Labor
Book Talk: The Southern Key with Mike Goldfield
East Side Freedom Library 1105 Greenbrier Street, St. Paul, MN, United StatesWatch this event live on ESFL's Facebook page or register here to join on Zoom. We are excited to combine a discussion of an important new labor history book with our monthly labor history reading group. THE SOUTHERN KEY is a significant contribution to our analysis of the role of race, racism, and region in […]
Book Talk: Union Made
The East Side Freedom Library invites you to a conversation with author Eric Lotke about his newly published novel, Union Made. Register to join this event on Zoom or watch it live streamed on ESFL's Facebook page. Recent events have raised our awareness about the challenges faced by service and retail workers and by their […]
Labor History Film Discussion—Plutocracy II: Solidarity Forever
Register to attend this event on Zoom. Plutocracy II: Solidarity Forever continues filmmaker Scott Noble’s project to comprehensively examine American history through the lens of class. This film covers the seminal labor-related events which occurred between the late 1800s and the 1920s. Its subtitle refers to a 1915 song composed by Ralph Chaplin as an […]
What the 1934 Minneapolis Teamsters’ Strikes Can Suggest About Meeting the Challenges Faced by Today’s Labor Movement
ESFL is delighted to be participating in this year's San Francisco LaborFest 2021. Most of their wonderful programming is online this year, so you can participate, too. Please follow this link to see what else is on tap. The 1934 July Minneapolis Teamsters' strikes were part of a mass movement of workers in the United […]
History Revealed: Turning Points
The East Side Freedom Library and the Ramsey County Historical Society invite you to our monthly "History Revealed" program featuring Greg Poferl and his memoir, Turning Points: Never Give Up On Anyone, Especially Yourself. Register here to join the event on Zoom or watch it live streamed on ESFL's Facebook page. We are especially excited […]
Labor History Film Discussion: Plutocracy IV
The East Side Freedom Library invites you to join our monthly Labor History Film discussion Plutocracy IV: Gangsters for Capitalism Register here to join this event on Zoom. For the past several months, we have been working our way through Scott Nobles' series of documentary films, produced by Metanoia Films and made available for free […]
Labor History Film Discussion: The Bisbee Deportation of 1917
Register to join this event on Zoom (this event will not be live streamed to ESFL's Facebook page). Three years ago, the Arizona town of Bisbee marked the 100th anniversary of its darkest day, the day when local authorities rounded up 1200 immigrant miners, loaded them on a train, and shipped them into the desert, where they […]
Labor History Film Discussion: Plutocracy V: Subterranean Fire
The East Side Freedom Library invites you to our monthly Labor History Film Discussion: Plutocracy V: Subterranean Fire. Register here to join this event on Zoom. For the past five months, ESFL community members have been watching and discussing Scott Noble's powerful series of documentary films, titled "Plutocracy." In September, we come to the end […]
Labor Solidarity Picnic
East Side Freedom Library 1105 Greenbrier Street, St. Paul, MN, United StatesFor more than a hundred and twenty years, American workers have come together in early September to celebrate Labor Day as an expression of unity and solidarity. We need such a celebration now more than ever. The East Side Freedom Library family is putting together music, entertainment, and refreshments, and we want you to join […]
Labor History Film Discussion: Harlan County USA
Register here to join this event on Zoom. We invite you to discuss one of the most significant labor history documentaries ever made, Barbara Kopple’s Harlan County U.S.A. This Academy Award winning film documents a community in eastern Kentucky divided by a strike at its coal mine and gets to the heart of labor conflict […]
Labor History Discussion—The Hormel Strike at 35: Triumph or Tragedy?
With Peter Rachleff, Co-Executive Director at ESFL Register here to join this event on Zoom. The Hormel strike of 1985-1986 captured the nation's attention. The most important strike since the PATCO (Air Traffic Controllers) strike of 1981, it represented, on the one hand, the further deterioration of unions' power during the Reagan era, but, on […]
Unsung Heroes of Justice
The East Side Freedom Library and Teamsters Local 320 invite you to a panel discussion, Unsung Heroes of Justice: Six Public Defenders and Staff Discuss Their Work. Register here to join this event on Zoom or watch it live streamed to ESFL's Facebook page. Minnesota Public Defenders are court-appointed attorneys for indigent citizens who cannot […]
Labor History Discussion— “Striketober” and “The Great Resignation”: Putting the Current Labor Upheaval in Historical Context
The East Side Freedom Library invites you to "Striketober" and "The Great Resignation": Putting the Current Labor Upheaval in Historical Context, a conversation with labor historian Gabriel Winant. Register here to join this event on Zoom. Activists, scholars, activist-scholars, journalists, union leaders, and workers have been trying to make sense […]
Labor History Discussion—Socialism: A Conversation Between the Past and the Present
The East Side Freedom Library invites you to our Labor History Discussion Group, "Socialism: A Conversation Between the Past and the Present," featuring JoAnn Wypijewski, former Managing Editor of The Nation magazine. Register here to join this event on Zoom. At the East Side Freedom Library, we do not see history as "a dead body […]
Bookstore Workers Organize: Not Just Something to Read About
The East Side Freedom Library and UFCW Locals 1189 and 663 invite you join a conversation, Bookstore Workers Organize: Not Just Something to Read About. Register here to join this event on Zoom. The past year saw significant developments in the labor movement—strikes to eliminate two-tier systems, raise wages, and improve safety precautions; local political […]
Labor History Discussion—The Labor Movement and the Struggle for Racial Justice: The United Packinghouse Workers and the Murder of Emmett Till
The East Side Freedom Library invites you to our monthly Labor History Discussion, The Labor Movement and the Struggle for Racial Justice: The United Packinghouse Workers and the Murder of Emmett Till. Register here to join this event on Zoom. The impact of the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 echoes the impact of […]
Labor in the Media & Entertainment Industry: Pandemic, Risk, and Solidarity
The East Side Freedom Library, in collaboration with Twin Cities locals of Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees invite you to an online conversation, Labor in the Media & Entertainment Industry: Pandemic, Risk, and Solidarity. Register here to join this event on Zoom or […]
Labor History Discussion: What Can We Learn From the Labor Upheaval of the 1930s?
The East Side Freedom Library invites you to our monthly labor history discussion, What Can We Learn From the Labor Upheaval of the 1930s? Register here to join this event on Zoom. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing the Zoom link. Between 1932 and 1945 membership in American unions grew from 2 […]
El Golpe: US Labor, the CIA, and the Coup at Ford in Mexico
The East Side Freedom Library and the Solidarity Committee of the Americas invite you to a conversation about the new book, El Golpe: US Labor, the CIA, and the Coup at Ford in Mexico, with author Rob McKenzie. Register here to join this event on Zoom. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing […]
Class Struggle Unionism
The East Side Freedom Library invites you to a discussion of Class Struggle Unionism with author Joe Burns and a panel of labor activists. Register here to join on Zoom. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom link. This event will also be live-streamed to ESFL’s Facebook page. For those who […]