Author: Toby Higbie
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On a mission to organize immigrant workers
Read more: On a mission to organize immigrant workersLaunched in 1989, the California Immigrant Workers Association (CIWA) supported a number of break-through union campaigns with immigrant workers. David Sickler, regional director for the AFL-CIO, conceived of CIWA as a way to funnel support for the many organizing drives that developed in the wake of the Immigration Reform and Control Act. CIWA staff provided […]
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Jobs with Peace
Read more: Jobs with PeaceHow can progressive political movements win power in geographically expansive and multiracial cities like Los Angeles? The answer, according to the Los Angeles Jobs with Peace campaign was “coalition architecture,” an intentional strategy to link the interests of organized labor with the peace movement, the women’s movement, and the African American civil rights movement through […]
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Somma waterbed workers win back pay
Read more: Somma waterbed workers win back payIn 1984, workers at the Somma waterbed factory in East Los Angeles began organizing fellow workers at neighborhood soccer games and decide to join the ILGWU. Most of the workers were immigrants from Mexico and Central America, many without documentation. Their employer was Angel Echevarria, a prominent figure in the Latino community and in Los […]
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Pacific Coast School for Workers
Read more: Pacific Coast School for WorkersBetween 1933 and 1945, the University of California collaborated with California Department of Education and the California Federation of Labor to offer workers’ education courses through the University Extension. Known first as the Western Summer School for Workers, then as the Pacific Coast School for Workers, and finally as the Pacific Coast Labor School, the […]
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Fighting Mass Deportation during the Great Depression
Read more: Fighting Mass Deportation during the Great DepressionNon-Citizen Americans in the South West Caravans of Sorrow One hears much today about Hemisphere unity. The press sends special correspondents to Latin America, South of the Border songs are wailed by the radio, educational institutions and literary circles speak the language of cultural cooperation, and, what is more important, labor unions are seeking the […]
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The “Student-Industrial Movement” of the 1920s
Read more: The “Student-Industrial Movement” of the 1920sStudent-Industrial Movement Proves Worth I first became acquainted with the idea of the student-industrial movement in 1922 at a weekend party conducted by the Young Women’s Christian Association. At that time I was not much impressed with its importance, and wished I would not be invited again; however, since then I have learned to appreciate […]