Who were the Knights of Labor?

Join us to learn what they did and how we can benefit from their ideas and activities in today’s working world!

Thursday, September 26 – 7:00 p.m.

Somerville Public Library

79 Highland Avenue, Somerville

The Knights of Labor, founded in 1869, was once the mainstream of organized labor in the U.S. By 1886 it had between 700,000 and a million members and engaged in significant acts of class struggle.

The Knights proclaimed a vision of a cooperative society and proposed to create bonds of solidarity embracing all workers regardless of race, sex, nationality, religion, occupation, or skill level.

Largely written out of history the Knights have much to teach us about class-wide solidarity and alternatives to exploitative capitalism.

Sponsored by the Boston Labor Solidarity Committee

#RepealTaftHartley

Repeal Taft-Hartley!

The Taft-Hartley Act is a United States federal law that restricts the activities and power of labor unions. It became law despite U.S. President Harry S. Truman’s veto on June 23, 1947. Labor leaders called it the “slave-labor bill” while President Truman argued that it was a “dangerous intrusion on free speech”. Nevertheless, after it passed Truman relied upon it in twelve instances during his presidency.

Standout: Sunday, June 23 – 2:00 p.m.

Central Square, Cambridge

#RepealTaftHartley

#ProAct

Sponsored by Boston Labor Solidarity Committee – bostonlsc.wordpress.com

Free and open to the public

th

Two films by director Peter Miller

Two films by director Peter Miller

Saturday, February 23 – 1:00 p.m.

Somerville Library

79 Highland Avenue, Somerville

Sponsored by;
Boston Labor Solidarity Committee – bostonlsc.wordpress.com
Sacco and Vanzetti Commemoration Society – saccoandvanzetti.org

Free and open to the public

1934 – the year of the strike

Battle_strike_1934

 

1934 – the year of the strike

Wednesday, December 5 – 6:00 p.m.

Somerville Public Library

79 Highland Avenue, Somerville

In 1934, the labor movement in the United States was at a low ebb; the Knights of Labor and Industrial Workers of the World had been smashed earlier in the century, and the CIO had yet to make an appearance. But that year, four major strikes occurred that had an impact on the labor movement for years to come:

  • The Auto-Lite strike in Toledo, Ohio

  • The San Francisco general strike

  • The Minneapolis Teamsters strike

  • The textile workers strike

We’ll review the history of these four strikes and discuss the lessons they may hold for today’s labor movement.

 

Sponsored by Boston Labor Solidarity Committee