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LaborFest 2010 Poster PDF
(204KB)
LaborFest 2010 Booklet PDF
( Total 42 pgs - 12.2MB)2008 Booklet -PDF
36 pg (5 MB)
2008 poster
(588KB)
To order poster, send $15 to LaborFest, POB 40983, SF, CA 94140
LaborFest 2010 Schedule
July 1 (Thursday) 7:00 PM (Free) Modern Times Bookstore - 888 Valencia St near 20th, SF
July 2 (Friday) 7:00 PM (Free)Modern Times Bookstore - 888 Valencia St near 20th, SF
Labor's Civil War in California
Cal Winslow, PhD, author of Labor’s Civil War in California: The NUHW Healthcare Workers’ Rebellion (PM Press, 2010) and an active supporter of the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), and Steve Early, labor activist and journalist, author of Embedded with Organized Labor will discuss the impending vote by 45,000 Kaiser workers to switch unions--a key turning point for the new independent National Union of Healthcare Workers. What does this mean for the many Kaiser workers, patients, communities, health care advocacy groups, and others with a stake in the outcome? The authors' books will be available for purchase and signing.
For All The People: Uncovering The Hidden History of Cooperatives, Cooperative Movements, and Communalism in America
John Curl, author of this little-known saga of working peoples’ struggles for work place democracy, the commons, and prophetic social justice movements arrayed against the forces of capital and state power, which provides a guide to visionary changes in the ways we live, think, and work in a troubled 21st century. John Curl is a working class historian, author of a memoir of the radical Sixties, eight volumes of poetry, translator of ancient poetry from indigenous languages, and in May was the USA representative at the World Poetry Festival in Caracas, Venezuela.
Slide show on this event.
July 3 (Saturday) 11:30 AM for Pfaelzer, 1:00 PM for Harry Bridges & Immigration Talk (Free) - Angel Island Immigration Post - North East side of the island
(Please note: The time has changed due to Jean Pfaelzer's presentation was added)
11:30 AM - Inside the Mess Hall next to the Immigration Post
BEFORE ANGEL ISLAND: THE FORGOTTEN WAR AGAINST CHINESE AMERICANS
Jean Pfaelzer's presentation
Talk and Slide Show. As part of LaborFest's commemoration of the 100 years since the founding of Angel Island, Jean Pfaelzer, author of prize winning book "Driven Out: the Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans" (New York Times Best Books, Asian American Book of the year Univ. of Calif. Press) will talk about the brutal and systematic "ethnic cleansing" of Chinese American workers in California in the second half of the nineteenth century, and how Chinese miners, railroad workers, field laborers, domestic servants and prostitutes fought back against the violent purges and deportations --with the first general strike in California, the earliest farm worker strikes, and the first law suits for reparations.
1:00 PM - Outside the court yard
The Trial of Harry Bridges & Immigration Talk
On The 100th Anniversary of Angel Island Immigration Station
By Harvey Schwartz, Mike Daly
In 1939, the US government had the first of five trials in an effort to deport Australian born ILWU president Harry Bridges for being a member of the Communist Party. The first trial was on Angel Island which also was an immigration station for newly arrived immigrants and war prisoners. ILWU historian Harvey Schwartz will provide a report on the effort to deport Harry Bridges and Ironworker Mike Daly will report on the history of immigration of this important island. It is also celebrating it’s 100th anniversary as an immigration station.
Angel Island guide and historian Richard Kandel will give a talk and will be able to show us a room which has Chinese poems on the wall carved by some of the immigrants.
http://www.udel.edu/PR/drivenout/
Pfaelzer's presentation will start 11:30 AM (new schedule) inside the Mess Hall
The Harry Bridges & Immigration will start 1:00 PM in the outside court yard
Please bring your own lunch. (There is a store and a restaurant, however, the price might be little high.)
You may need to hike for 30 min. or more, so please wear comfortable shoes. (You can take a tram with fee)
You can bring your bike on the ferry.
Ferry from San Francisco by Blue & Gold $16.00,
from Oakland $ 14.50 (415-773-1188)
Departure Schedule to Angel Island:
From SF Ferry Building - 9:20, 11:20 AM
From Pier 41 - 9:40, 11:45 AM (Ticket at the booth west of Pier 39)
(If you want to attend Jean Pfaelzer's presentation, please catch 9:20, 9:40 ferry)
From Oakland - 9:00 AM, From Alameda - 9:10 AM
Departure Schedule from Angel Island
To San Francisco - 4:30 PM
To Alameda/Oakland - 3:10 PM
www.blueandgoldfleet.com
www.angelisland.comFor A Full Tour of The Angel Island Immigration Station
The tour schedule is as follows: 11:00 am, 1230pm, 2pm, and 3:30pm on July 3. The fee is $7 per person, which can be paid for at the Cove Café by the ferry landing, or can be put in the donation box at the Immigration Station. Anyone who definitely wants to go on a guided tour should purchase a ticket at the café. The café only accepts cash.
Ryan Mayeda, Sam Shirley & Casey Lee
United States Immigration Station, Angel Island State Park.
For more info, call (415) 435-5537
aiusis@parks.ca.govJuly 3 (Saturday) 1:30 PM (Free) - Meet at the east end of the Rincon Center lobby- Mission at Steuart, SF
Historic Rincon Murals Tour
By Jay Streets & the Rincon Mural team (City Guide)
The Rincon murals were the very last WPA project to be completed. When these murals were unveiled, powerful voices called for their destruction, but 40 years later, they saved the Rincon Center from demolition. The historic lobby murals tell many stories, from San Francisco history to the politics of the Cold War era. Discover the artistic and political background of these treasures.July 3 (Saturday) 7:00 PM (Free)Modern Times Bookstore - 888 Valencia St near 20th, SF
Alto Arizona: Rank and File Voices Walking in Solidarity With Immigrant Workers
Hosted byJames Tracy, poet, writer, housing activist. On May 29th, 2010 many hundreds of rank-and file workers caravanned from San Francisco to Phoenix Arizona to join protests against the State’s attacks on the human rights of immigrants, evoking comparisons to the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. Come hear a report back from Arizona, updates on future actions and share your ideas for organizing against scapegoating of immigrants.Reports from: Steve Woo (Asian Pacific Islander Delegation) Dorothy Royal (Community Housing Partnership/SEIU 10210) Ramses Teon-Nichols (SEIU 1021) Jah'Mocca Moet-Iman Samone (Transgender Intersex Justice Project) and Alicia Soon (Young Workers United)July 4 (Sunday) 11:00 AM (Free) Meet at 18th Street & Tennessee - Muni #22 or 3rd St. train
Dogpatch & Portrero Point Walk
By Natalie Wisniewski (City Guide) with Labor Photographer Joe Blum
Designated as a San Francisco Historic District, this colorful neighborhood has important ties to many of the city’s past commercial industries. From its historic working class cottages and industrial age relics to the current proliferation of ultra-modern lofts, we’ll explore the past and present of this surprising, eclectic neighborhood in transition.
