Forum, Reading

Bread & Roses Labor History Story Telling with Retired Union Members

Come to share an inspiring labor event or leader in your life. It could be in San Francisco or elsewhere in the U.S.A. or the world. Photos, news clippings, prose, and poems are welcome.

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FREE

Union Time at Anchor Steam

Workers at Anchor Brewing Company in San Francisco have joined ILWU Local 6 and are fighting for a union contract. We will be having a gathering at the Tasting Room of Anchor Public Taps in Potrero Hill in San Francisco.

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Free

The San Francisco Comfort Women Memorial And Lessons For Today

Presentation - Join Comfort Women Justice Coalition leader Judith “Mirk” Murkson who is also with the Lawyers Guild who will provide a history of the monument and what it means today.

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Free

Building Solidarity on the Tracks, 1877–1892

Book reading by David Walters
Eugene Debs is one of the most important working class leaders in the history of the United States, yet most working people have never heard of him. He was in the 1877 national railway strike. He organized the Pullman strike, and he was convicted and served 6 months in prison.

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FREE

Corporatization of Our Community Colleges And Their Future

The growing downsizing of San Francisco Community College by the Rocha administration is not unique. Through privatization plans of online education, which is getting hundreds of millions to replace professors, and the Student Success Taskforce, California’s community colleges face a frontal attack.

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FREE

Beyond the Controversy: The George Washington High School Murals and the Removal of Public Art

The controversy over the Victor Arnautoff murals at George Washington High School brings to San Francisco the public discourse over public art that is interpreted to portray, or actually glorifies, a narrow Eurocentric view of history.

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FREE

The Gig Economy, AI, Robotics, Workers and Dystopia San Francisco

San Francisco is now a world center of tech, yet the workers are under extreme stress and face nightmare conditions with no worker or union rights. Has capitalism gone wild and is this the permanent dystopian world or can working people and our unions transform this city and society? These are some of the questions that will be addressed in this event.

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FREE

UNION TIME! Why Workers Are Joining Unions and Their Fight for Worker Rights

More and more workers in San Francisco and throughout the country have had enough on the job and are joining unions to collectively stand up for their rights. Workers from Anchor Steam Brewery and VCA will talk about how and why they decided to join a union and what this means to all working people.

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FREE

Fukushima, The Olympics and Labor

With Film Screening of “The Olympics In Fukushima, Are You Criminally Insane?”
This forum will hear in the film from workers in Fukushima ..... We will also hear about those who are fighting to expose the massive propaganda campaign by the government and the Olympic Committee to whitewash the continuing dangers.

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FREE

The US & Global Fight Against Privatization & Outsourcing

This conference will discuss how workers from all public service unions can come together for education and a national political education campaign to stop privatization and outsourcing.
This conference will have reports on privatization and outsourcing in San Francisco, the US, and around the world.

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FREE

Workers and Voices Against Fascism – Revolutionary Poetry Brigade

Join poets, musicians, and artists, who will speak and sing out against fascism. The rise of fascism is also a threat to unions and working people as it divides the working people and pits them against each other.

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FREE

Privatization, the Port of Oakland and Labor

San Francisco used to be the largest port in Northern California. Over the last forty years, it has become a tourist trap instead of a working port. Is the same thing in store for the Port of Oakland?

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FREE

On the Job Safety and Injury Prevention for Musicians

American Federation of Musicians AFM Local 6 invites members to a free workshop on musician’s workplace health. Dr. Jeremy Stanek who specializes in workplace injury/health and wellness specifically for gigging musicians will make a presentation followed by discussion.

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FREE

The Nightmare Transit Gridlock, Workers, Privatization and Mass Transit

Can it get any worse? That is the question working people are asking about the transit crisis and grinding gridlock.
The forum will look at the reason for the transit gridlock, how it effecting public transit workers, the public and the environment.

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FREE

9th Annual SF Living Wage Coalition Awards Dinner

The San Francisco Living Wage Coalition's 9th annual awards dinner. Honorees: Labor Woman of the year award to Denise D'Anne, Labor Man of the year award - Dave Welsh.

