8th Annual LaborFest
From Power Outage To Workers Power
July 5th to July 31st, 2001
San Francisco, California
2001 has historic significance for organized labor and all working people in the San Francisco Bay Area. One hundred years ago on July 30th, teamsters, sailors and longshoremen led the way in a massive waterfront general strike to defend against a corporate scheme to destroy organized labor.
This waterfront general strike was critical in not only keeping the unions intact, but also creating a strong San Francisco Labor Council that was able to come to the aid of striking longshoremen and sailors in the 1934 general strike. This little known history of San Francisco's first general strike will come to life during our annual festival.
It is also the 100th anniversary of the birth of longshore labor leader Harry Bridges and Sailors Union of the Pacific's leader Harry Lundeberg.
Today, labor faces battles on many fronts. The energy robber barons are shutting down our power unless we pay them exorbitant prices. From the fight to a decent standard of living, to the right to a roof, to the struggle for democratic communication and to the fight against anti-democratic and union busting agreements such as NAFTA, FTAA and the WTO, working people are under attack. LaborFest believes that we have the power in our hands. Working people make the world go around and when we stand together UNITED, no force can stop us.
Join together with us in celebrating the 8th annual festival which celebrates the 1934 General Strike and let's make our history come alive as we build and celebrate working people's culture, film and art.
LaborFest Planning Committee
--------------------------------
July 5 (Thursday) 7:00 PM $5.00
Mission Cultural Center For Latino Arts
2868 Mission St. At 25th St.
International Working Class Film & Video Festival Festival Opening
"Pleasure For The Angels"
Hip Hop in France
US Premier Screening
by Jean-Pierre Thorn
Live music by mondol artist Med M. Alileche
This beautiful film shows the lives of immigrant Berber, Algerian and Cameroon working class youth in France and their powerful artistic expression through Hip Hop culture. We look behind the art to the racism, unemployment and austerity that immigrant working class youth face today in France and around the world. The US has yet to produce such a film about American Hip Hop, so we leave it to the French to lead the way. Jean-Pierre Thorn has been producing films about working people since 1968 when he produced and directed "Dare To Struggle, Dare To Win" about the May-June French General Strike.
c.lambert@agatfilms.com
July 5 (Thursday) 6:00 PM
San Francisco Main Public Library
Auditorium
July 7 (Saturday) 3:00 PM
The Balclutha in Fisherman's Wharf
Free
"Chatauqua"
The Life of Harry Bridges
Performed by actor Ian Ruskin
A play based on the life of Longshore leader Harry Bridges. In the tradition of Chatauqua presentations, Ruskin will perform the first section in character as Bridges. In the second section, he will answer questions as Bridges, and in the third section, Ruskin will answer questions as himself. This event commemorates Bloody Thursday of the 1934 strike.
Call Susan Goldstein at 415-557-4563 for additional information.
http://www.theharrybridgesproject.org/chatauquapage.html
July 7 (Saturday) 8:00 PM
2948 16th St. at Capp St. (The LAB), San Francisco
$10.00-$100.00
"LaborFest at The Labor Temple"
Redstone Building Cultural Solidarity Event
The Redstone Building contains important history for the San Francisco labor movement. Support plans for the San Francisco General Strike of 1934 were made in this building and it used to house the offices of many of San Francisco's trade unions. It also contains some of the best labor murals in San Francisco by the Clarion Alley Mural Project . From the slaying of painter unionist Dow Wilson to the garment and print workers defending their unions, these murals tell important parts of San Francisco labor history.
Now the mostly community organizations may face eviction as property speculators seek to turn the building over. Tenants have launched a campaign to save the building and they need your support!
Event includes San Francisco Labor Heritage Rockin Solidarity Chorus, Ian Ruskin as Harry Bridges, Allison Wright and others.
July 8 (Sunday) 5:00 PM
City Lights Bookstore
261 Columbus (Broadway)
Free
"The Power Of Poetry"
LaborFest Poetry Reading
Tillie Olsen, Bob Carson, Nellie Wong, Carol Tarlen, Alice Rogoff, David Joseph, James Tracy
The Power of Poetry writers encompass San Francisco labor and social activists from the 1930s to the present. There are creative and fiery voices from the ILWU, the National Writers Union, the Coalition on Homelessness, and the Freedom Socialist Party. Tillie Olsen, author of Tell Me A Riddle and Silences, is on the National Writers Union Advisory Board.
July 10 (Tuesday) 7:30 PM
AFM local 6
116 - 9th St. near Mission St., S.F.
