The Inside Organizer School will hold another session on Feb. 8-10 at the ATU's Tommy Douglas Center in Silver Spring, MD. The training/retreat for novice and advanced organizers is coordinated by a group of organizing directors from ATU, SMART, and Unite Here, as well as Richard Bensinger, former Organizing Director of the AFL-CIO and founder of the Organizing Institute. The session -- which starts at 1p on Friday and ends at noon on Sunday --will focus on strategy and tactics for current campaigns, and includes a diverse group ranging from people with no organizing experience to lead organizers. For more information contact: [email protected]. The clatter and crash of bowling balls and pins fell silent for a few moments yesterday as bowlers paid tribute to Fred Allen, who is retiring after directing the Community Services Agency's annual Bowling for Gold tournament for every one of the event's 27 years. "Fred has helped raise more than a quarter of a million dollars for CSA's Emergency Assistance Fund," said CSA Executive Director Sonte DuCote. The thunderous round of applause clearly moved Allen, who promised "I'll keep showing up here every year as long as I can." Click here for team photos from the morning session and the afternoon session. photo (l-r): former CSA Exec. Dir. Kathleen McKirchy, Fred Allen, his wife Mary Farmer-Allen and CSA Exec. Dir. Sonte DuCote; photo by Chris Garlock “In laying before you the objects of this association we desire it to be understood that our objects are not merely pecuniary, but to mutually instruct and improve each other in knowledge, which is power: to study the laws of life, the relations of labor to capital, politics, municipal affairs, literature, science, or any other subject relating to the general welfare of our class.” Click here to check out this week's Labor History Today podcast. On this week’s show: the conclusion of our interview with labor historian Erik Loomis, and for our “Cool things from the George Meany Labor Archives” feature, Ben Blake has dug into the Sam Gompers boxes and come up with some intriguing items (right). Plus we remember the 1917 Bath Riots on the U.S.-Mexico border. American Miners’ Association formed - 1861 First U.S. unemployment compensation law enacted, in Wisconsin – 1932 |