Watch slide show on thisJuly 5 (Monday) (Free/Donation) Little Roxie - 3117 16th St., at Valencia, SF
FilmWorks United International Working Class Film & Video Festival
(Please see the film schedule for more info.)July 6 (Tuesday) (Free/Donation) Little Roxie - 3117 16th St., at Valencia, SF
FilmWorks United International Working Class Film & Video Festival
(Please see the film schedule for more info.)July 6 (Tuesday) 3:00 PM (Free) Meet in front of Landmark at One Market St. - Muni #22 or 3rd St. train
Historic Market Street Labor Walk
By Chuck Schwartz (City Guide)
From the Ferry Building to the Mechanics Monument, Market Street provides a cross section of San Francisco history as it slices diagonally across the city. Lining the city’s first boulevard, dubbed the Path of Gold as it was rebuilt after the 1906 earthquake, are historic buildings, monuments and modern skyscrapers. Also hear about labor’s relevance on this historic street from the Gold Rush to Bay Area Rapid Transit and vintage streetcars
July 6 (Tuesday) 7:00 PM (Free) Bird and Beckett Bookstore -653 Chenery St., SF
Reading and Writing Workshop by LaborFest Writing Group
The LaborFest Writers’ Group works on exceptional projects of creative writing, poetry and fiction, non-fiction, and memoir on the themes of labor and working class life. The projects range from history to philosophy to fantasy. The group will present short readings from their own work. Then, a writing exercise will be given on the theme, Put the Struggle Back in Labor. Readers: Keith David Cooley, Margaret Cooley, Susan Ford, Adele Kearney, Phyllis Holliday, Jerry Path, Alice Rogoff.July 7 (Wednesday) 6:00 PM (Free) Ironworkers Local 377 Hall - 570 Barneveld Ave. at Industrial, SF
Ironworkers and Green Jobs: A Projection Into Future Trade Work
An evening featuring a social hour, tour of the Ironworkers 377 facilities, and a panel presentation showing future ironworker jobs in the green economy. Hear about geothermal, solar, wind and water power project. Learn about sustainable design in steel construction and architecture. Get updates on current projects and plans for future work in California utilizing Green Construction. This is a public program and all family, friends and the general public are invited
For more info: 415-285-3880
http://animoto.com/play/Wtrcj76MpoA71zMisydYCA?autostart=trueJuly 7 (Wednesday) (Free/Donation) Little Roxie - 3117 16th St., at Valencia, SF
FilmWorks United International Working Class Film & Video Festival
(Please see the film schedule for more info.)July 7 (Wednesday) 7:00 - 8:30 PM(Free) Alameda Multicultural Community Center - 501 Lincoln Ave. Alameda
Alameda Multicultural Community Center Longfellow Education Center. Bldg. A, Room 6, 501 Lincoln Ave. at 5th Ave. Alameda
Workshop: Labor and Native Sacred Sites
The San Francisco Bay Area has many Native Sacred Sites ringing the bay, in our cities and in the rural areas. In the Bay Area, there are hundreds of sacred Shellmounds, most ancient burial grounds. They are held sacred by the original people of the area, the Muwekma Ohlone, who are still here, and other Native Americans. Development has destroyed, desecrated and compromised many of our Sacred Sites and more are being threatened on a regular basis. What are the challenges when development is proposed and/or approved to take place on a Sacred Site? How can Native cemeteries be respected and, at the same time, labor be supported? How can we work together?
This workshop will provide an historical overview of the Muwekma Ohlone, a description of Sacred Sites of the area, and information about state and federal law governing Sacred Sites.
Presenters:
Corrina Gould (Chochenyo Ohlone), Shellmound Walk co-Founder, Indian People Organizing for Change, Johnella Sanchez (Shoshone Bannock), Shellmound Walk co-Founder, Perry Matlock (Anishinabe, Bad River), Shellmound Walk organizer, Local 510 Sign Display Union.
For more info: 510-521-9405 alamulticultural@gmail.comJuly 7 (Wednesday) 7:00 PM(Free) Modern Times Bookstore - 888 Valencia St near 20th St
A Poetics of Resistance: The Revolutionary Public Relations of the Zapatista Insurgency
By Jeff Conant reading and discussing his new book
Conant offer an engaging study for organizers to understand how the Zapatistas' strategy works, developing their messages of bottom-up revolution.July 8 (Thursday) 11:00 AM (Free) Meet in front of St. Patrick’s Church -Mission Between 3rd & 4th
SOMA, Yerba Buena Gardens Walk
By Val Flood (City Guide)
Learn how the retired president of the Alaska Salmon Packer’s Union used union tactics to influence urban redevelopment in SoMa (South of Market) – organizing the longshoremen living in SRO (single room occupancy) hotels with neighborhood activists to preserve their housing and communities. Understand the history and development of the area, from the earliest rough neighborhoods called “South of the Slot”, to the proud civic achievement that is today’s Yerba Buena Gardens complex. Learn to look at this neighborhood with a new eye - even people familiar with the area will discover beautiful gardens and unique sculptures that are “hidden in plain sight”.July 8 (Thursday) (Free/Donation) Little Roxie - 3117 16th St., at Valencia, SF
FilmWorks United International Working Class Film & Video Festival
(Please see the film schedule for more info.)July 8 (Thursday) 7:00 PM (Free) Berkeley City College Auditorium - 2050 Center St., Berkeley
WPA Film Screening:
Soul of a People: Writing America’s Story
This film chronicles the history of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Writers’ Project (FWP). The FWP hired white-collar workers - writers, journalists, teachers and artists. Its major project was the travel guide series, which documented American life and history in every state and many cities.
This event is co-sponsored by the Berkeley City College Social Science Department.July 9 (Friday) 1:00 PM (Free) Meet in front of Berkeley High School - Corner of Milvia & Alston
WPA Berkeley Walk
With Harvey Smith
This walk will explore the “New Deal nexus” there that includes Berkeley High School, the Community Theater, Civic Center Park, Post Office art and the old Farm Credit Building. Following the walk, participants can view the exhibit “75th Anniversary of the WPA in Berkeley and its New Deal Context.”
For more info: 510-684-0414July 9 (Friday) 6:30 - 7:30 PM (Free) Red Hill Bookstore - 401 Cortland Ave., SF
Labor Untethered: The Mirthful Mind of Kate Kennedy
Labor and San Francisco historian David Giesen presents Kate Kennedy in words and pictures.
Equal pay for women? 1873 with Kate Kennedy. First California female member of a union? Kate Kennedy. First woman to run for California state office? Yep, Kate Kennedy. Are you sitting up now, wondering why you don’t know much at all about the woman whose precedent-setting 1890 California Supreme Court case secured civil service tenure law in the Golden State? Find out more—and even bigger—news about this truly remarkable educator whose namesake early childhood center sits at 30th and Noe. For more information visit:
http://www.henrygeorgehistoricalsociety.orgJuly 9 (Friday) 7:00 PM (Free) Kaleidoscope Gallery - 3104 24th St., SF
Working Class Voices Speak Out In The New Depression
Join poets and writers when they read and speak on the struggle of working people to survive in this desperate world. Millions of workers have lost their jobs and have no future in this brutal world. Hear their voices.
Revolutionary Poets Brigade including former SF Laureate poet Jack Hirschman along with Maketa Groves, Alejandro Murguia, Marc Kockinosj, Jessica Loos, Francisco Orrego, Dottie Payne, Neeli Cherkovski, Kristine Brown and others.
For more information: mgrovesrye@hotmail.comJuly 10 (Saturday) 10:00 AM (Free) Meet at 75 Folsom St. - Entrance of Hills Brothers Coffee Building, SF
San Francisco Waterfront Labor History Walk
With Lawrence Shoup and Peter O’Driscoll
There are many stories to be told about labor struggles in San Francisco. This story is about the maritime industry from 1835 until the burning of the blue book in 1934.
Also labor historian Larry Shoup will talk about the history of the 1901 transportation workers strike which included the Teamsters and was smashed by the San Francisco police. This strike in part led to the formation of the San Francisco Union Labor Party which in 1905 swept the election and took control of the city.
Watch slide show on this eventJuly 10 (Saturday) 11:00 AM (Free) Niebyl Proctor Library - 6501 Telegraph Ave., Oakland
The Economic Crisis and A Program To Defend Working People
By International Discussion Group
With Raj Sahi, George Wright AFT Local 1493 and others
The last thirty years there has been a decline in the real wages of US workers.
Today, workers are working more for less and their health and safety is under assault. Labor economists will discuss why there is an economic crisis in the system, who is paying for this turmoil in Capitalism and what the solutions are for working people in this growing depression and decline of the living conditions for labor.July 10 (Saturday) 11:00 AM (Free) Bernal Heights Community Center - 515 Cortland Avenue, SF
Dogs and Coyotes, Baseballs and Rabbits
Bernal Youth Theater’s historical fiction
What do you do as an eleven year old when all you want is to work enough to feed yourself and your grandma, but a land-jobber’s out to grade your family garden into a bungalow for San Francisco mayor Sunny Jim Rolph? Come find out at this year’s Bernal Youth Theater production, “Dogs and Coyotes, Baseballs and Rabbits.” Should the kids unionize, inspired by the 1901 San Francisco longshoremen’s and teamsters’ strike? Should they burn and pillage, inspired by the 1906 earthquake? What’s a working-class kid to do when the bank’s got an acquisitive hold of your mortgage note?
