In celebration of 75 years of partnership between United Way and the AFL-CIO, Lake Area and Porter County United Ways are sponsoring a free regional labor union class. The 3-hour Labor History Class for ALL Local Unions of Lake and Porter Counties of Northwest Indiana that will be held on Saturday, May 21st from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. The class will be held at IBEW, Local 697 in Merrillville. This event is FREE and will be led by Professor Steven K. Ashby from the Labor Education Program at the University of Illinois.
The class will address questions like:
* What were the lessons of labor victories?
* What mistakes did Unions make in the past that divided and weakened the labor movement?
* What tactics were used against the labor movement in decades past, and how did labor respond?
* What were the key moments in labor’s history, like the Haymarket Affair, Pullman Boycott, Flint-Sitdown, Memorial Day Massacre and the Chicago Teachers Strike?
More than seven decades ago, the Community Chests and Councils Inc. (now United Way Worldwide) connected to unions and their members through the United Nations Relief Committee of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the National Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) Committee for American and Allied War Relief to develop a mechanism for payroll deduction.
Since then, millions of union members have become part of the United Way family through countless volunteer hours, contributing hundreds of millions of dollars annually and making other significant contributions.
“United Way and organized Labor share a common vision of prosperous, inclusive, and safe communities, where everyone has access to a quality education, productive work opportunities with fair wages, and affordable, quality health care,” said Lisa Daugherty, President/CEO of Lake Area United Way. “We’re proud to partner with Porter County United Way and the Northwest Indiana Federation of Labor to offer this class to union members who might not be fully aware of the rich history of the Labor movement in the U.S. and here in Northwest Indiana.”
To register for the Labor History Class or for more information, local union members should contact:
Luis C. Tovar
AFL-CIO Community Services Liaison
(708) 205-7958
ltovar@lauw.org or luis@unitedwaypc.org
