26 Nov
Students research the 1949-50 attempt by the United Tobacco Workers to organize workers at RJ Reynolds.
National Labor College students from numerous unions across the country spent Veterans Day weekend learning from their classmates at the Living Labor History class held at Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies. The four-day course is part of the requirements for students pursuing degrees in the School of Labor Studies.
The intensive class consisted of small and large group discussions, labor film review and discussion, a labor history lecture, an archives review exercise at University of Maryland’s Hornbake Library, and a night of singing labor songs with Joe Uehlein. Many of the discussions looked at current labor issues and what lessons can be learned from the past.
Chris Garlock, Union Cities/Street Heat coordinator for the Metro Washington (DC) Council, AFL-CIO, talks about the mosaic in the AFL-CIO building.
Several students said that their favorite part of the trip was the Labor History Walking Tour of Washington, D.C., led by Union City! editor Chris Garlock and assistant editor Julia Kann. Tour highlights included AFL-CIO lobby murals, 1953 CIO headquarters, the Real Roosevelt Memorial, Joe Hill’s ashes, and the A. Philip Randolph statue at Union Station.
The Living Labor History Class in front of the AFL-CIO building at the beginning of the Labor History Walking Tour.