DONATE TODAY TO DEFEAT SCOTT WALKER

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May 29th, 2012

It all comes down to next week. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE! EVERYBODY WHO CARES AT ALL ABOUT WORKERS AND LABOR, GET ONLINE TODAY AND DONATE WHATEVER YOU CAN AFFORD TO HELP THE GET OUT THE VOTE CAMPAIGN TO DEFEAT SCOTT WALKER IN WISCONSIN.

WE CAN ONLY FIGHT CITIZENS UNITED AND THE 1% MANIPULATORS IF WE STICK TOGETHER AND PUT $10, $20 OR $50 DOWN TO HELP DEFEAT THESE ANTI-WORKER FORCES.

PLEASE VISIT ANY OF THE WEBSITES FIGHTING THIS BATTLE TODAY AND GIVE THEM THE AMMUNITION THEY NEED TO PULL THIS VOTE OUT.

Congratulations to Our Award Winners!!

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May 15th, 2012

Please take a look at our new home page. We recognize the award winning efforts of our first year's wonderful group of filmmakers and scriptwriters.  All were talented and creative beyond belief - but we had to narrow it down to a few of the most well received this year.  Each of these projects deserves a wide release and a long life on DVDs around the world.

We at the Workers Unite Film Festival are not only are already thinking about next year - but we plan to utilize many of these fine films in pop-up festivals around the city and around the country throughout this election year. Please call us if you'd like some amazing labor/worker cinema to help your organizing drive, your union meeting, your worker center get-together - or even your local's summer picnic! We'll screen the right film anywhere there are workers looking to learn more about their lives and how their struggles are the same struggles as their brothers and sisters around the world.

And a few final words for this year's festival:

Many thanks to all our entrants for  entering over 95 new amazing films and screenplays to the first annual Workers Unite film Festival that highlight the struggles and victories of workers and their unions from around the world!
When we started to plan the event over one year ago, we hoped to present powerful, timely stories about where we as a worker/labor movement had come from, as well as what was happening right now on the streets, including Occupy Wall Street. Our goal was for as many people as possible to gain strength from the knowledge that even during a very tough year of anti-labor legislation here at home, that workers across the region, across the country and all over the world, were still organizing, still fighting for their rights and still positive about making progressive change. We were overwhelmed by the response, the creativity, the vision and the passion. We salute each and every one of our entrants and hope to see more of their work in the years to come.

Keep organizing, keep fighting, keep filming! In Solidarity. See you next year.

AN IMPORTANT MOMENT FROM THE FESTIVAL

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May 9, 2012

 

Our esteemed Program Director, Phil Hopper, who recently recieved a Fulbright Fellowship to teach film and television in Jerusalem and the West Bank for a year - congratulations Phil! has an important moment from the festival he would like us all to remember.

Geroge Stoney, one of the founders of the social documentary film movement and still going strong at 96! came to the festvial and he and Phil made some important points prior to the screening of George's short film on Bread and Roses, the cultural arm of SEIU 1199's huge healthcare workers union.

When he was introduced at our first Workers Unite Film Festival George Stoney challenged the audience, asking "How do we teach our students about the importance of labor." Later, at the end of that program Festival Program Director Phil Hopper rephrased the question, "How do we teach digital natives, many of whom think they live in the United States of Entertainment, about the value of labor and work?" There are no easy answers but the central question - how to engage young people in labor issues as the social network continues to erode - is important for all of the 99%. We are the United States.

I couldn't agree more!

Tremendous Crowds for NYC Premiere of "Brothers on the Line"

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May 6, 2012

As the first annual Workers Unite Film Festival enters its final day we are thrilled to report the sold-out crowdsfor Sasha Reuther's NYC Premeir of "Brothers On The Line."  Sasha's powerful and fascinating film tells the story of the three amazing Reuther brothers who were the forces behind the formation of the United Auto Workers Union and supported many progressive labor and civil rights efforts.

Huge Crowd Attends NYC Premiere of Brothers On The Line

 

So many wonderful films throughout the weekend! Workers fighting back around the world and from right in the local area. From garment workers in Bangladesh fighting to form a union, to "iron slaves" breaking up moth balled oil tankers in the Pakistani desert, to union members in a famous cookie plant in the Bronx trying to save their jobs from a thoughtless new owner - we have seen how dedicated workers who talk to each other, organize and fight for their union and their rights to dignified work can have a tremendous effect.