$3.00-$10.00
"Right To A Roof "
Poetry, Voices & Songs
Co-sponsored by Coalition on Homelessness
Working people in San Francisco and throughout much of the bay area can no longer afford to live here. This cultural and educational event will speak the truth about our struggle for housing. From poetry to music we will hear the voices of those who are demanding that the right to a home is a basic right which we must have in order to survive. Who will do the work, when workers can no longer afford to live here?
July 12 (Thursday) - July 31
South Of Market Cultural Center
934 Brannan at 8th Street, S.F.
Free
"L.A. Longshore At Work"
A Photographic Exhibit by Slobodan Dimitrov
Slobodan Dimitrov is the leading labor photographer in the Los Angeles area.. His works appear in LA Weekly and many other publications. He is also the ILWU's photographer as well as many other unions. From Latino sheetrock hangers to the maritime pile drivers, Slobodan is capturing the working class beat in Los Angeles.
sld@earthlink.net
July 12 (Thursday) 7:00 PM
Mission Cultural Center For Latino Arts
2868 Mission St. At 25th St.
$5.00
International Working Class Film & Video Festival
"McDonald's Conveyer Belt Of Smiles"
(Russia) 23 min. by KAS-KOR and Art-Stanok Film Studio - This film shows the real face of McDonald's bosses and how Moscow workers organized and fought to win a union. - iufmos@online.ru
"Song Of The City, Ralph Fasanella" (USA)
(25 min) by Jack Oldfield - The story of one of America's most famous labor artists.
Oldfieldofield@mail.sdsu.edu
"The Internationale" (USA) 30 min. by Peter Miller, with Archie Green speaking.
Where did this song originate and what has it meant to workers around the world? San Francisco Labor Archivist and historian Archie Green, who is in the film, will discuss it after the screening.
http://frif.com/new2000/int.html
July 14 (Saturday) 10:00 AM
Starts on the steps of Coit Tower and ends at the Redstone Building, 2940 16th St.
$7.00
"Labor Mural Bus Tour"
With labor archivist and author Tim Drescher
Join us in viewing historic and powerful labor murals in San Francisco. These murals tell us about our history and our lives.
The tour begins on the steps in front of Coit Tower. We will walk a block down to the bus, ending the tour at the Redstone Building in the Mission district. Bring a bag lunch.
Please make your reservations early. Send name, phone number and $7.00 to LaborFest,
P.O.Box 40983, San Francisco, CA 94140.
Call (415) 642-8066 for reservation and more information.
July 14 (Saturday) 2:00 PM
Mission Cultural Center For Latino Arts
2868 Mission St. At 25th St.
$5.00
"Bastille Day Celebration"
With Faith Petric, Mark Levy, Larry Shaw, Josee Andrei, George Fouke
Music from around the world, video of international labor, poetry, tap dancing
July 15 (Sunday) 4:00 PM
Modern Times Bookstore
888 Mission St. at 20th St.
Free
"Studs Terkel & Rocking The Boat"
Video: Studs Terkel & Rocking The Boat With Al Stein (Labor Archivist & Producer)
Al Stein, co-producer of this video about writer Studs Terkel, will show the video and discuss the life and significance of Studs Terkel. Al Stein, a former archivist with Pacifica Radio has focused on the life of Terkel and his contribution to working class literature through story telling.
July 15 (Sunday) 7:30 PM
La Pena Cultural Center
3105 Shattuck at Prince St. Berkeley
$8.00
"Wobbly High Mass"
Presented by Folk This!
Join Folk This! and friends at the second annual Wobbly High Mass for a musical evening of satire, subversion and sacrilege. This year's theme is "Reclaiming Tomorrow", a historical journey toward a future society without classes or bosses.
July 16 (Monday) 7:00 PM
Modern Times Bookstore
888 Valencia St. at 20th St.
Free
"The Atomic Bomb and The Impact of The Cold War On The Labor Movement"
Video and book reading with Herb Weiner
Learn how the era of the atomic bomb was used politically to terrorize working people in the USA.
July 18 (Wednesday) 7:00 PM
La Pena Cultural Center
3105 Shattuck St. At Prince, Berkeley
$7.00
International Working Class Film & Video Festival
"Resistance As Democracy" - (USA)
(48 min) by Larry Mosque and Ron Smith
This video examines the history of El Salvador and the effects of the war on working people. It also focuses on the IMF-World Bank policies of privatization and restructuring and the institutions that push these policies.
mosqueda@evergreen.edu
"Songs of The Thai Labor Movement" - (Thailand) 15 min.
by Thai Labour Museum & Wayang
Songs Of the Thai Labor Movement/Sieng Kammakorn is the first music video and multimedia project in the Thai labour movement. This multimedia program presents a collection of progressive songs of the movement. The initial phase of this project presents two key songs of the movement: Saksri Kammakorn (Dignity of Workers), and Kidthueng Tuk-kata (A Doll at Kader).
wayang@bangkok.com
"Zimbabwe's New Chimurenga :A Work in progress" (South Africa) 30 min. by Rehad Desai. This video tells the story of the land issue and the role of Zimbabwe's trade unions in the bitter struggles now engulfing the country.
rehad@icon.co.za
"The Internationale" by Peter Miller (USA) 30 min.