Bernal Youth Theater’s historical fiction is thick with true stories of San Francisco labor politics of 100 years ago. For more information visit
http://www.TheCommonsSF.orgJuly 10 (Saturday) 12:00 Noon ($15-50 sliding scale donation requested to benefit Shaping San Francisco)Meet at 1310 Mission St. - at 9th, SF
Labor Bike Tour
By Chris Carlsson
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. SF’s radical working class organizations are shaped in part by racist complicity in genocide and slavery, but from the 1870s to the 1940s there are dozens of epic battles between owners and workers, culminating in the 1934 General Strike and its aftermath. This is an entirely different look, during a four hour bike tour, at San Francisco labor history.July 10 (Saturday) 12:00-4:00 PM ($5.00 Pier entry fee - good for one year, ages 15 and under, free. Free with National Park passes.) Hyde Street Pier - at SF Maritime National Historic Park , Hyde & Jefferson St. SF
Living history: The 1901 San Francisco Waterfront Strike
Join San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park's Living History players in reenactment of the 1901 waterfront strike. From July 13 to October 2, 1901, San Francisco's waterfront was shut down by sailors, longshoremen, and teamsters striking for better pay and working conditions. Experience the sights and sounds of SF history through a reenactment. Hear impassioned speeches and voice your own opinion! Take part in a march as strikers implore ships crews to join their ranks. Watch as soldiers arrive to maintain order and see a ship's captain defy the strikers.
The strike reenactment will take place on Hyde Street Pier at 12PM, and repeated at 3PM. The Henry George presentation will be aboard the historic sailing ship Balckutha at 2PM.
For more info: call the park's Visitor Center: 415-447-5000July 10 (Saturday) 2:00 PM (Free) Expressions Art Gallery - 2035 Ashby Ave., Berkeley
Opening Reception: Art and Labor
Join the LaborFest opening of an art exhibition jointly sponsored by the Expressions Art Gallery. Bay area artists will present as well as some historical work from the 1930’s. Historian and writer Gray Brechin will make a presentation on the role of the WPA in Northern California in the 30’s and early 1940’s. WPA historian Harvey Smith will discuss the WPA artist Harry Gottlieb. One of his prints will be in the exhibition.
Music with Carol Denney and other musicians in the gardens.
http://www.expressionsgallery.orgJuly 10 (Saturday) 2:00 PM (Free) Meet at the Japantown Peace pagoda- at Buchanan near Post
Japanese and African American Worker’s Stories
Walk in San Francisco’s Nihon Machi (Japantown)
By Alan Sable (City Guide)
San Francisco’s Japantown, one of only three remaining in the United States, dates from the great earthquake and fire of 1906, when the Japanese population united west of the fire line. Uprooted by World War II, the Japanese were replaced mostly by newly arrived African-American workers, who brought their vibrant musical heritage with them. The area was one of the first to experience the dramatic changes of 1950s urban renewal programs – which continue. In recent years the area has seen a wealth of Japanese architecture next to the classic Victorians and a rebirth of African-American culture in the Fillmore Jazz Preservation District.
July 10 (Saturday) 6:00 - 8:30 PM ( ($5.00 Donation ) SEIU Local 1021 Hall - 350 Rhode Island, SF - Enter on Kansas St. between 16th & 17th St. (No one turned away for lack of funds)
THEY DON'T KNOW OUR STRUGGLE: A San Francisco Living Wage
A documentary on the fight by CalWORKs parents for a subsidized employment and job training program, the Community Jobs Program in San Francisco. The program will feature a question and answer session following the documentary. Dinner is served at 6 p.m. before the showing. Narrated by Bernardo Salazar (an intern with the San Francisco Living Wage Coalition from SF State University) and directed by David Frias. Sponsored by the San Francisco Living Wage Coalition. For more information call: 415-863-1225.July 11 (Sunday) 10:00 - 11:30 AM ( (Free ) Meet at Yerba Buena Garden - Mission between 3rd & 4th St., SF
Shellmound Walk on Native Sacred Sites
There are many Sacred Sites beneath the pavement of San Francisco, under the buildings and the grass. San Franciscans walk on Sacred Sites and burial grounds every day in the City. These Sacred Sites, called Shellmounds, still exist and are honored by the Muwekma Ohlone and other Native Americans. This 1-mile walk will visit 3 Shellmounds. Meet at the steps on the west side of Yerba Buena Garden at Mission St.
Walk led by:
.Corrina Gould (Chochenyo Ohlone), Shellmound Walk co-Founder, Indian People Organizing for Change
.Johnella Sanchez (Shoshone Bannock), Shellmound Walk co-Founder
.Perry Matlock (Anishinabe, Bad River), Shellmound Walk organizer, Local 510 Sign Display Union
For more info: 510-521-9405, alamulticultural@gmail.comJuly 11 (Sunday) 12:00 - 4:30 PM ( (Free ) Meet at Strauss Statue - in the visitors’ plaza
Golden Gate Bridge Walk
Since no large group can walk together, we will take tour in many groups throughout the time, and the last group will leave 4:30 PM
Tour lead by Mike Daly (Ironworkers 377), Linda Cahill (City Guides), plus representatives of the bridge painters and ironworkers
Although other bridges are now taller and longer than this 1930’s icon, the Golden Gate Bridge remains the most recognized structure in the world behind the Eiffel Tower. Learn why the bridge was so hard to build, how it changed the building of bridges around the world and what today’s bridge workers face as they maintain the world’s largest sculpture. This unique tour combines historical content from City Guides with a walk on the world’s most famous bridge led by its very own iron workers and painters.
You can watch slide show on this eventJuly 11 (Sunday) 2:00 PM ( (Donation for actors) Phoenix Theatre 6th floor - 414 Mason St., at Geary, SF
Workplace Hell and Good Old Days - A Collection of Plays
Plays by Edward Hernandez
Crazy bosses, workplace disasters, sexual harassment, corporate greed and backstabbing office politics.......all in a day’s work. Join us for a short-play theatre experience exploring the hell we know as the WORKPLACE !! There is rich content 24 hours a day on the insanity of our workspaces and the effects of this on our lives.
The growing catastrophes from the Massey Energy Mines to BP rigs in the Gulf shows that workers are under the gun and face not only harassment but sometimes death. This event will feature some of Bay Area’s best actors portraying the best and worst of our workplaces and workplace experiences.
Seating is limited, so please come early to secure your seat.
July 11 (Sunday) 5:00 PM (Free ) City Lights Bookstore - 261 Columbus at Broadway, SF
California Working Class Divas
City Lights Poetry Reading
With Julia Stein - Nancy Keane - Geri Digiorno - Michelle Baynes, MC Alice Rogoff
These four poets have extraordinarily contributed to writing, organizing literary events, and to working class culture. Julia Stein is an anti-sweatshop activist and with her group Common Threads won a libel/slander suit against Guess Jeans for a poetry reading she organized. She teaches at Santa Monica College. Her latest book, Walker Woman, has many poems about fighting cutbacks in a South-Central Los Angeles junior college. Nancy Keane started and has facilitated the 3300 Club poetry reading series in San Francisco’s Mission District. Her books include Symmetrical Reflections (3300 Press), and And Then There Were Nine (volume two), being released 2010. Geri Digiorno is the founder and director of the Petaluma Poetry Walk, going into its fifteenth year. She was Poet Laureate of Sonoma County 2006-2007. Her books include White Lipstick (Red Hen Press) and Rosetta Mary (dPress). She also teaches poetry at homeless shelters and at a shelter for battered women.
Michelle Baynes had her first book published in 2008 (New Way Media) called Homeless in Petaluma based on the thirteen years she worked with the homeless. Her favorite job was street outreach. She is currently working on another book, Off the Street, with poetry, stories, artwork, and pictures by the homeless, as well as a new book of her own work.July 12 (Monday) 9:00 AM (Free ) SFPUC Headquarters - 1155 Market Street, SF
SF Water Project -What It Is and How Does It Work
(This event is completely full, sorry no more reservations.)