Thanks to all the amazing film makers who sent in their films, to the screenplay writers who entered their scripts and to all the workers, union members and friends who attended our first annual event. 

We plan to debrief and are open to your suggestions to build an even bigger and better festival for next year.

THANK YOU TO THE RUBIN FOUNDATION, AMALGAMATED LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, ALIGRAPHICS,SEIU 1199 HCWE, 32BJ SEIU, THE JOSEPH S. MURPHY INSTITUTE FOR WORKER EDUCATION AND LABOR STUDIES, THE NATIONAL TAXI WORKER ALLIANCE and all our friends and supporters who made this event possible.

We ARE the 99%!!!!

George Stoney, 96 and Still Fighting for Labor Rights

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May 5, 2012

George Stoney, 96 and one of the founders of the social documentary film movement, introduced his film this afternoon at the first Annual Workers Unite Film Festival. This short film, Bread and Roses, tells the story of the cultural arm of the large 1199SEIU Health Care Workers Union.

Bread and Roses was a term from the famous Lawrence, MA textile strikes of over 100 years ago, where the women striking for fair wages and a better life also sang songs about not only striking for bread - but for roses too! They wanted to be treated fairly at work, paid a living wage, but also to enjoy their lives, have culture that was important to them and time to enjoy their other pursuits.

We are fighting for the very same issues today and with this festival - we are trying to project exactly that same message - all working people deserve fair wages and decent benefits, but also lives filled with the same access to beauty, culture, relaxation and hobbies as the 1%. Workers lives should never be just about slaving away and constantly worrying about the next electric bill or mortgage payment.

Come see the rest of the program tonight and on Sunday!

Amazing First Day of The Workers Unite Film Festival

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May 5th, 2012

The first day of the first annual Workers Unite Film Festival has come and gone and it was incredible! Films about workers from Bangla Desh, Pakistan, Afghanistan all the way right back to taxi workers in New York City.

We saw workers all over the country and the world fighting for dignity and their rights to organize into unions.

We saw the brand new National Taxi Workers Alliance receiving the first new membership in the AFL-CIO in over sixty years! We were thrilled to have Bhairavi Desai, Executive Director of the National Taxi Workers Alliancein attendance for this powerful slate of films about how working people can organize and fight back against greedy and exploitative owners.

Come see the rest of the festival over the next two days - still lots of great movies, great stories.

See you there!

As We Celebrate May Day - See Where Apple Hides it's Billions Tax Free

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May 1, 2012

As hundreds of thousands of worker and labor activists prepare to demonstrate today and celebrate their worker power, it is instructive to remember how things get so lop-sided in this crazy, unbalanced economy.

At a time when school budgets are getting slashed and uniformed services necessary for our comfort, safety and security fall under the ax - the NY Times has detailed a very simple, completely legal scheme whereby Apple, the most profitable company on earth - nearly $47 Billion earned this past year! avoids billions in state income taxes by....simply moving an office to Reno, NV.  Nevada has no state income tax - versus California's obviously onerous 8.4% tax on corporate profits. Of course without things like public schools and road and fire, sanitation and police services, among many others - Apple might never have grown to be such a successful corporation. But these are the heady days for the 1% types and they will fill a phone book with excuses as to why paying anything like a fair share of local taxes is a burden on their growth and ability to compete. In fact, they and many corporate types like them are heavily funding GPS:Crossroads - the GOP attack Obama machine - and the funding arm of the "save Scott Walker from early forced retirement," committee in Wisconsin.

This, of course, is complete and utter nonsense and we must treat it as such. If Apple alone paid a more equitable share of it's profits to CA as tax, that alone would add almost $3 BILLION to the state treasury. To say this would not have any effect on the quality of life of most CA residents, suffering under austerity programs, like in most states right now is just hogwash. Would Apple be that much the loser on $47 Billion minus the $3 Billion?

As you march around the country tomorrow and think about the roles of the 99% and the 1%, think about common decency, think about fairness and what we once thought of as the American dream. And before your reach for that new Ipad or Iphone, think about a company that wants to take your hard earned money, suck out the resources in your depression shocked neighborhood, then put it down and write them a letter about being a better corporate citizen to the rest of us in the country.

Read the rest of the article here:http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/business/apples-tax-strategy-aims-at-low-tax-states-and-nations.html?src=me&ref=general

See you out on the street today!!