This film shows the music and the history of the most famous international working class song. Written after the Paris Commune in 1871 it has touched people around the world and been used by many as their song
http://frif.com/new2000/int.html
July 19 (Thursday) 7:00 PM
Mission Cultural Center For Latino Arts
2868 Mission St at 25th St.
$5.00
International Working Class Film & Video Festival
"Days Of Humanity" - by Korean Labor News Production (Korea) (1 hr. 54 min) with Labor News Production member Myoung Joon Kim in attendance. This video tells the story of the Hyundai Construction Employees Union (HCEU) and their long struggle to defend their jobs. This struggle changed their lives and exposed the nature of capitalism in South Korea. - Lnp89@chollian.net
"Korean Daewoo Workers Fight Layoffs & IMF" (Korea) (10 min.) by Korean Daewoo Media Group
Shows the militant working class movement against the layoffs of Daewoo auto workers. Their battle against the layoffs and US-IMF policies in Korea are leading to a growing general strike movement. This video which is also being streamed on the web at http://cast.jinbo.net/english/special_daewoo.html
"Accidental Insolence" by Kristen Anchor (US) 7.30 min
First Screening In San Francisco
July 20 (Friday) 7:30 PM
Modern Times Bookstore
888 Valencia St. at 20th St.
Free
"Payday At The Triangle"
The 90th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
Reading and book party with the author, Ruth Daigon.
Ruth Daigon's Payday At The Triangle (Small Poetry Press, Select Poets Series) is now available. This book is about the Triangle Factory fire in New York City in 1911, where 147 young lives were destroyed by a fire. It is a collage of poetry in the voices of the survivors, the dead, the onlookers, the firemen, the families...old photos, clippings, news accounts...
"Ruth Daigon's poetry gives life to those who perished in the fire, as no one has done before.....Poignant and beautifully written account...makes it a MUST." -Tillie Olsen
RUTHHART@aol.com
July 21 (Saturday) 10:00 AM
Pier 1/2, north side of Ferry Building, SF
Please be there by 9:30 am; Boat leaves promptly at 10:00 am
Tour lasts 3 hours (Please bring your lunch)
Adult $20 with reservation, $22 at the gate
Children 6-12 $10 , $12 at the gate
"Labor Maritime History Boat Tour"
Labor Maritime History Boat Tour with historians Gray Brechin, Bob Cherney & others
This now well known boat ride shows the real history of San Francisco maritime labor from the viewpoint of the longshore workers, pile drivers, sailors and boatmen. The tour will include music and the best views of San Francisco. Reserve early for a spot.
Note: This event fills quickly, so please make your reservation early by calling (415) 642-8066. Leave your name, number of party, and your phone number. We will give you a call to confirm your reservation.
Send check or money order by July 19th, 2001 to
LaborFest, P.O. Box 40983, San Francisco, CA 94140
For more information, go to our website:
http://www.laborfest.net
July 21 (Saturday) 7:30 PM
885 Clayton St., San Francisco
Free
"Open Mike"
Hosted by Freedom Song Network
The Freedom Song Network has been building labor music and culture for many years in the Bay Area. Join with them when they sing out/speak out for working people. From picket lines and labor rallies to labor cultural festivals, the Freedom Song Network is on the frontlines of struggle.
July 22 (Sunday) 1:00 PM
Grove St. Entrance,
San Francisco Main Library
Free
"Librarians and Their Work"
Library tour with members of the SEIU790 Librarian's Guild
How does the San Francisco Main Library work and what do the workers do to keep it going? We will also hear how the corporatization/privatization of the library threatens our democratic rights.