Join us for a FREE tour of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) Peninsula projects. The tour will highlight the Crystal Springs/ San Andreas Transmission System Project, Baylands Revegetation Project and Pulgas Temple Balancing Project. Featured on the tour will be a presentation on the labor force efforts of these projects.
(Lunch will be provided)
Tour Schedule
9:00 AM Departure from SFPUC Headquarters - 1155 Market Street, SF
9:30 AM – 10:15 AM Tour of Crystal Springs Reservoir
10:40 AM – 11:20 AM Tour of Baylands
11:50 AM – 12:30 PM Lunch
12:35 PM – 1:25 PM Tour of Pulgas Temple
2:00 PM Arrival back to SFPUC Headquarters
Sign up now. To make a reservation for this tour, please contact SFPUC Labor Relations and Community Programs Division at 415-554-1530
or e-mail: contractorshelp@sfwater.org
(This event is completely full, sorry no more reservations.)July 12 (Monday) 1:00 PM (Free ) Portsmouth Square - Washington Street side near the elevator at Kearny
Chinatown Walk
Chinese labor, discrimination by government and unions, sweat shops, housing
By Ernie Ng (City Guide)
Walk through unique hidden alleyways to hear the history of America’s largest and oldest Chinese community. Learn how immigrant labor struggled for fair treatment while mining gold, building railroads and working in the building trades. Led by City Guide Ernie Ng, a San Francisco Chinatown native.July 13 (Tuesday) 7:00 PM(Free ) Farley’s - 1315 18th St., near Texas, SF
Labor Storytelling in The New Depression
Expendable people: Catching up with the needs of humanity. The LaborFest Writers’ Group featuring Keith David Cooley, Susan Ford, Nellie Wong, Phyllis Holliday, Jerry Path, Alice Rogoff along with musicians featuring Margaret Cooley, Mary Huber and Eric Shackelford plus guests present a dialogue of spoken word and music exploring today’s work force. Open mic to follow with your labor stories, poetry, music and songs.
For more information: Susan Ford 415-407-4297
E-mail: suford@earthlink.netJuly 13 (Tuesday) 7:00 PM (Free ) 522 Valencia - Near 16th St., SF
Labor and Privatization in San Francisco
A Panel Discussion
A panel with Gray Brechin UCB, Jane Glasby SEIU 1021, Mary Ann Ring UCSF, Peter Warfield Library Users Association and others. Rose Aguilar, Host Your Call Radio KALW will moderate.
The fiscal and economic crisis is now being used as a pretext to privatize public resources and the public commons. It will also look at the effort of the privateers to pit public workers at those who use public services in the drive to privatize.
This forum will discuss the drive for privatization and outsourcing of public resources of the Federal government, state and local government agencies from UCSF and San Francisco State to City services and the San Francisco Community Access station.July 14 (Wednesday) 5:30 - 8:00 PM (Free ) IUOE Local 3 Headquarters - 1620 South Loop Road, Alameda
Breaking Ground: The History of Operating Engineers Local 3
Celebrate 70 years of history at Operating Engineers Local 3
Get a behind the scenes look under the covers of Breaking Ground: The History of Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3.
This full-color book presents a decade-by-decade look at the extraordinary 70-year journey of the largest construction union in the United States. It chronicles the major milestones and challenges of labor, beginning before the start of World War II, and includes national, state, local and internal politics that helped propel this union from less than 1,000 members to the nearly 40,000 members it has today.
(Books will be available for purchase at day of event)
http://www.oe3.org/July 15 (Thursday) 3:00 PM (Free ) Hayes Valley Farm - Entrance on Laguna between Oak & Fell, SF
Hayes Valley Farm Tour
Located in the center of San Francisco, Hayes Valley Farm, is an education and research project with a focus on urban agriculture.
Situated on city-owned lots bordered by Oak, Fell, Laguna, and Octavia streets, the project is organized by an alliance of urban farmers, educators, and designers that comprise the Hayes Valley Farm Project Team. Tours of the farm are held every Thursday and Sunday to highlight the innovative strategies used on the farm in order to meet the needs of our planet and the surrounding communities of San Francisco.July 15 (Thursday) 7:00 PM (Free ) Berkeley City College Auditorium -2050 Center Street, Berkeley
75th Anniversary of Social Security
In a panel discussion with Q & A following speakers will address the history of Social Security and the role of the first woman cabinet member, Frances Perkins, in pushing for it; the threat to privatize and dismantle Social Security; and the struggle to repeal the GPO/WEP provisions.
Harvey Smith, WPA historian
Jodi Reid, Executive Director of the California Alliance for Retired Americans
This event is co-sponsored by the Berkeley City College Social Science Department.July 16 (Friday) 7:30 PM ($10 Donation) Art House Gallery and Cultural Center - 2905 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley
Irish Troubadour and Story Teller
LaborFest and the Art House Gallery and Cultural Center presents in honor of the Irish working people here and around the world
Join Cork musician Máirtín de Cógáin and his band when they perform music from Ireland. Máirtín de Cógáin also performed in Ken Loach’s The Wind Shakes The Barley.July 16 (Friday) Sundance Kabuki Theatre - 1881 Post & Filmore, SF For more info on showtime & ticket
Oliver Stone’s new documentary
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
View Trailer
Synopsis: There’s a revolution underway in South America , but most of the world doesn’t know it. Oliver Stone sets out on a road trip across five countries to explore the social and political movements as well as the mainstream media’s misperception of South America while interviewing seven of its elected presidents. In casual conversations with Presidents Hugo Chávez (Venezuela), Evo Morales (Bolivia), Lula da Silva (Brazil), Cristina Kirchner (Argentina), as well as her husband and ex-President Nestor Kirchner, Fernando Lugo ( Paraguay ), Rafael Correa ( Ecuador ), and Raúl Castro ( Cuba ), Stone gains unprecedented access and sheds new light upon the exciting transformations in the region.July 16 (Friday) 7:30 PM (2:00 PM for 7/18, 7/25)
Tickets-$22, $17 (senior 65 and over), $12 (youth 22 and under)
Julia Morgan Center for Performing Arts - 2640 College Avenue, Berkeley
The Mothers of Ludlow
Opening of Musical Drama Performance by Youth Musical Theater Company
Show through July 16,17, 18, 23, 24, 25
Music by Paul Boesing
Book and Lyrics by Martha Boesing
Directed by Jennifer Boesing
Music Direction by Dave Möschler
This summer for the first time, YMTC is mounting a world premiere, The Mothers of Ludlow. This poignant and beautiful musical drama brings to life the events leading up to the massacre of the striking coal miners and their families at Ludlow, Colorado in 1914. This massacre captured the attention of some of the 20th century’s most influential left-leaning thinkers, inspiring a novel by Upton Sinclair, thesis by Howard Zinn and George McGovern, and a tragic lament by Woody Guthrie. Written by renowned composer and playwright team, Paul and Martha Boesing, The Mothers of Ludlow is a story of desperate times, racial tension, courage and love, and promises to be unlike any other theater experience offered to Bay Area audiences this summer.On Sunday July 18th, YMTC will also be holding a post-matinee forum at the Julia Morgan Theater. Two labor historians who are experts on the subject of the Ludlow strike and massacre will lead an open discussion between the audience and the writers, directors, and members of the cast.
www.ymtcberkeley.org
Tickets - through Brown Paper Tickets 1-800-838-3006 or www.brownpapertickets.com/event/111930
Review - SF ChronicleJuly 17 (Saturday) 10:00 AM ($15) Meet at front of Bill Graham Auditorium - 99 Grove St., SF
WPA Bus Tour
With Gray Brechin & Harvey Smith
Join Gray Brechin and Harvey Smith as they travel through history on a bus tour of historic sites built by unionized labor. You will learn about the major contribution workers made during the depression era of the New Deal program. They will discuss 75 years of the WPA. Please be aware that the tour will take about 5 hours depending on the traffic and the discussions.
Meet at front of Bill Graham Auditorium, between the City Hall and the Main Library.
Reservation required: Call (415) 642-8066 or by e-mail: laborfest@laborfest.net and leave your name, # of reservations and phone number to get back to you in case of any changes. Make reservation, then send check to:LaborFest, P.O. Box 40983, SF, CA 94140
(Sandwiches and drinks will be available on the bus with small fee.) Bus will return to Civic Center.
