat Wynne and the Rockin’ Solidarity Chorus

$5 – $15
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20 July 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Class Struggles in Argentina and U.S. Imperialism

At: Medicine For Nightmares Bookstore – 3036 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94110 With Guillermo Kane Guillermo Kane, member of the Partido Obrero (Workers Party) in Argentina and an elected […]

Free
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20 July 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Workers Voices, Workers Power – Labor Notes Conference/Area Organizing Campaigns Report Back and Discussion

Labor Notes Conference/Area Organizing Campaigns Report Back and Discussion.

$5 – $15
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21 July 1:00 pm – 8:00 pm

The Long Struggle of Alcatraz Cruises Workers For Union Rights

Alcatraz Tour workers have been fighting for a union contract for decades and faced one  union busting attack after another.

Free
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21 July 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

“San Francisco Reds California Communism and Its Afterlives”

The latest book by SFSU labor historian and author Robert Cherny is a major contribution on the role of the Communist Party and their members in the Bay Area and California history.

Free
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22 July 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Silicon Toxic Dumpsites, Workers Health & Safety & The RICO Case Against Apple

Apple in silicon valley had an office built on a toxic dump site and workers were getting sick from the fumes. When Apple’s senior engineering program manager reported it to Apple, they refused to take action to defend the workers.

Free
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23 July 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm

The Class Struggle In Argentina and Workers’ Left Front

In the face of the election of the fascist Javier Milei in Argentina,  there is a major attack on the working class, unions and oppressed. Guillermo Kane will report on the formation of the Workers’ Left Front. How it was organized and the struggle to defend against Milei and his supporters.

Free
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25 July 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Injured Workers, Workers Comp, OSHA, Healthcare & Workers Rights

panel – Many workers say that workers comp has been captured by the employers, insurance companies and a State and Federal administration that is representing this interests rather than workers.

Free
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27 July 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

Oakland General Strike Walk

Walk with Gifford Hartman
This year is the 78th anniversary of the Oakland General Strike.
This walk will revisit the sites of Oakland’s “Work Holiday” that spontaneously began with rank-and-file solidarity with the striking, mostly women retail clerks at Kahn’s and Hastings department stores.

Free
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27 July 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Logistics AI, Robo Taxi World, Land Lines & Check Outs

The massive investment and speculation around AI and robotics is already having a major effect for workers in California, the US and the world. This event will look at AI in logistics and what it means for workers in this industry.

Free
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27 July 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Labor & The International Struggle For Palestine

At: ILWU local 6 – 99 Hegenberger Rd, Oakland, CA There has been a growing movement of trade unions and unionists defending the Palestinian workers and unions. Trade unionists are […]

Free
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27 July 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Walk-Labor Politics and Architecture of San Francisco

San Francisco has a rich political and labor history that is also connected to its buildings. In this history-by-the-buildings walk, Brad Wiedmaier will outline artifacts and events, and their connections to San Francisco’s past and present.

Free
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28 July 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Labor Maritime History Boat Tour

Join the best labor maritime boat trip in the world as we go to historical sites on the bay and the Oakland container port. This is the 90th anniversary of the San Francisco General Strike.

$50
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28 July 5:30 pm – 9:00 pm

A History of ILWU’s Labor Solidarity Actions from Apartheid South Africa to the Zionist Genocidal War Against Palestinians

The history of ILWU, the longshore union, has been one of the most militant unions when it comes to solidarity actions.

Free
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30 July 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Is Fascism Coming To The USA?

The rise of fascism not only in the US but in Argentina, France, Turkey, India and around the world is a life and death question for working people and the entire population.

Free
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31 July 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Upcoming Events

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