July 22 (Sunday) 2:00 PM & 7:30 PM
July 27 (Friday) 7:30 PM
July 29 (Sunday) 2:00 PM & 7:30 PM
South Of Market Cultural Center
934 Brannan St at 8th St., S.F.
July 24, (Tuesday) 7:30 PM
La Pena Cultural Center
3105 Shattuck St at Prince St., Berkeley
$12 (Call laborFest for ticket & reservation)
"Temp Slave, the musical"
"Temp Slave, the musical," is a smashing musical romp with satire and grim reality. From Madison, Wisconsin, making the first tour on the West Coast. It begins in the offices of People Power, a temp agency and the world's largest employer.
http://home.collegeclub.com/tempslave/tshome.html
"I've just finished reading the script and find it delightfully rambunctious, making a powerful statement with zest and humor and of, course, fine lyrics." - Howard Zinn Author of A People's History of the United States
"To the Friends of Labor: I've seen the play twice, and both times I was blown away. First off, it's just plain fun. The music is bright, the jokes are clever, and the plot moves right along. As sheer enjoyment, it's a hit, and it's bound to appeal to people on this basis who may not otherwise be open to its politics. And secondly, the politics are great. "Temp Slave" is geared to the young and the exploited, the clerical workers in the service sector who find themselves in dead-end jobs. It points out the boorishness of bosses, their crude anti-unionism, and the crookedness of politicians. If I were a union organizer or a union leader, I'd want to have all my members see this play. If I were John Sweeney, I'd have the "Temp Slave" troupe tour America! It's that good." - Sincerely, Matthew Rothschild Editor, The Progressive
"Congratulations on your rollicking musical, Temp Slave ....It's not often that something so illuminating is also so much fun!" - Barbara Ehrenreich
July 23 (Monday) 7:30 PM
Precita Mural Center
348 Precita St., San Francisco
Free
"Labor Muralists, Their Art, Their Work and Their Exploitation"
Susan Cervantes, Jan Cook, Tim Drescher & others
Labor muralists , who have traditionally painted
their murals for marginal pay, have recently been
surprised to learn that dot.com industries are profiting by using mural images without consent of the artists.
Bill Gate's company Corbus has bought tens of thousands of pictures and images, controlling distribution and using images out of context. Learn how icons of labor history such as Cesar Chavez are commodified, corrupting both labor history and the integrity of the art from which these images are appropriated. Our right to our images now means we must battle Bill Gates and the media/computer robber barons.
July 25 (Wednesday) 7:00 PM
Mission Cultural Center For Latino Arts
2868 Mission St. at 25th St
$5.00
"Anniversary of The U.S. Invasion of Puerto Rico"
Films: "Operation Bootstrap", and "Vieques: An Island Forging Futures"
followed by discussion
Why did the United States invade Puerto Rico and what can labor do about Vieques? Learn what is happening with labor and the working people in Puerto Rico and view a photo exhibit of the Puerto Rican General Strike against the privatization of the telephone company.
July 26 (Thursday) 7:00 PM
Mission Cultural Center For Latino Arts
2868 Mission St., San Francisco
$5.00
International Working Class Film & Video Festival
"Durruti In The Spanish Revolution" (Spain) 55 min.
Buenaventura Durruti played a leading role in the Spanish civil war. Working in the trade union federation CNT in the 20's, he was an syndicalist organizer against the rise of fascism and for the power of working people. (Spanish with captions).
www.cnt.es/fal fal@cnt.es
"Death on a Friendly Border" (USA) 26.4 min by Rachel Antell
This timely new video looks behind the headlines to the Mexican working people and farmers who are forced to live with poverty and death as the border is militarized to stop their journeys.
Rantell@stanford.edu (Ms. Antell will attend screening)
"Poem In Action" A portrait of Vincent Ferrini (USA) 59 min.. by Henry Ferrini
What makes a poet tick and why. Poetry for Vincent Ferrini was not only part of his life but a voice in the struggle.
www.artsgloucester.com/ferriniproductions -HFerrini@aol.com
July 27 (Friday) 7:30 PM ($5-7.00)
Artists Television Access
992 Valencia at 20th Street,SF
July 28 (Saturday) 2:00 PM (Free)
SF Main Library Koret Auditorium
Pride At Work Film Night
"The Bradfords Tour America" (51 min.) By U.B. Morgan and Jann Nunn
This subversive documentary is an often humorous, occasionally provocative and thoroughly engaging look at the way individual prejudices are molded by the power of the religious right.
"Live Nude Girls Unite!" (60 min) By Julia Query and Vicky Funari
The story of historic union organizing and battles with management over unfair labor practices at the Lusty Lady strip club, now the only union organized club in the U.S. Personalizes the face of sex workers and dispels common stereotypes.
"Out At Work" (55 min) By Kelly Anderson and Tami Gold
This documentary chronicles the dramatic stories of three queer workers in their fight to secure work place safety, job security and employee benefits for gay and lesbian workers.