We Salute the Struggle of the WGA East to Keep Dignity and Fairness on the Job

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April 27th, 2012

The Workers Unite film Festival salutes and supports our Brothers and Sisters, fighting for fairness from greedy production houses seeking to cut healthcare benefits. Read about it here!

 

“Race to the Top” protest by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and the Writers Guild of America, East of reality production company Atlas Media for refusal to provide employee health benefits.
 
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, NYCCLC AFL-CIO President Vincent Alvarez, and an assortment of Labor and OWS activists joined the Writers Guild of America, East, (WGAE) Protest Against Reality-Show Production Company Atlas Media, and urged Atlas to join the "Race to the Top" by providing Health Benefits for their Writers and Producers.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, NYCCLC President Vincent Alvarez, along with members of IATSE, IBEW, CWA-NABET, RWDSU, TNG-CWA, SAG-AFTRA, UAW, and OWS joined Atlas Media employees and their union, the Writers Guild of America, East, along with WGAE President, Michael Winship, as they called on Atlas Media, a major reality-television production company, to join the "Race to the Top" and to provide health care for its employees. The protest started on Fri., April 27 at 10:00 a.m.

 Writers and producers gathered outside of Atlas's offices and staged an actual race along West 36th Street to demand that the company not settle for "last place" when it comes to employee health benefits.

 
Atlas, which has reality series on several major cable channels such as Discovery and Travel Channel, is one of the production companies that is a focus of the “Non-Fiction Writers & Producers United” campaign by writers and producers to provide health benefits to a part of the industry long considered to be the “sweatshop” of the writing business.

You can get more information on this campaign on the WGAE website at; www.wgaeast.org  or by contacting Justin Molito, WGAE Director of Organizing at jmolito@wgaeast.org.

You can also get more information here:http://broadcastunionnews.blogspot.com/2012/04/race-to-top-protest-by-afl-cio.html

Come Visit Our Kickstarter Page Today and Pledge!

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April 23, 2012

Hooray!  We finally have our dear little Kickstarter page up and running so now we need you all to come visit.

Check us out at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/885835947/workers-unite-film-festival-0

Read about the ongoing project, make comments, pledge your support in return for cool gifts and rewards!

The Workers Unite Film Festival can only survive if you support our efforts. We do it all for you!

Thanks!! In Solidarity - the Workers Unite Film Festival Team.

Read All About ALEC - Or Why Unions need to Fight Back

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April 22, 2012

ALEC - the conservative not-for-profit group that has come under scrutiny lately for funneling millions of dollars of corporate cash into intense, methodically planned lobbying campaigns to push pro-business (anti-union and anti-worker) agendas through "friendly" state legislators seems to have lost some interesting internal paperwork.

Check out this important and fascinating report from the NY Times that received over 500 pages of emails and documents from ALEC. These indicate the close association between many hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from many major national corporations -including AT&T, WalMart and many others, and the design, coordination and passage of some of the most pro-business, anti-union and worker laws - as was seen in Wisconsin after the election of Scott Walker.

The link is: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/us/alec-a-tax-exempt-group-mixes-legislators-and-lobbyists.html?pagewanted=1&ref=todayspaper 

Everybody from labor, worker or progressive groups needs to read this carefully in order to understand:

1) The level of coordination and outreach that corporations now have to not only spread their message, but get them passed into anti-worker laws.

2) Give credit where it is due - these pro-business, anti-worker ALEC types come out of marketing and promotion and data-mining at the highest levels. The Left needs to keep the pressure on both ALEC - which unbelievably is currently tax-exempt! And we as progressives need to really understand the amount of spade work it really takes to turn around some of the most vicious legislation that has been passed in over fifty years.

We beat back the Kasich crap in Ohio - we can beat these schlemiels too (look it up!!). We just have to pay attention, spend some of our campaign money more wisely - for the long term effect and never, ever, ever let our guard down against these putzes.

This Is the American Spring!

Unions Are Not Obsolete!

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April 21st, 2012

"Unions are not obsolete," was said by one of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) miners upon returning to work in Boron, California last May, after a brutal 4 month lock-out by Rio Tinto - a huge global mining conglomerate, against several hundred workers in their Boron Borax mining facility.