Tour lasts about 5 hours.July 17 (Saturday) 10:00 - Noon(Free) Mare Island - (Direction will be given once you make a reservation)
Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial Dedication
You are invited to a commemoration and dedication at Port Chicago Naval
Magazine National Memorial in Concord, California.
On that date, we will be remembering events around the 66th anniversary of
the explosion at Port Chicago and dedicating the memorial as the newest
unit of the National Park System, established on October 28, 2009. Park
Ranger Shelton Johnson from Yosemite National Park, who was featured in the recent Ken Burns series, The National Parks, will be the keynote speaker.During World War II, 320 military and civilian men gave their lives in
service to our nation when the munitions ships they were loading exploded.
On the anniversary of that event, we take the opportunity to honor all
those who served their country, share memories, honor stories of struggle,
and note lessons learned. As we commemorate the tremendous loss of life in
the largest home front disaster of World War II, we will also be
celebrating the richness and diversity of our nation's history as preserved
by the National Park Service.Due to limited seating, and U.S. Army regulations, reservations are
required for this event. Please email (poch_general_info@nps.gov) or phone
(510-232-5050), and provide the following information:
1. First and last name of each individual attending
2. Email of primary contact person
3. Mailing address for primary contact person
4. Phone number for primary contact personWhen your reservation is confirmed, you will be sent information and
directions to the event. All attendees will board shuttle buses between
9:00 and 9:30 a.m. to reach the Memorial site, which is within the U.S.
Army’s Military Ocean Terminal Concord. The program will begin at 10:00
a.m. and conclude about noon. Buses will return participants to the parking
area around 12:30 p.m.MORE INFORMATION about Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial: www.nps.gov/poch
For bus tour information, please visit the website or phone: 925-228-8860.July 17 (Saturday) 10:30 AM (Free) Meet at Harry Bridges Plaza - Front of Ferry Building, SF
San Francisco General Strike Walk
Join a walk with historian Luis Prisco, ILWU Local 10 longshoreman Jack Heyman and others. This walk and history talk will look at the causes of the ‘34 General Strike and why it was successful. How was the strike organized and why are the issues in that strike still relevant to working people today? Also you will walk by the key historical sites in this important US labor struggle. Bring your lunch with you.
Be prepared for a long walk.
Please sign-up for this tour by calling Louis Prisco at 415-841-1254,
or e-mail: penguinflow@hotmail.com
July 17 (Saturday) 1:00 PM (Free) ILWU Local 34 - 801 2nd St. National Educational Conference on
Biotech, Health and Safety, Labor And The Public
The first national conference on the issue of biotechnology, Nanotechnology, health and safety and the public will take place in San Francisco.
The growing dangers of the development of the biotech industry without proper oversight and regulation is a threat to workers in the industry and the public at large. This conference will outline some of the systemic problems in the protection of workers and the communities with no regulations and standards. It will also outline policies and procedures to protect biotech workers and the public as well as how these can be taken forward.
(Parking is available)Initial Speakers:
Becky McClain - injured molecular biologist and injured Pfizer biotech worker www.cpab.info
Dr. Larry Rose, CA-OSHA Retired Doctor from CA-OSHA Program
Sandy Trend, Mother of Injured Agraquest biotech worker David Bell www.biotechawareness.com
Daniel Berman, Author of “Death On The Job”
Sponsored by California Coalition For Workers Memorial Day (CCWMD) (415) 867-0628 www.workersmemorialday.org
Endorsed by Council for Responsible Genetics
www.councilforresponsiblegenetics.orgJuly 17 (Saturday) 8:00 PM (Free) 885 Clayton St - at Carl St., SF
Song and Poetry Swap
For 28 years, the Freedom Song Network has been helping keep alive the spirit of labor and political song in the Bay Area, on picket lines, at rallies, on concert stages and at song swaps. Bring songs or poems to share. Everyone is welcome, regardless of musical ability or training.
For info: (415) 648-3457July 18 (Sunday) 1:00 PM (Free) ILWU Local 10 Henry Schmidt Room - 400 North Point St., SF
10th Anniversary Charleston Five Struggle
With ILA 1422 Leader
Screening of Free The Charleston Five
In 2000, ILA 1422 in Charleston, South Carolina was faced with a major attack. This Black majority local was a target by the state government in part because of their activism including seeking to remove the Confederate flag from the State Capitol. The Nordana shipping line sought to go non-union and the state attorney general organized to bust up the local to stop picketing by mobilizing over 600 police, horses, armored vehicles and helicopters. The police arrested and charged five members who came to be known as the Charleston Five. The struggle was won with international solidarity action and organized support around the country. This event will commemorate the important lessons for today and will also include a ILWU Local 30 miner from the Rio Tinto mine in Boron, California. The miners were locked out by global Rio Tinto for several months.
Following the report on the Charleston ILA 1444 struggle, there will be a celebration of the victory of the first-ever successful U.S. labor protest against the Israeli repression of Palestinians. The dock demonstration demanded justice in the deadly IDF attack on the Gaza aid flotilla, an end to the blockade of Gaza and and dismantlng the apartheid wall in the West Bank. A short video of the picket will also be shown.
Sponsored by ILWU Local 10July 18 (Sunday) 6:00 PM ($40) Pier 41 left of Pier 39 near outside ticket booth - Fisherman’s Wharf, SF
Building Bridges and Labor Maritime History
Boat Tour
Sorry, tickets all sold out
5:45 PM Boarding, 6:00 PM Departure
Boat leaves promptly at 6:00 PM
Tour lasts 3 hours
A complimentary meal will be provided, however, if you are on a special diet please bring your own food.
Join us for this evening cruise on labor history and a close up look at the massive construction project of the eastern span of the San Francisco Bay Bridge. The skills of the ironworkers, operators, carpenters, laborers, electricians and maritime workers who are building this monument are creating a vital link and beautiful artifact of the Bay Area.
Labor historians, photographers and building trades workers will talk about labor history and the construction of the new East Bay Span of the San Francisco Bay Bridge. Gray Brechin, Mike Daly, Joseph Blum, Harvey Schwartz and others will present along with labor musicians including the Cork musician Máirtín de Cógáin and his band, and Carol Denney and friends.
To make your reservation:
By E-mail: laborfest@laborfest.net or call: (415) 642-8066, and leave your name, phone number and number of people in your party.
We will contact you back to confirm your reservation. Then, you should mail a check ($40/person) to LaborFest, P.O.Box 40983, San Francisco, CA 94140.
We don’t send you tickets, but we will either e-mail or call you back to let you know that we received your check, and as soon as we receive your check, your reservation will be confirmed. You will get your ticket at the pier before you get on the boat.
Please be there at least 30 minutes before the departure time in order to go through paper work.
*VIDEO-Máirtín de Cógáin Project Sings Labor Song At 2010 LaborFest Boat Ride
*Slide show l
*New Bay Bridge span dazzles as it takes shape - SF Chronicle article by John KingJuly 18 (Sunday) 3:00 PM(Free) Modern Times Bookstore - 888 Valencia St. near 20th St., SF
"Stop calling it a Nation of Immigrants!"
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz will read her essay, "Stop calling it a 'Nation of Immigrants!" and discuss the erroneous perception of the Mexican border as a question of immigration, rather than settler colonialism dating to its establishment through a US war against Mexico, seizing half its territory.July 19 (Monday) 1:00 PM (Free) Meet at benches in park at foot of Larkin St - Aquatic Park, SF
Fisherman’s Wharf Walk
Canneries, women’s pay issues, maritime unions by Randy Bradner (City Guide)
Get beyond the tourist trinkets to see a side of Fisherman’s Wharf seldom seen by tourists. Learn about the canning industries, the struggles of maritime & shipping unions and how San Francisco’s Italian fisherman built their community. All within sight of historic ships and a postcard landscape of land and sea.
