Your guide to celebrating May Day 2011 and the 125th Anniversary of the Haymarket Affair... April 7, 3 pm Gage Gallery 18 S. Michigan Ave. Triangle Fire 100th anniversary event featuring Professor Jo Ann Argersinger from Southern Illinois University, co-sponsored by Roosevelt and UIC History Departments and the New Deal Center at Roosevelt. April 9, 3 pm Chicago Temple Washington and Clark. New New Deal Forum with John Conyers on Full employment legislation. April 12, 7 pm Oak Park Public Library Forum on meaning of restoration of Haymarket Martyrs Monument in Forest Park. April 27, 6 pm Haymarket Brewery and Pub at Randolph and Halsted. Film Screening of Sacco and Vanzetti. Music will be on tap along with beer. April 28, 5:30 pm Newberry library. Forum and debate and reception with labor movement lawyers the American Constitution Society and others discussing Haymarket to the present. April 29, 5:30 pm Gage Gallery, 18 S. Michigan, Chicago – Free reception for International Trade unio...

Join Chicago Jobs with Justice for this very special event featuring a worker from a Wal-Mart sweatshop in Bangladesh. We will explore the connection between workers here and abroad who are impacted by the global supply chain created by companies like Wal-Mart. Gage Gallery at Roosevelt University 18 South Michigan Avenue Chicago, IL 60603 Chicago, IL For more information check the following link... http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=196797977027256

The incident at Reagan National Airport is almost poetic in its irony. Exactly 30 years ago this coming August, President Ronald Reagan fired all of the nation’s over 11,000 air traffic controllers, busting PATCO the controller’s union and replacing them with less experienced replacement workers. Not only did Reagan’s move turn out to be the opening salvo in a 30 year long war on the American working class, the latest battle of which we are seeing waged in Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan and other states currently, but it dramatically reduced safety for the flying public. It is one of the clearest examples of the right wing’s disregard for worker rights and public safety when it interferes with their objective of leaner, meaner government. Over the past 30 years, the air traffic controllers were able to re-organize into the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), but their power is nothing like that of PATCO 30 years ago. One outcome of this reduced power is that thei...

WGN aired an amazingly good report on the struggle to clean up the Fisk coal fired power plant in Pilsen last night. If you missed, you have to check it out... http://www.wgntv.com/ videobeta/b8f9b7b9-7b0d-4ab7- a4e5-7e4e9d2803d7/News/ Politics-of-Coal

Michigan Law Would Overturn Local Democracy, Shred Contracts | Labor Notes

What’s Next for Wisconsin? | Labor Notes

Ohio Governor Gets 3,000 Boos | Labor Notes

Indiana Anti-Worker Bills Skid to a Halt | Labor Notes

I guess the Wisconsin courts agree with the assessment that the Wisconsin Republicans move to pass the anti-union measures was illegal, as stated in my previous post... http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/03/18/judge-halts-implementation-of-anti-union-law-in-wisconsin/

The Great Labor Uprising in Wisconsin continues, despite the Republican senators, quite possibly illegal maneuver to push through their anti-union bill without a quorum. Day 26 in Madison turned out to largest protest yet outside the Wisconsin State Capitol. As many as 150,000 attended last Saturday’s rally. The character of the protests that day was particular interesting. One could feel the spirit of old Bob La Follette and the Progressive Party in the air. Thousands of members of Wisconsin’s Farmers Union attended the rally, many arriving in the dozens strong “tractorcade”. The theme of the day was worker / farmer unity. One of the farmer’s I interviewed, Randy Jasper, told me…“Its time for a worker farmer government, or at least a worker farmer party.” One of the most common chants of the day was the perennial favorite “this is what democracy looks like”, but as I watched farmers marching side by side with steelworkers, plumbers, electricians, nurses, farm laborers, Teamsters, rest...

The rally in Indianapolis today helped draw some attention to a front in the current labor war that has been overshadowed by Wisconsin. Crowd estimates as usual ranged widely from a low of 8,000 to a high of 30,000. Somewhere around 10,000 seems a likely accurate guess. The numbers were lower than organizers expectations but were still massive for a state not known for mass demonstrations. Tune in to next Monday's episode of Labor Express Radio for more. Here are some pics of today's rally... https://picasaweb.google.com/jerrymeadlucero/IndianapolisRallyMarch102011?feat=directlink

The Wisconsin Republicans have pulled a parliamentary maneuver to push through the anti-union measures without a quorum. The protesters have re-occupied the Capitol. Here is a live feed from the capitol... http://www.livestream.com/theuptake

I finally made it up to Madison last Saturday. I was concerned that Day 19 might be a let down. I have been receiving reports from others who had made the trip north over the last two weeks and the reports were filled with excitement over what is clearly one of the most significant labor battles of the last 50 years. Could such energy still persist in week three? Certainly the numbers were smaller Saturday than in previous weeks. The number of protestors has peaked at around 100,000 and has numbered in the tens of thousands on numerous occasions. On Saturday I would estimate there were around 5,000 people marching through the streets and listening to speeches on the capitol lawn. But after 19 days, 5,000 people is an awfully impressive number. And the enthusiasm of the protestors seemed to be as high as ever. Perhaps the excitement has only increased as it is increasingly clear that the protests have found broad public support across the country. My most lasting impression of...

Great labor history/labor action planned for this Sunday!... THE PARADE OF THE UNEMPLOYED Sunday, March 6 - 2pm at the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum (800 S Halsted St) JANUARY, 1915: 1500 people gather at Hull House to talk about the high levels of unemployment throughout Chicago, then march to City Hall, demanding hunger relief and public works projects. Police break up the parade and make arrests. MARCH 2011: Paul Durica and Pocket Guide to Hell recreate the parade, in solidarity with current unemployment rates. Ever been out of a job or know someone who has? Come march with us. FREE AND OPEN TO ALL, JUST LIKE THE ORIGINAL PROCESSION. COSTUMES AND PROPS WILL BE PROVIDED! starring ALMA WASHINGTON as LUCY PARSONS props by MICHELLE FAUST, KENNETH MORRISON, & NAT WARD music by ENVIRONMENTAL ENCROACHMENT PLUS: fake horses! hatpin-wielding women! an undercover cop named Fred Krueger! AFTERWARDS: Chicago Jobs With Justice ’s Susan Hurley will link these events to today’s, discussing un...