Workers' Republic: Labor struggle and history @ Socialism 2009 6.18-21

[Shaun Harkin]

Forward widely!

Socialism 2009 presents:

Debut of Workers' Republic

Saturday, June 20th, 7pm, Grand Ballroom, Wyndham Hotel, near O'Hare Airport

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Workers' Republic is a 60-minute documentary that chronicles one of the most important labor victories in recent memory. Three weeks before Christmas 2008, in the depths of the economic crisis, Chicago's Republic Windows and Doors company told its workforce that the factory was closing. What those workers did next reverberated around the world, reminding the working class it possesses a power long forgotten. They occupied the doomed factory 24-hours a day for nearly a week, declaring they would not leave until they were given what their employer owed them.

Filmmaker and union steward Andrew Freund has assembled the accounts of several of the main fighters in the Republic struggle, including front line workers, the organizers of their tiny union United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers, and a few of the thousand people that supported them through small acts of solidarity. Freund presents a pre-distribution rough-cut of the film in progress in this special screening at Socialism 2009.

To hear first hand about the Republic struggle, catch Armando Robles, president, United United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (UE) Local 1110, in the panel,A New Era for Labor?

More Meetings on Labor Struggle and History @ Socialism 2009: 

Friday, June 19, 11:30am: Dennis Kusouth on The Sitdown Strikes and the Birth of Industrial Unionism

Friday, June 19, 2pm: Ken Riley, Megan Behrent, Armando Robles discuss A New Era For Labor?

Friday, June 19, 4pm: Minneapolis, San Francisco and Toledo in 1934 - The Strikes that turned the Tide, with Sharon Smith 

Friday, June 19, 4pm: Immigrants and Labor Struggles with Margarita Klein, Orlando Sepulveda and Martin Unzueta 

Saturday, June 20, 2pm: For the One Big Union - The Wobblies with Adam Turl

Sunday, June 21, 10am: Leia Petty discusses the 1919 Seattle General Strike 

For the full schedule and more inforamation see www.socialismconference.org

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Shaun
773.828.4336
917.755.7409

[fuerza maya]

i heard the piece on WBEZ - Chgo Public Radio this morning.

FANTASTIC!

-abdi y. maya

**en lucha siempre**

 

http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Content.aspx?audioID=34941

 

Last December workers occupied the Republic Windows and Doors Factory in Chicago. Republic shut down because the Bank of America would not extend the company credit, despite having received $25 billion in federal bailout money. Producers Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister of Long Haul Productions documented the decision to stand up by sitting down—the first American sit-down since the Flint automobile workers strike in 1936. This is part of their documentary, Si Se Puede. You can hear the complete documentary on Latino USA Sunday at 6 p.m. on WBEZ.
Original music was composed by Jesus "Chuy" Negrete. Hear more songs from Negrete.

 

SI SE PUEDE!
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