SF Weekly - By Michael LeavertonJuly 19 (Monday) 7:00 PM (Free) 522 Valencia St. - Near 16th, SF
Forum - The European Struggle To Defend Public Education and Against Social Cuts
The event above was replaced by the following event due to family illness
Report On European International Labor Solidarity From Belgium
Due to a family illness Karl Fischbacker and Imi Voglmayr will not be able to attend. However Isabell Wagemans from Belgium who worked with www.fos-socsol.be will make a presentation on international labor solidarity work in Belgium supporting Latin-American, Palestinian and Southern African labor unions and NGOs. Wagemans has organized exchanges with Belgian and Latin-American labor unions and developed work shops on globalization.Originally meant as a project to protect and build peace and stability, today the European Union and the countries in it, use privatization, deregulations and cuts in public spending as instruments to fight the crisis, as true neoliberal partisans. Also in its foreign policy, the EU tries to push its services and products in developing markets, forcing other countries to give up regulations. European labor unions are fighting back. Some interesting cases are the automotive industry experience in Europe (Volkswagen, Opel)) or the (former) textile industry. In Belgium, labor unions and NGO's are currently tying efforts in a nationwide 2 year campaign "Workers are not tools" - part of the ITUC campaign 'Decent Work, Decent Life'.
July 19 (Monday) 7:00 PM (Free)Modern Times Bookstore - 888 Valencia St near 20th, SF
The Sandinista Revolution and San Francisco
Alejandro Murguia, co-founder of the Mission Cultural Center in 1977, is a poet and writer who committed the ultimate act of solidarity in joining and fighting in the international guerrilla of the Southern Front of the Sandinista National Liberation Front. He wrote the story in his novel, Southern Front, which he will read from, as well as some of his poetry, and talk about politics and culture, the legacy of the Sandinista revolution, which marks its 21st anniversary on this day.
Watch slide show of this event.July 20 (Tuesday) 6:30 PM (Free) ILWU Local 10 Henry Schmidt Room - 400 North Point St., SF
Screening of Bloody Thursday on the 1934 San Francisco General Strike
The 1934 San Francisco longshore strike which launched a general strike as a result of the murder of two workers Nicolas Bordoise a striking seaman and Howard Sperry a strike supporter in San Francisco and 4 other workers up and down the West Coast. This forum will screen the film and follow it up with a discussion on the lessons of this strike for today.
http://www.koce.org/video/bloodyThurs.movJuly 20 (Tuesday) 7:00 PM (Free) Modern Times Bookstore - 888 Valencia St near 20th, SF
Anarchism and Its Aspirations
Cindy Milstein (www.anarchist-studies.org) will discuss her new book, Anarchism and Its Aspirations. Anarchism has played an important role in U.S. labor movements and has experienced new life in the past two decades. Cindy is an activist and educator from Vermont who now lives in San Francisco. She serves on the board of the Institute for Anarchist Studies, co-organizes the Renewing the Anarchist Tradition conference, and is a collective member at Black Sheep Books. Her essays have appeared in several anthologies, including Realizing the Impossible, Confronting Capitalism, and Globalize LiberationX.July 21 (Wednesday) 10:00 AM (Free) Meet on the corner of Clay and Montgomery
“Working Women” in the Early Days of San Francisco
By Harlan Hirschfeld (City Guide)
Sodom & Gomorrah, that was San Francisco from 1848 to 1906. Sex, drugs and rock and roll was a way of life. Join us on a 90 minutes walk through the early years of “Baghdad by the Bay” with a special emphasis on the working woman.
July 21 (Wednesday) 6:00 PM (Free) San Francisco Main Public Library - 100 Larkin St., SF
Please note - The time has changed from 7:00 to 6:00 PM
Angel Island: The Shanghai Connection
Book Reading
Judy Yung, author of Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America, explains the significant connection between Angel Island and Shanghai, from the Russian Revolution through World War II. Presented by San Francisco Public Library and the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation.
http://www.shanghaicelebration.com/july.htmJuly 22 (Thursday) 7:00 PM (Free) 522 Valencia - near 16th St., SF
30th Anniversary of 1980 Hotel Strike
With Video by Mary Ellen Churchill and panel of participants of 1980 hotel strile.
The 1980 San Francisco hotel workers strike was the most important hotel workers strike since the 1946 strike. This year when 9,000 San Francisco hotel workers are battling for a contract, the lessons of the 1980 strike are important for the struggle today.
Sponsored by Labor Video Project (415) 282-1908
Union City SF HERE Local 2 Organizing, Strikes and Struggles 1978-1980 Click here to watch this video
UNION CITY The San Francisco Hotel Strike of 1980
Click here to watch this video
http://foundsf.org/index.php?title=Local_2_and_the_Alliance_of_Rank_and_File
HERE Local 2 and ARF Supporters at Commemoration of 30th Anniversary of SF Hotel StrikeJuly 22 (Thursday) 4:00 PM Local 2 Plaza - Market & 4th St., SF
Big Historic March & Rally
On July 22, UNITE HERE! Local 2 and our supporters will join locals from 13 cities nationwide and in Canada in a historic coordinated protest to fight for dignity and respect for nearly 50,000 hotel workers. Some are engaged in contract campaigns and others are organizing non-union hotels.
For more infoJuly 22 (Thursday) 7:00 PM (Free) Berkeley City College Auditorium - 2050 Center Street, Berkeley
Another World Was Possible:
New Deal Expansion of Public Education During the Great Depression, and Its Contraction Now
In a PowerPoint presentation, Dr. Gray Brechin will chart the history of the New Deal’s support for public education, including the construction of schools and libraries for K-University institutions throughout the U.S. This Depression-era support for education will be contrasted with the current attacks on public education.
This event is co-sponsored by the Berkeley City College Social
Science Department.July 22 (Thursday) 7:00 PM (Free)Modern Times Bookstore - 888 Valencia St near 20th, SF
Down with Stereotypes! Conversations with Waitresses and Native Americans
Alison Owings (www.alisonowings.com), author of Hey, Waitress! The USA from the Other Side of the Tray and the forthcoming Indian Voices / Listening to Native Americans, will read excerpts from both works. This evening will feature the tale of Beulah Compton, a waitress union leader in Seattle in the 1940's and 1950's, and Tom Phillips (Kiowa), a powwow emcee who also works as a drug counselor at the Friendship House American Indian Healing Center -- just blocks away from Modern Times.
Slide showLaborFest discounted copies of Hey, Waitress! will be available for purchase.
July 23 (Friday) 7:00 PM (Free) 522 Valencia near 16th St., SF
The Founding of The UAW And The Lessons of The 1930’s Strike Wave For Today
Screening of the 1939 GM Tool and Die Strike (28 min. 1939)
With Bernie Choden and others
In 1935 the UAW was founded and the following year, massive worker occupations and striker were taking place in the auto industry. The film shows how the UAW organized to win their struggle at General Motors including flying picket squads, strike kitchens and an army organized to win. This was in the midst of the depression and the lessons of how these struggles were organized and overcame the most powerful titans in the world is critical today.July 24 (Saturday) 9:30 AM (Free) Meet at Coit Tower entrance, SF
Coit Tower Mural Walk
With Gray Brechin, Harvey Smith, Peter Driscoll
Seventy-five years ago this month artists who were working with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) were working on the Coit Tower murals. These political artists were very much influenced by the general strike, and this is reflected in these historic murals.
A media hysteria was also whipped up against the art and the artists in an effort to censor them. Fortunately this failed and the murals remain a testament to the people of San Francisco and the labor movement.July 24 (Saturday) 1:00 PM (Free) Meet at 16th St. & Capp- Redstone Building - near 16th BART station
Redstone Labor and Culture Walk
With Louis Prisco
Two buildings near each other: the Redstone Labor Temple was HQ of the 1934 general strike and the National Guard Armory was an anti-strike center. Murals in the Redstone lobby tell us much about San Francisco labor history; a walk through the diverse and culturally vibrant neighborhood outside will consider art, ethnic history and the class struggle. Please sign-up for this toour by calling Louis Prisco at 415-841-1254, or e-mail: penguinflow@hotmail.com
Slide showJuly 24 (Saturday) 1:00 - 6:00 PM (Free) Precita Park - near Folsom & Cesar Chavez
Urban Youth Arts Festival
by Precita Eyes Muralists
Youth and families are invited to come for the afternoon and be a part of a positive and creative expression with San Francisco/ Bay Area artists at the fourteenth annual Urban Youth Arts Festival in Precita Park, San Francisco. Participate in traditional as well as aerosol painting and other hands on community art activities. All are welcome to spend the day enjoying mural performances, music, breakdancing and refreshments.