The film, "Locked Out," Produced and Directed by the talented Joan Sekler, details how even in this moment of downturned economy and historically low levels of union membership, that when workers unite and stay focused, while using all the tools of current technology and media to spread their message of resistance - they can still stop a vicious anti-union company like Rio Tinto in its tracks.

These ILWU miners formed relationships and support networks both within the local community - so during tough times they had neighbors watching their backs. They also sought help from brother and sister unions all over the region and the country - who came to demonstrate, to donate food and funds and ultimately let Rio Tinto know that even though they might use scabs to pull some of the Borax out of the mine - the filled containers were not going to go on any ships if the company did not come to the table.

Ultimately, workers who had taken the union for granted for almost forty years, were reawakened to the necessity and value of having a really strong union at their job. As this worker said, he'd always looked on the ILWU as just another job related bureaucratic structure, but he was damn happy they were their when the trouble went down. He was sure he would never take his union for granted again.

Of course some compromises were made - and this is not a completely happy ending - but we need to keep organizing, keep building our support systems, use our networks, our culture, our media -  collaborate with OWS folks, local townspeople - then we'll be on the right road to worker power that can totally stop any anti-worker, anti-union company in its tracks.

Thanks to Joan Sekler for a fantastic film. I hope you get to see it during our Workers Unite Film Festival, coming May 4,5,6 in NYC.

Hudson Valley Labor Federation Tells it Straight on the War on Workers

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RESOLUTION OF THE HUDSON VALLEY AREA LABOR FEDERATION
SUPPORTING THE RIGHT OF ALL WORKERS AND CALLING 
ON THE END OF THE WAR ON WORKERS


WHEREAS, public- and private-sector union workers are our friends, neighbors, taxpayers, and constituents, and through their efforts, they enable us to meet our commitments to all citizens of our counties of Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Rockland, Sullivan and Ulster, and;

WHEREAS, the rights of our citizens to unionize to positively affect working conditions, wages, benefits, and our communities as a whole is an important right, and;

WHEREAS, historically, labor unions are responsible for the civilized working conditions we take for granted, including 40-hour work weeks, laws pertaining to child labor, health and safety conditions, overtime pay, and health insurance and pension coverage, and;

WHEREAS, the rights of workers to organize and form unions has directly led to the growth and success of the middle class in the United States, and;

WHEREAS, a coordinated attack on middle-class protections and rights has commenced in state capitals through the country at a time when elected officials should be working to create jobs and strengthen their state economies rather than paying back corporate sponsors and attacking political enemies;

WHEREAS, as a central part of our democracy, labor unions are the bulwark of assuring a strong middle-class society, and no democracy denies public- or private-sector employees the right to organize and participate in a union and to negotiate at arm’s length and in good faith with their employer, and;

WHEREAS, collective bargaining is neither a weapon nor a bludgeon but rather an enlightened method to resolve disagreements in good faith, and;

IT IS THEREFORE RESOLVED by the Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation that:

Resolved: Those workers in states and municipalities in this country, regardless of economic sector and job title or responsibility, must have a basic right to organize and bargain collectively for a fair and just outcome.

Resolved: This body expresses its strong support for the rights of workers, including but not limited to the right to form a union and to collectively bargain in good faith with an employer.

Resolved: We as a society must end this War on Workers, and recognize that a strong middle class is the only way to ensure the United States remains a strong economic engine.

Read this 3rd day of March, 2011 by HVALF AFL-CIO President Paul Ellis-Graham at the Hudson Valley Labor Solidarity Rally in Support of Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana Public Workers in support of their right to collectively bargain. 

At 5:10 pm a motion was made by Billy Riccaldo, Vice President of HVALF AFL-CIO. The motion was seconded by Adrian Huff, Principal Officer of Teamsters Local 445. 

The Resolution passed unanimously.

We couldn't have said it better ourselves - go to thier site:http://hvalf.org/index.cfm

Our President Misses the Boat on Colombian Labor and Human Rights.

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April 17th, 2012

Yes, we do support President Obama as the only hope for working people in this currently rigged system - but we have to point out when he makes a huge mistake. As several labor groups have pointed out - the record of the Colombian government - while not as horrendous as a few years ago - is still terrible. Labor organizers are beaten and murdered as a routine method of silencing labor union organizing. Labor rights must be civil rights and human rights - without any question. All people must be free to associate in order to gain a far deal from employers, whether small and local, or large and transnational. Read the letter below and please send a letter to your local paper.