"Accidental Insolence" (7.30 min) by Kristen Anchor
Explores life for youth in homophobic America. This artistic treat exposes the contradictions and moldings in the schools.
July 28 (Saturday) 10:00AM
From Harry Bridges Plaza (Ferry Building) To ILWU Local 10 at 400 North Point St. at Mason St.
"ILWU Harry Bridges 100th Anniversary March"
Bring your union banner or sign and celebrate our powerful labor heritage.
United we stand, divided we fall!
The march starts from Mission and Steuart Streets to ILWU Local 10,
400 North Point St. at Mason St.
(415)474-0300 For More Information
July 29 (Sunday) 2:00 PM
La Pena Cultural Center
3105 Shattuck at Prince St., Berkeley
$7.00
International Working Class Film & Video Festival
"Not In My Garden" (Palestinian Village in Israel) by Video 48, followed by discussion
A 50 minute documentary on Ramya.
This film shows the conditions of lives of a working class and farming Palestinian village in Israel. The Galilean village of Ramia epitomizes the central conflict in Israel.
The latter proclaims itself to be a Jewish state, despite the awkward fact that a fifth of its citizens are Palestinian. Ramia, an Arab village, has existed since the British Mandate, but Israel refuses to recognize it and therefore to provide services and infrastructure. The Jewish high-tech city of Carmiel, founded in 1964, is now taking over the village's land.
Video '48 - Contacts: Nir Nader Or Asma Agbariya
Tel:972-3-6839145 Fax: 972-3-6839148, Or Email alsabar@netvision.net.il
July 30 (Monday) 7:30 PM
(Reception-6:30 PM)
Sailors Union of The Pacific
450 Harrison St. (at 1st St.) San Francisco
Free
"Celebration of San Francisco's 1st Waterfront General Strike in 1901
& 100th Anniversary of SUP leader Harry Lundeberg"
Historian/Labor Archivist Larry Shoup on the 1901 Strike
Defending our Unions:
The 1901 General Strike on San Francisco's Waterfront
On July 30, 1901, the City Front Federation, representing 15,000 men from fourteen San Francisco waterfront unions, led by the Teamsters, the Sailors Union of the Pacific, and four different Longshoremen's Unions, walked off the job in what was up to that point in time, the largest strike in California history. They received solidarity and material support from the San Francisco Central Labor Council, other Bay Area and California unions and from unions and workers as far away as Canada and Boston. They were striking and standing firm together for a precious principal, the right of working people to organize. This right was under attack by a secretive coalition of San Francisco bosses who called themselves the "Employers' Association". This "Employers' Association" had banded together a few months earlier with the goal of smashing every union in San Francisco. A chain of circumstances led the bosses to begin their plan of destruction with the Brotherhood of Teamsters. Labor responded by organizing a general strike of all the waterfront unions, with other local unions in a direct support role. The strike went on for over two months, with numerous incidents of violence, due to the actions of the San Francisco police, who openly allied with the employers, the violent scabs and gun thugs hired by the employers, and the workers who forcefully fought back to protect their rights. The employers frequently called upon the Governor of California to send in the National Guard to break the strike, but he always refused, and the strike was finally settled in early October when the "Employers' Association" had to back down, giving a sweet victory to the working people of San Francisco, California and the nation.
- Larry Shoup - larryshoup@earthlink.net
July 31 (Tuesday) 7:00 PM
American Federation Of Musicians Local 6
116 9th Street near Mission Street, SF
Free
Refreshments provided
"LaborFest Closing Party"
David Winters, one of the founders of the Western Workers Cultural Festival and a troubadour will sing out in this closing event of LaborFest 2001.
Sponsored by The American Federation of Musicians Local 6 and LaborFest
LaborFest is Endorsed by The San Francisco Labor Council, SEIU 535, 250, 790, Iron
Workers, California District Council, the ILWU, Stationary Engineers Local 39, MEBA, SUP, IBEW 6, Sign and Display Union Local 510, AFM Local 6, Sheetmetal Workers Local 104, San Francisco Pride At Work, OPEU Local 3, MEBA, LaborNet, National Writers Union UAW Local 1981 Bay Area Chapter, Pride At Work-SF Chapter, The Redstone Building Tenants and the Labor Video Project as well as many others.
Participate, volunteer and help make this the best festival yet. Your financial contributions will also help to bring the festival to more people and help with the work of the organizing committee.
For More Information & The Latest Updates Including Additional Events Go To
www.laborfest.net
Email laborfest@hotmail.com
Call (415)642-8066
Laborfest
P.O.Box 40983
San Francisco, CA 94140/0983
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