The American Federation of Teachers and the Washington Teachers Union are looking for volunteers to help get 40,000 free books to DC students, families, educators and librarians. They need help sorting the books today and distributing them tomorrow, and all eligible volunteers can pick up their share of free books at the end of their shift.
The big give-away, in partnership with First Books, takes place at the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center at 701 Mississippi Ave Southeast. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Christine Curry at [email protected] or call 202-879-4496. Details on our website at dclabor.org. The weekend labor calendar is so full we can’t list everything, but here’s a quick run-down of some highlights: The play “Waiting for Lefty” wraps up its run this weekend at the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center, with performances tonight, tomorrow and Sunday; I saw it last weekend and it’s definitely worth seeing. "Confessions of a Theme Park Worker" continues at the Charm City Fringe Festival in Baltimore; There will be a number of actions against the Trans Pacific Partnership on Saturday and Sunday, cleverly called “Flush the TPP.” Go to dclabor.org and click on calendar for complete details on all these and more. Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1909, 259 miners died in the underground Cherry Mine fire. As a result of the disaster, Illinois established stricter safety regulations and in 1911, the basis for the state’s Workers Compensation Act was passed. In 1972, striking typesetters at the Green Bay, Wisconsin Press Gazette started a competing newspaper, The Green Bay Daily News. With financial support from a local businessman who hated the Press Gazette, the union ran the paper for four years before their angel died and it was sold to another publisher. The Gannett chain ultimately bought the paper, only to fold it in 2005. And on this date in 1974, Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union activist Karen Silkwood was killed in a suspicious car crash on her way to deliver documents to a newspaper reporter during a safety investigation of her Kerr-McGee plutonium processing plant in Oklahoma. Today’s labor quote is by Clifford Odets: “Everywhere now, men are rising from their sleep. Men -- men are understanding the bitter, black total of their lives. Their whispers are growing to shouts. They become an ocean of understanding. No man fights alone.” Odets wrote “Waiting for Lefty” and other plays.
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