 

WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON COLOMBIA
During his visit to Colombia for Summit of the Americas, President Obama ignored Colombia's continuing displacement crisis, despite the thousands of people living in squalor just outside the walls of colonial Cartagena where he was staying. He green lighted the implementation of the free trade agreement, even though union leaders continue to be murdered and paramilitary groups keep killing and displacing people to make way for agricultural and extractive industries.  
Colombia's war is raging and our military aid and trade policies are a part of the problem.
We need to set the record straight.  
Please send a letter to the editor of your local newspapers to make sure that news coverage of Obama trip to Colombia doesn't sweep Colombia's war and humanitarian disaster under the rug.
Fill in your zip code and choose a paper in your area. Then, you'll find a sample text. But remember, editors want to hear from you in your own words. If you have an extra minute, please feel free to personalize your letter.
WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON COLOMBIADuring his visit to Colombia for Summit of the Americas, President Obama ignored Colombia's continuing displacement crisis, despite the thousands of people living in squalor just outside the walls of colonial Cartagena where he was staying. He green lighted the implementation of the free trade agreement, even though union leaders continue to be murdered and paramilitary groups keep killing and displacing people to make way for agricultural and extractive industries.  
Colombia's war is raging and our military aid and trade policies are a part of the problem.
We need to set the record straight.  
Please send a letter to the editor of your local newspapers to make sure that news coverage of Obama trip to Colombia doesn't sweep Colombia's war and humanitarian disaster under the rug.
Fill in your zip code and choose a paper in your area. Then, you'll find a sample text. But remember, editors want to hear from you in your own words. If you have an extra minute, please feel free to personalize your letter.

 

Bangladeshi Union Organizer Aminul Islam Murdered for Organizing Workers

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April 12, 2012

We were terribly saddened to receive this meesage just a short time ago regarding one of the organizers working in Bangladesh, like many of the courageous workers and activists portrayed in the WUFF film to be screen in May - The Machinists. The danger to organizers and activists simply fighting for fairness and justice with a living wage is real. They are beaten and murdered, often tortured as a message  to other workers and every effort is made by the local employer class, with the cooperation of corrupt government, to disrupt and destroy any effort by the workers to gain any type of level playing field.

Please follow the guidelines below in sending your anger to the government of Bangladesh.

From
Liana Foxvog, International Labor Rights Forum laborrights@ilrf.org
2:15 PM (4 hours ago)

TAKE ACTION

1. SEND A LETTER to Prime Minister of Bangladesh demanding an investigation into the murder.
 
2. DONATE to support demonstrations in Bangladesh.

3. MEET BCWS LEADER Kalpona Akter at ILRF's May Day Forum in D.C.

Aminul Islam was murdered in apparent retaliation for supporting garment workers' right to organize.

Dear Andrew,

Last Wednesday, Aminul Islam left his office for evening prayers. He noticed a police van parked outside and called his colleagues, worried about possible harassment. Then he went to meet with a worker. He never returned home.

His body was found a day later. According to police reports his legs had severe torture marks including a hole made by a sharp object. All his toes were broken.

Aminul was a senior organizer at the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS) and a local leader for the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation (BGIWF). ILRF has worked with BCWS and BGIWF for many years. They have been a critical force in the effort to defend workers’ rights in a country known for sub-poverty wages, deadly factory fires, and repression of the right to organize.

Over the past two years, the government of Bangladesh has carried out a campaign of intimidation and harassment against BCWS. On June 16, 2010, Aminul was detained by security forces, beaten repeatedly and threatened with death, in an attempt to coerce him into making incriminating statements against the organization. Not long after, he and his colleagues Kalpona Akter and Babul Akhter were arrested and kept in jail for nearly a month, where they were subjected to psychological and physical abuse. Since 2010, Aminul, Kalpona and Babul have faced criminal charges for which no substantiating evidence has been presented.

Given this history, there is strong reason to suspect that Aminul’s murder was in retaliation for his efforts as a labor rights organizer and to fear this could represent a violent escalation in the repression of worker rights advocates in Bangladesh.

Join with us in calling for a thorough and impartial investigation into Aminul's murder. BCWS and BGIWF have asked for an outpouring of letters to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Please take a moment to add your voice!

In solidarity,

Liana Foxvog
National Organizer

Join ILRF on May 1st in Washington, DC
Democracy and An Economy for All: From Protests to Strategies for Change
Check out the featured speakers and register today!