This event is sponsored by Precita Eyes Muralists, a San Francisco based community mural arts non-profit organization.
For more information contact Eli Lippert at (415) 285-2287 urbanyoutharts@gmail.comJuly 24 (Saturday) 7:00 PM ( ($5.00-Nobody turned away for lack of funds ) ILWU 34 Hall - 801 2nd St., SF - Right next to the AT&T ball park
Can’t Stand That Outsourcing:
The Bay Area Rockin’ Solidarity Labor Chorus
Founded in 1999, The Bay Area Rockin’ Solidarity Labor Chorus performs songs from the deep-rooted and vibrant traditions that sustain the labor movement. This year, the Chorus celebrated May Day in Colorado, as guests of the Rocky Mountain Peace & Justice Center, with five gigs in three days. At LaborFest, the Chorus will be presenting its new program, Can’t Stand That Outsourcing, which takes on the history of globalization and the grassrootsstruggle against it.
For more info: (415) 648-3457, wynnegilbert@igc.org.
El Coro Jornalero is made up of workers from both the San Francisco Day Labor Program and the Women’s Collective (La Colectiva de Mujeres). Our songs reflect the day-to-day life, historical presence, and variety of origins of the Latino community, as expressed in folk, historical, and popular music. At the presentation, we will include a short intro to each song explaining its social context. We look forward to incorporating children in the Coro in the near future. Contact person: Leticia Pavon (Lpavon@aol.com).
El Coro Jornalero se compone de trabajadores de el Centro Jornalero de San Francisco y de la Colectiva de Mujeres. Nuestras canciones reflejan la vida diaria, la presencia historica, y la variedad internacional de la comunidad Latina, expresada en su musica folclorica, historica, y popular. En la presentacion, antes de cada cancion, compartiremos una pequena introduccion acerca de la historia de cada cancion. Esperamos pronto incorporar a los ninos al Coro. Para mayor informacion: Leticia Pavon (Lpavon@aol.com).July 25 (Sunday) 9:30 - 5:00 PM (Free)Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts - 2868 Mission St., SF
LaborFest BookFair
3rd Annual LaborFest BookFair & Poetry Reading
(Click here for the schedule)July 25 (Sunday) 2:00 PM (Ticket $10, Seniors/Students $8 ) Delancey St. Theater - 600 Embarcadero, SF
Abraham Lincoln Brigade Screening
The Good Fight (1984, 90 min.)
Henri Cartier-Bresson’s footage: With the Lincoln Battalion in Spain (1937, 18 min)
The classic documentary on the Abraham Lincoln Brigade—US volunteers who defended the Spanish Republic against fascism (1936-39)—that first premiered at the Surf Theater in San Francisco in 1984 and contains moving interviews with beloved local heroes; Bill Bailey (ILWU, NMU), Ruth Davidow, Evelyn Hutchins, Abe Osheroff, and Milt Wolff. Paired with recently discovered archival footage in the trenches and behind the scenes in Spain by famed photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson. Seen together, the two films are an intimate portrait of young labor activists and progressives—both in the midst of battle and as they reflect on their past—as well as some of the most significant events of the 1930s.
Purchase Tickets online at ALBA's New York Charities website. Or purchase tickets at the door.
Sponsored by The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA) & LaborFest
For Information Contact: 650-591-3623 or 415-461-3592July 25 (Sunday) 7:00 PM ($10) Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts- 2868 Mission St. at 25th, SF
Folk This! Presents:
Your Tax Dollars at Play
This event was cancelled due to illness.
July 26 (Monday) 6:00 PM (Free) Plumbers’ Hall - 1621 Market St. at Franklin St., SF
Labor Jeopardy Contest
With Edward Hernandez Professor CSU-CFA Stanislaus.
Who founded the American Federation of Labor? What year was the National Labor Relations Act passed? Come join us in the second LaborFest Jeopardy contest. Using a jeopardy format, labor organizations from throughout the Bay Area will compete for prizes and pride while answering questions covering all areas of labor history and practice. Come cheer on your favorite team and learn something new in this fun and friendly contest.
Stanislaus playwright and CSUS-CFA Professor Edward Hernandez will be the master of ceremonies.
Labor Jeopardy study guide - web
Study guide in PDF (51 pages)
Special event before the Jeopardy:
SF Mime Troupe will also be performing some songs
The San Francisco Mime Troupe who are members of Actor Equity will be performing some of their songs from their new musical POSIBILIDAD, or Death of the Worker approximately at 6:30 PM.
“Posibilidad, or Death of the Worker,” the San Francisco Mime Troupe’s timely modern “tale of two factories, telenovelas and tango,” currently touring Bay Area parks, brings the effects of globalization on the world’s work force into sharp, satirical focus. The Mime Troupe – a worker-run Collective - does not perform silent pantomime, but instead parodies, or “mimics” society through story and song. “Posibilidad” cast members Michael Gene Sullivan, Velina Brown, Lisa Hori-Garcia, and Brian Rivera, joined by Musical Director Pat Moran, will perform a few songs from the show.
Synopsis of Posibilidad, or Death of the Worker
Anywhere, USA: another U.S. factory is closing its doors, and on the final day of work, one tired employee sits down on the job. “Oh no, a worker sit-in, an occupation!” thinks the hapless Boss. Actually, the tired employee’s just gone into labor – no pun intended – but before anyone can stop to think twice, the work force IS occupying the factory. Will these accidental organizers make the most of their plight? Can they successfully save their jobs without being tainted by – shudder – politics? And what can they learn from Mexican telenovelas and the workers of Argentina? Stay tuned to see what is . . . possible!
http://www.sfmt.org/index.php
This will be followed by the annual SF contest "Labor Jeopardy" arranged by CFA professor Edward Martinez.July 27 (Tuesday) 7:00 PM (Free) Redstone Building - 2926 16th St., SF
The History And Legacy of Local 4 Painter’s Leader Dow Wilson
With Retired Painters Local 4 BA Roland Sheppard, Painter Doug Bias and others.
Dow Wilson was a militant democratic union leader of the Painter Union Local 4 that played an important role in organizing and integrating the trades. He led his union in a stoppage on the Golden Gate Bridge until the Bridge District hired Black painters and ended the discrimination. He also fought the contractors and for democracy in his local. He was assassinated by painting contractors but his accomplishments remain. He is also memorialized in a mural at the Redstone Building. This panel will look at his role and the struggle today.
Herman Benson's article on Dow Wilson & the painters union
A Tribute To Dow Wilson-Part1(mp3)
A Tribute To Dow Wilson-Part2(mp3)July 28 (Wednesday) 7:00 PM (Free) International Hotel - 868 Kearny St. at Jackson St., SF
The Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the UFW
The Delano Manongs tells the unknown history of a group of Filipino farmworkers in Delano, California who toiled under the yoke of racism for decades, then rose up in their twilight years to fight for fair wages and ethical work conditions.
The Manongs (A Manong is a Filipino term of respect for an older man) instigated one of the American labor movement’s finest hours – the Great Grape Strike of 1965 that brought about the creation of the United Farm Workers Union (UFW) and a successful joining of the Filipino and Chicano (Mexican-American) labor groups.
This program will show the 10 min. trailer. There will also be a discussion with the film’s director Marissa Aroy and panelists Dr. Dawn Mabalon of SFSU and Dr. Estella Habal of SJSU.