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$40

Press Freedom, Whistleblowers and the Case of Assange, Manning and Carmody

This forum will look at the issue of who is a journalist and the right of journalists to do their work. Although Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has been a member of the Australian MEEA’s Media section since 2007, and this is the trade union that represents Australia media workers, the media, however, continue to argue that he is not a journalist and does not deserve to be protected.

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FREE

Loretta Starvus Stack, Communist Organizer, Community Gardener, and Her Fight for Rights of Free Speech

With Evelyn Rose, Glen Park Neighborhoods History Project
Loretta Starvus Stack, Communist organizer and founder of Crags Court Community Gardens played a key role in the clarification of the intent of the Alien Registration Act that originally denied First Amendment rights to those choosing to discuss the overthrow of the Federal government.

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FREE

SF Forum-The Future Of Work: Automated & Uberized & AB 5

This panel will discuss the advance of California Assembly Bill 5 impacting the rights of worker and corporate abuses being exaserbated by tech platforms.

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Free

Giving Voice: LaborFest Writers’ Anthology 2005 – 2019

We will read from our recently released works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Come hear stories about the lives and struggles of laborers, farmers, cooks, coal miners, and others from around the world.

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FREE

The Revolution That Wasn’t: How Digital Activism Favors Conservatism – Book reading

Book reading by Jen Schradie on "The Revolution That Wasn't: How Digital Activism Favors Conservatism"
This surprising study of online political mobilization shows that money and organizational sophistication influence politics online as much as off, and casts doubt on the democratizing power of digital activism.

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Free

Teacher Strike Wave – Panel

A recent wave of strikes, rallies, and wildcat actions led by teachers across the country have drawn attention to the most urgent issues faced by students and educators. This panel seeks to tell the stories of local teachers and parent activists, many of whom have been underreported or ignored by the mainstream media.

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FREE

OSHA Whistleblowers, Workers & Public Safety

There is a crisis in our state and national OSHA system. Workers who speak up about their health and safety and the dangers to the public are being bullied and terminated. We will hear from whistleblowers and the connection between the protection of OSHA whistleblowers and public health and safety.

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FREE

Labor Strikes & the California Railroads

Join us for presentations that focus on important labor strikes that occurred during the building of the Transcontinental Railroad and those that followed. California was the second most important center of this nationwide strike, which saw armed workers take over sections of the Southern Pacific line in the state.

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$10

The French Yellow Vest Movement

Since November of 2018, there have been weekly protests in France.
Come and hear a presentation by Camille Chauchat, a French school teacher and an activist and participant in the Yellow Vest Movement in Lyons, France.
More info:bccs4sclub@gmail.com

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FREE

Labor + The Environment=True Love

A discussion focused on the present and historical connection between the labor and environmental movements.

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$5

Charters, Co-locations & Privatization of Public Schools

This educational conference will look at the history of charters, how they are destroying public education and what teachers are doing to fight back to defend our public school system.

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FREE

Treasure Island: Build It and They Will Come – Organized Labor at the Golden Gate International Exposition

By Harvey Smith
From the first scoops of Bay mud to the final coat of paint applied to the buildings of the Golden Gate International Exposition, organized labor was there.

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FREE

The Fight Against Monsanto’s Roundup: The Politics of Pesticides

Book reading by Mitchel Cohen
Cohen looks at the politics behind the pesticide chemical industry, and why it is not being held accountable.

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FREE

Workers Building San Francisco & The Salesforce Skyscraper

Slides presentation by Joseph Blum
Joseph Blum is one of the leading national photographers of building trades workers and their talent and skills. His latest work is the construction of the Salesforce skyscraper.

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Free

Closing Party!

This is the 26th year of LaborFest! Please join us to celebrate the last day of LaborFest 2019. Bring a contribution of food and/or beverage for potluck, or instrument for the open mic.

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FREE

There are no upcoming events at this time

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