Workers Unite Film Festival Is Open For Business!!

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April 10th, 2012

Hooray!! After months of searching out new and provocative films and hours spent programming and tweaking
all types of internet code and internet commerce doo-dads - whew! the first Annual Workers Unite Film Festival is open for your ticket buying pleasure.

Now do your part - log in - take a look at the amazing films we have gathered to tell the story of workers and labor organizers around the world during this American Spring. We need your support and the more tickets we sell, the more we can donate to our honorees, the more we can spend on collaborations with up and coming film students, like those incredible students from the new School of Visual Arts MFA in Social Documentaries. What an amazing program and we are happy to have the help and creative spark of all the students involved.

Many thanks too, to our tireless Program Director - Phil Hopper, who not only has overseen the screening and selection of films, but has shuttled hard drives around NYC to keep our "films from the front lines," collaborations moving forward. We could not have done it without his help. 

So check out the schedule. Buy some blocks of tickets. We are still finalizing speakers to introduce a few of the programs, but the speakers we already have - Bhairavi Desai, Ed Ott, George Stoney, Esther Cohen, Ruth Milkman, Greg Mantsios and quite a few of our treasured film makers, are some of the most important people in the field of worker studies, labor organizing and documentary film today.

Thanks for keep an eye on this blog - please friend us on facebook, tweet us on twitter and keep up the fight for worker rights. Labor Rights are civil rights! Pass It On!

 

 

Our Inaugural Workers Unite Film Festival is a Reality!

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April 5, 2012

The first annual Workers Unite Film Festival released its inaugural schedule of films late last night, after months of work by a committed team of volunteers and film /labor enthusiasts. Our schedule reflects a balance from important historical films, rarely seen - such as "By The River I Stand," about the Memphis garbage workers strike of 1968, to brand new films about global labor solidarity and struggle from around the world, such as "Stitched Together," and "Legends of the Welfare State."

Check out the schedule on the schedule page. Ticket purchases will be available by the weekend - via the "Tix" ticket buying program - easy and online - and will be sold by the programs (10 programs) - $13.00/$10.00 Students & Seniors, Day Pass - $33/$28 for students - or Festival Pass - for all events and all screenings - $88/$68 students.  

Remember that 101 years ago - this very day - corrupt Tammany Hall politicians dumped the remaining unclaimed bodies of the victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in an unmarked and secret Potters Field - to avoid the possibility of a "martyr's grave site," that might become the focus of demonstrations in remembrance. In response - over 100,000 union members, family of other victims and activists marched through an icy rain, watched by over 300,000 more spectators. As they neared the site of the fire tragedy, such a colossal wail of pure anger, revulsion and deep aching sadness arose from the huge assembly that it shook the city and even those corrupt Tammany Hall politicians to the core. New rules were passed, new laws gained traction to protect workers. A collective outpouring of worker anger and resolve paid off.

Let's not forget this, brothers and sisters. We will never forget - we will organize and fight back!
Thanks for all your support so far. Look forward to seeing you at the festival in May! 

Workers Unite Film Festival to release Full Schedule April 1st, 2012

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March 31st, 2012

After months of outreach, screening and jurying, the team behind the first annual Workers Unite Film Festival, to be held May 4th, 5th and 6th in the heart of NYC, near Columbus Circle, is proud to announce the full schedule for the upcoming event will be released and hopefully online by April 1st!

We have built two nights in celebration of our recent heroes of the working people's movement - The NY Taxi Workers Alliance - recently chartered as the first new, national union in over fifty years by the AFL-CIO, is our honoree for Friday night May 4th, at 7PM. The Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies, will be our honoree for Saturday May 5th, for the whole day. We will celebrate their efforts to educate a new generation of active and informed labor leaders to carry on the decades old fight for worker dignity and worker's rights. We have a wonderful slate of films for both days.

Sunday May 6th is our celebration of "Films From the Front Lines," a variety of new films about current battles across the country and from around the world to fight for worker/labor rights as human rights and civil rights.

We have a full afternoon of films from Wisconisn, Ohio, Slovakia, Bangladesh, to right in our own backyards here in NYC - organizing drives to save jobs at an iconic cookie factory and the fight to get a fair shake for the hundreds of hard-working folks who make your lattes every morning.

So check out the schedule! Buy tickets! The festival order site will be up this week. Tell your friends!!!