Labor Heritage Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Labor Heritage Foundation is a non-profit organization
which preserves and disseminates information and artifacts about the labor history of the United States
.
, a composer, musician and educator active in the American labor movement
. Glazer invited 14 other labor musicians to the George Meany Center for Labor Studies
in Silver Spring, Maryland
to share musical and written compositions, and to discuss the effective use of music, song, poetry and chants in labor activism. The three-day event became an annual one, becoming known as the Great Labor Arts Exchange
(GLAE).
Over the next five years, the concept of "labor culture" and how the labor movement and the arts interacted which Glazer and others held expanded. In 1984, Glazer incorporated the Labor Heritage Foundation as a parent body for GLAE as well as to curate and promote the culture of the American labor movement.
The Labor Heritage Foundation is governed by a five-member board of directors.
In 1986, the foundation hired its first executive director. The executive director, a full-time position, oversees the day-to-day operations of the foundation.
The Labor Heritage Foundation shares office space with the AFL-CIO
in Washington, D.C.
Its programs continue to be held at the Meany Center (now known as the National Labor College).
, artist Ralph Fasanella
, photographer Earl Dotter and poet Chris Llewellyn
.
Concurrently with GLAE, the Labor Heritage Foundation also holds an annual Conference on Creative Organizing, which trains worker activists and labor union staff in the use of songs, chants, skits, costumes, food, and other cultural media in organizing and collective bargaining
campaigns.
Publishing constitutes a third major program of the foundation. The organization has published a number of books and pamphlets. Topics include labor history, song, photography, poetry, children's activities, short story collections, biographies and autobiographies, graphic novels, and collections of graphic art. The foundation has also published a limited number of audio recordings, including song collections and oral histories.
In 1996, the foundation developed the Labor Culture Consulting and Referral Service, a database of artists active in the labor movement, and published the Directory of Cultural Resources for use by local unions in identifying community artists and arts organizations which may be of assistance in union activities.
The foundation supports regional labor arts festival
s and community arts exchanges on an irregular and limited basis.
in 1989. The award honors individuals for a body of work in the field of labor culture.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
which preserves and disseminates information and artifacts about the labor history of the United States
Labor history of the United States
The labor history of the United States describes the history of organized labor, as well as the more general history of working people, in the United States. Pressures dictating the nature and power of organized labor have included the evolution and power of the corporation, efforts by employers...
.
History
The genesis of the Labor Heritage Foundation was in June 1979. Joe GlazerJoe Glazer
Joe Glazer , closely associated with labor unions and often referred to as the "labor's troubadour," was a US-American folk musician who recorded more than thirty albums over the course of his career....
, a composer, musician and educator active in the American labor movement
Labor unions in the United States
Labor unions in the United States are legally recognized as representatives of workers in many industries. The most prominent unions are among public sector employees such as teachers and police...
. Glazer invited 14 other labor musicians to the George Meany Center for Labor Studies
National Labor College
The National Labor College is the only accredited higher education institution in the United States devoted exclusively to educating union members, leaders and staff. It was established as a training center by the AFL-CIO in 1969 to strengthen union member education and organizing skills...
in Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...
to share musical and written compositions, and to discuss the effective use of music, song, poetry and chants in labor activism. The three-day event became an annual one, becoming known as the Great Labor Arts Exchange
Great Labor Arts Exchange
The Great Labor Arts Exchange is an annual arts festival in Silver Spring, Maryland, which celebrates the labor history of the United States as well as preserves, advances and promotes the culture of the American labor movement....
(GLAE).
Over the next five years, the concept of "labor culture" and how the labor movement and the arts interacted which Glazer and others held expanded. In 1984, Glazer incorporated the Labor Heritage Foundation as a parent body for GLAE as well as to curate and promote the culture of the American labor movement.
The Labor Heritage Foundation is governed by a five-member board of directors.
In 1986, the foundation hired its first executive director. The executive director, a full-time position, oversees the day-to-day operations of the foundation.
The Labor Heritage Foundation shares office space with the AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Its programs continue to be held at the Meany Center (now known as the National Labor College).
Programs
GLAE remains the largest and most prominent program of the Labor Heritage Foundation. The festival now includes a variety of artistic and cultural endeavors, such as cartooning, painting, film, puppetry, street theater, and photography. GLAE participants have included singer Pete SeegerPete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
, artist Ralph Fasanella
Ralph Fasanella
Ralph Fasanella was a self-taught painter whose large, detailed works depicted urban working life and critiqued post-World War II America.-Early life:...
, photographer Earl Dotter and poet Chris Llewellyn
Chris Llewellyn (poet)
-Life:She graduated from Warren Wilson College.Her work appeared in Pudding House.She married Justice Department lawyer Edward Bordley. They live in a small Northeast Washington, D.C. apartment, and have a daughter, Elizabeth Bordley.-External links:...
.
Concurrently with GLAE, the Labor Heritage Foundation also holds an annual Conference on Creative Organizing, which trains worker activists and labor union staff in the use of songs, chants, skits, costumes, food, and other cultural media in organizing and collective bargaining
Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...
campaigns.
Publishing constitutes a third major program of the foundation. The organization has published a number of books and pamphlets. Topics include labor history, song, photography, poetry, children's activities, short story collections, biographies and autobiographies, graphic novels, and collections of graphic art. The foundation has also published a limited number of audio recordings, including song collections and oral histories.
In 1996, the foundation developed the Labor Culture Consulting and Referral Service, a database of artists active in the labor movement, and published the Directory of Cultural Resources for use by local unions in identifying community artists and arts organizations which may be of assistance in union activities.
The foundation supports regional labor arts festival
Arts festival
An arts festival is a festival that focuses on the visual arts in all its forms, but which may also focus on or include other arts.Arts festivals in the visual arts are exhibitions and are not to be confused with the commercial art fair. Artists participate in the most important of such festival...
s and community arts exchanges on an irregular and limited basis.
Lifetime achievement award
The Labor Heritage Foundation began presenting the Joe Hill AwardJoe Hill Award
The Joe Hill Award is an annual arts festival award.The award is named for Joe Hill, a radical songwriter, labor activist and member of the Industrial Workers of the World. He was executed for murdering a local anti-union businessman and his son...
in 1989. The award honors individuals for a body of work in the field of labor culture.