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DC LABORFEST: HISTORY

Celebrating Labor Arts

DC LaborFest: HISTORY Events

​Organized and presented by the Metropolitan Washington Council of the AFL-CIO, the DC LaborFest features a wide-ranging selection of events about work, workers and workers’ issues. 

​AFL-CIO HEADQUARTERS TOUR: Wed, May 2, 12p – 1p
LABOR HISTORY WIKIPEDIA EDIT-A-THON: Fri, May 4; 12:00pm
FDR AND LABOR: Sun, May 6, 6pm
PUB TRIVIA LABOR EDITION: Mon, May 7, 7p
IBEW MUSEUM TOUR: Wed, May 9, 12:00p
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FOR LIBERTY, JUSTICE, AND EQUALITY: UNIONS MAKING HISTORY IN AMERICA: Sat, May 12, 9a-5p
LABOR HISTORY BIKE TOUR: Sat, May 12, 10:30a
IRON WORKERS HISTORY TOUR: Weds, May 16, 12:00p
LABOR AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY: Thu, May 17, 12:00p
LABOR HISTORY WALK: Sat, May 19, 10:00a
TEAMSTERS HISTORY TOUR: Wed, May 23, 12:00P 
​
MOST EVENTS ARE FREE; See below for detailed event write-ups and links to purchase tickets or RSVP. 

AFL-CIO HEADQUARTERS TOUR 

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Wed, May 2, 12p – 1p; AFL-CIO, 815 16th Street NW, Washington DC
FREE but you must RSVP online here
This guided tour features stunning mosaics of marble, glass and gold that pay tribute to America's working families at the headquarters of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, or AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions. Also included in the tour: a historic Ralph Fasanella painting, lobby artwork and displays honoring key figures in American labor history.

LABOR HISTORY WIKIPEDIA EDIT-A-THON

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Fri, May 4; 12:00pm – 3:00pm; AFL-CIO, 815 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20006
FREE; sign up here 
Help tell labor’s untold story; learn how to be a Wikipedia editor (it’s easy)! Bring your laptop and join a community interested in promoting labor history by editing entries in the popular online encyclopedia. WikimediaDC will be on hand to give a short presentation on how to edit in Wikipedia, and be available with expert help during the editing time. We’ll focus on developing entries related to the Labor History Collections at the University of Maryland, including the AFL-CIO Archives. Participants will receive complimentary issues of Labor’s Heritage journal. No editing experience necessary - Basic computer skills needed - Virtual editors welcome! 

FDR AND LABOR 

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Sun, May 6, 6pm; FDR Memorial 1850 West Basin Dr SW, Washington, DC 20242
FREE but you must RSVP online here

U.S. Park Ranger Mike Balis leads a special tour of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial through the lens of FDR’s long and complex history with the American labor movement and the nation’s workers. 

PUB TRIVIA LABOR EDITION

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Mon, May 7, 7p; McGinty’s Public House, 911 Ellsworth Dr, Silver Spring, MD 20910
FREE; RSVP here
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Organize your team now for this special labor edition of the popular weekly competition. Test your knowledge of the labor movement, have fun with friends and enjoy terrific food and drink at the unofficial LaborFest headquarters. Plus: prizes for the top teams!          

IBEW MUSEUM TOUR 

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Wed, May 9, 12:00p; IBEW, 900 Seventh Street N.W. Washington, DC.
FREE but space is limited and you must RSVP online here

A very special guided tour of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) museum. The IBEW museum presents an interactive history of the IBEW from its founding until today, tracing the fascinating development of the electrical industry over the last century through displays of equipment used by members going back to the 1890’s, including a collection of lightbulbs spanning more than a century. The tour will be led by IBEW Museum Curator Curtis Bateman. 

FOR LIBERTY, JUSTICE, AND EQUALITY: UNIONS MAKING HISTORY IN AMERICA

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Sat, May 12, 9a-5p; Hornbake Library, University of Maryland College Park campus, 4130 Campus Dr, College Park, MD 20740.

FREE but you must RSVP online here

Special hourly guided tours of this unique exhibit exploring the American labor movement’s contributions to social progress using documents, images, videos, and artifacts from the Labor History Archives at the University of Maryland. Illustrating some of the ways organized labor has created a more progressive America, the exhibit asks what we can learn from the lessons of labor history to create a future of greater liberty, justice, and equality.   

DC LABOR HISTORY BIKE TOUR 

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Sat, May 12, 10:30a meet; 11a-1p ride; meet at Union Station
$10 ($15/couple) donation benefits DC Jobs with Justice

Sign up here

A rollicking ride by bike through DC's history of working-class struggle, the tour will highlight sites and stories of resistance from the distant past to recent events, some memorialized in stone, others paved over and nearly forgotten.
Highlights include A. Philip Randolph at Union Station, the Frederick Douglas House, the U.S. Supreme Court, MLK Memorial, FDR Memorial, National Mall and the Dept. of Labor. 

IRON WORKERS HISTORY TOUR

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Weds, May 16, 12:00p; Iron Workers, 1750 New York Avenue NW, Washington DC (meet in lobby)

FREE but you must RSVP

Exclusive guided tour of the Iron Workers headquarters, featuring handmade motorcycles, a spectacular wall mural, historic tools, photos, convention paraphernalia, World Trade Center mementos and more! 

LABOR AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY 

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Thu, May 17, 12:00pm-2pm; 14th St and Constitution Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20001
FREE but space is limited and you must RSVP online here

Join us for a very special two-part guided labor tour of the National Museum of American History! First, we will go behind-the-scenes to uncover the museum’s labor history collections with Harry Rubenstein, chair and curator in the Division of Political History. Then we will join Mireya Loza and Kathleen Franz as they walk us through working class history objects in the Division of Work & Industry.

LABOR HISTORY WALK (canceled due to rain)

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Sat, May 19, 10:00a; meet at AFL-CIO, 815 16th Street NW, Washington
$11 per person donation benefits Jews United for Justice.

Sign up online here


From the Labor Hall of Fame to Joe Hill’s ashes, worker’s history is around just about every corner in our nation’s capital, if you know where to look. This 3-hour walking tour of downtown DC reveals labor’s often-untold story of protest and resistance. Library of Congress Steward Director for AFSCME Local 2910 and librarian David Fernández-Barrial. NOTE: it's an easy 2.5-mile walk but wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather.
​
Tour highlights: AFL-CIO lobby murals; 1953 CIO headquarters; The Real Roosevelt Memorial; Joe Hill’s ashes; Bas relief depictions of labor & trade; 1895 Knights of Labor HQ; Bonus Expeditionary Force & more.

TEAMSTERS HISTORY TOUR (Canceled)

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Wed, May 23, 12:00P; Teamsters, 25 Louisiana Ave NW, Washington, DC
FREE; RSVP online here

Find out how the horses on the Teamster logo got their names and lots of other fascinating Teamster labor history at this guided tour of the historical exhibits at the Teamsters headquarters building. Teamster historian Karin Jones leads the tour. 

Click below for the DC LaborFest YouTube channel, Twitter Feed and Facebook page
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COPYRIGHT METRO WASHINGTON LABOR COUNCIL AFL-CIO 2023
202-974-8150; [email protected]
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