For a century and a half, Minnesota workers, native born and immigrant, women and men, skilled and unskilled, blue collar and white collar, people of color and white, have organized themselves to secure and expand their positions within our democracy.  They have struggled for citizenship and the right to vote.  They have demanded the right to organize and engage in collective bargaining.  They have organized unions to protect their rights at work, and they have organized politically to shape public policy.  At times, they have even organized within their unions to make sure that union policies and practices have reflected their experiences and their needs.  We cannot understand the meaning of our Democracy without a study of the Labor Movement.  Join Peter Rachleff, History Professor and co-founder of the East Side Freedom Library, as he discusses how the history of workers and labor organization in Minnesota is interwoven with the history of our Democracy.