Sponsered by Manilatown Heritage Foundation
For more info: 415-777-1130
http://www.manilatown.org/July 29 (Thursday) 5:30 - 7:00 PM (Free) IFPTE Local 21 Hall - 1182 Market, Room 318, SF
Panel: Bay Area Economic Stimulus Programs:
Accomplishments and Issues from a Labor Perspective
It’s 75 years since the W.P.A programs, but only a year and half since enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The intent of this act is to preserve and create jobs, invest in infrastructure, promote energy efficiency and to assist the unemployed. How has it worked? Featuring panelists Paul Bowers, Corps of Engineers, IFPTE Local 49, Cal Broomhead, Energy and Climate Programs Manager, San Francisco Department of the Environment, IFPTE Local 21, and Karl Kramer, San Francisco Living Wage Coalition.July 29 (Thursday) 7:00 PM (Free) Richmond Main Public Library - 325 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond
Privatization From The Richmond Charter Schools to The
Vivendi/Veolia Water Treatment Plant
With Charles Smith AFSCME 444, Mary Flanagan UTR, Diane Brown, president elect of United Teachers of Richmond UTR
Richmond is ground central in the drive to privatize public services from the Richmond sewage treatment system to the growing number of charter schools threatening public education. This educational forum will look at the impact of privatization of public services in Richmond and what the unions are doing to fight it.July 29 (Thursday) 7:00 PM (Free) Berkeley City College Auditorium - 2050 Center Street, Berkeley
WPA Film Festival
This film festival will present works produced by the Works Progress Administration and will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the WPA which was launched on April 8, 1935. The films include many newly-struck prints that highlight WPA projects and the spirit of the New Deal and are drawn from the motion picture holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration.
This event is co-sponsored by the Berkeley City College Social Science Department. For more info: call 510-684-0414July 30 (Friday) 7:00 PM ( $10 - no one turned away for lack of money ) Redstone Building - 2940 16th St., SF
Hotel Voices (Theatre Performance)
Theatre and performance project from Single Room Occupancy Hotel residents by Poor Magazine.
Hotel Voices is a project of POOR Magazine - A poor people led/ Indigenous people led art organization dedicated to revolutionary media access, education and art.
After a free 20 week writing, performance and scriptdevelopment workshop with writers Tony Robles and Tiny aka Lisa Gray Garcia in collaboration with actor and director from Bindlestiff Studio, Allan Manalo, tenants in Single Room Occupancy Hotels have created a powerful, gripping play and will perform it as an ensemble cast.
For more info: (415) 863-6306July 31 (Saturday) 10:30 AM (Free) Meet at the fountain in Latham Square - Telegraph and Broadway
Oakland 1946 General Strike Walk
With Gifford Hartman of the Flying Picket Historical Society. This walk will revisit the sites of Oakland’s “Work Holiday” that began spontaneously with rank-and-file solidarity with the striking - mostly women - retail clerks at Kahn’s and Hastings department store whose picket line was being broken by police scab herding. Within 24 hours, it involved over 100,000 workers and shut down nearly all commerce in the East Bay for 54 hours. In 1946 there were six general strikes across the U.S.; that year set the all-time record year for strikes and work stoppages. The Oakland “Work Holiday” was the last general strike to ever occur in the U.S. and the walk and history talk will attempt to keep alive the memory of this tradition of community-wide working class solidarity.
Sponsored by Laney College Labor Studies (510-464-3210) and the Flying Picket Historical Society (SFBay@FlyingPicket.org).
Meet at the fountain in Latham Square, in the intersection where Telegraph and Broadway converge across from the Rotunda Building (Oakland City Center/12th St. BART).July 31 (Saturday) 11:00 AM (Free) Meet at the corner of 8th St. and Railroad Ave. Mare Island
Mare Island Naval Shipyard: Laboring for the Navy
TOUR:
Founded in 1854 as the first U.S. Naval installation in the Pacific, Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo was the Navy’s largest civilian shipyard, employing at its peak of production during WWII more than 40,000 workers, including women–Rosie the Riveters, as they became known. Learn about some of the labor issues that influenced work life at the shipyard and walk through the central shipyard with some of the workers who built and repaired Navy vessels up until the base closure in 1996. Bring your own lunch to enjoy at the picnic grounds next to the Naval Cemetery in the Mare Island Shoreline Heritage Preserve, followed by the afternoon tour. Drinks will be provided. E-mail or call for a ride from the Vallejo Ferry terminal. The Ferry terminal can be reached by BARTLink bus from the Del Norte BART station or by ferry from the San Francisco Ferry Building. Hosted by Mare Island Heritage Trust. For information call 707-249-9633 or e-mail myrnahay@pacbell.net
Visit: www.mareislandpreserve.orgJuly 31 (Saturday) 2:00 - 3:30 PM (Free) Shoreline Heritage Preserve Visitors Center - Mare Island
Mare Island Naval Ammunition Depot: A “Mutiny” that Changed History
TOUR:
On August 9, 1944, 3 weeks after the Port Chicago Explosion that resulted in the greatest loss of life on home soil during WWII, 258 African American sailors took a stand that changed history, yet few people know where their “work stoppage” viewed as a way to bargain for better and safer working conditions, took place. Visit Mare Island Naval Ammunition Depot in Vallejo where the men were ordered to return to loading munitions. Their refusal to return to work resulted in the Navy’s court-martial and imprisonment of 50 men. Due to advocacy by then NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall and even Eleanor Roosevelt, the Navy became the first of America’s armed services to desegregate. Join retired ILWU member Jeff Bonneville and Mare Island Shoreline Heritage Preserve manager Myrna Hayes in a narrated walking and driving tour. Hosted by Mare Island Heritage Trust.Mare Island Shoreline Heritage Preserve manager Myrna Hayes's note:
Regarding the ferry, it is such a nice ride up the Bay and the absolute best way to get to Vallejo from San Francisco. Our motorcoach service from the El Cerrito Del Norte BART is equally comfortable and convenient from East Bay and as alternative to the ferry or in combination with it. Note that the ferry service also has express busses directly to and from the SF Ferry Building that supplement the ferry schedule, too for more flexibility. Having talked up the ferry and bus, we do have a challenge in that they are right across the Napa River from our tours, but no bus/shuttle or ferry service the few hundred yards any longer now that the base is closed. So, I recommend that folks call ahead for a taxi or I am trying to arrange with our Union Locals to provide some informal shuttle services. Otherwise, driving is the other option, which for many requires renting a car or reserving a car-share.
The taxi trip would not be very expensive. I can call about the total price. However, for the two tours, they are about a mile distance from each other, so we will need to arrange something to ensure that people can come to both. I think an informal carpool will work and I will have some of my volunteers to stand by for that. Let's see what we can work out.For information call 707-249-9633 or e-mail myrnahay@pacbell.net Visit: www.mareislandpreserve.org
July 31 (Saturday) 2:00 PM (Free) Call for Location: LaborFest 415-642-8066
Kenny’s Journey - A Play Reading
Kenny’s Journey, with words and music by Alice Rogoff, is a play for children and adults. It chronicles Kenny, a child in the Depression, and his journey from the Midwest to California, learning about diverse people and union struggles and terminology along the way. Presented as a Reading in which one can choose to particpate or listen. Some group singing. Light refreshments served. Directed by Alice Rogoff.July 31 (Saturday) 2:00 PM (Free) Niebyl Proctor Library - 6501 Telegraph Ave., Oakland
Lessons of March 4 And The Education Struggle
Radical Education Workshop: Occupations, Strikes & Alternatives. This event will engage in a radical critique of education today, with accounts of the recent agitation on March 4th on college campuses and K-12 schools in the Bay Area, throughout the U.S., and abroad. These actions were in response to drastic cuts to public education as part of the resistance to the privatization of education taking place across the planet. The participants will place the militant tactics of occupations and strikes by placing them within a larger anti-capitalist strategy. Also discussed will be recent education struggles in Oaxaca, Mexico and Greece. Comparisons with prior struggles, like the 4-million-strong nationwide Student Strike in 1970, as well as the 5-month-long SF State strike in 1968-1969, the longest in U.S. history & unique because the faculty struck too.
Gifford Hartman, the moderator, is an Adult ESL/Literacy instructor and was active in the San Francisco March 4th Committee; Maria Lourdes teaches 3rd grade at Sheridan Elementary in San Francisco; Katy Rose is a student at Cañada College and was active in the anti-cuts group Cañada Strikes Back.July 31 (Saturday) 7:00 PM (Free) Nap’s - 3152 Mission St. at Precita, SF
Closing Party
Please join us to celebrate the last day of the LaborFest with food and the music of the Angry Tired Teachers Band, AT&T and others.
