#alllaborhasdignity

This quote perfectly exemplifies Mother Jones, a fierce and forceful labor activist who was dubbed "the most dangerous woman in America" by a US district attorney.

The ILGWU records held at the Kheel Center are the most extensive (over 2,500 linear feet!) and heavily used collection we possess. We are the the official repository of the ILGWU since 1987, containing photos, pamphlets, oral presentations, letters, banners, speeches, videos, and songs.

Here is an example of a poster from our ILGWU Broadsides Collection, #5780/109. For more on the ILGWU, visit this site: http://ilgwu.ilr.cornell.edu/.

Image description: A blue poster portraying two employees looking at a sign that says "The Law: You have the right to join a union". The poster then reads "YOU HAVE YOUR RIGHTS, USE THEM. The law says that you have the right to join a union. You can use that right to win more money in your pay envelopes and benefits you'd like but don't have. The law backs up your right. But only you can use it"

With the #UAW strike in full swing, here's some photos from our collections of historic UAW Strikes. This weeks' #LaborOrganizerSpotlight will be honoring past and current labor organizers involved with the UAW fighting for better conditions for auto workers.

These images are from one of the earliest UAW sit-down strikes of GM in Flint, Michigan from 1936, only a year after the union formed. Taking over GM plants between December and February 1937, the strike led to union recognition, pay increases, and 100,000 new GM employees joining the union.

On this day, Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Seeing labor and civil rights as twin pillars of social reform, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. worked tirelessly to advocate for working people, create connections with labor leaders and union members, play key roles in pivotal strikes, and fight for economic justice on several fronts. He believed strongly in the labor movement asserting that “organized labor has been one of the deterrents of human exploitation throughout its long history in America.”

Pictured: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., speaking at an AFL-CIO event.

Poster from Collection #6089 G Local 1199 Bread and Roses Culural Project Posters.