2011 Events
Actor/activist WALI JAMALl does MARTIN DELANEY, a superb presentation on a too often neglected historical Hero
Photo: Jim Hohman
October 2 , 2011, Sunday, 1:30 p.m. "Hobos, Hobohemia, and Homelessness in America."
Author Todd DePastino will give a talk about the history of hoboing. The Battle of Homestead Foundation (BHF) is a charitable and educational organization whose purpose is "to interpret, preserve and promote labor and people's history and provide a forum for speakers and events at the historic Pump House, site of the Battle of Homestead on July 6, 1892." (By-Laws of the BHF) The films are free and open to the public, but donations are always welcome.
Session in Honor of Dave Demarest
April 16, 2011, Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Homestead:
"From Milltown to Malltown."
In their new book, From Milltown to Malltown, poets Jim Daniels and Jane McCafferty team up with photographer Charlee Brodsky to explore the steel-era ghosts of Homestead, Pa., and to confront the demons of its mallified Waterfront. Jim Daniels will read poems from the book in concert with Brodsky photographs. Poet Peter Oresick will introduce the program, which will begin with a special tribute to Dave Demarest, whom we will honor for initiating this poetry reading series at the Pump House many years ago. A book signing follows.
May 15, 2011, Sunday, 1:30 p.m. "Keepers of the Mountains—Land, Labor, Unity."
Larry Gibson will speak about the struggles to preserve Blair Mountain, land, and union jobs in the face of mountaintop removal mining, which destroys communities, harms fresh water supplies, and automates workers' jobs.
June 5, 2011, Sunday, 1:30 p.m. "Boarding the Westbound Journey of a Depression- era Hobo."
Joseph Szalanski, author, will sign his book and speak about his father's experiences as a hobo and steelworker during the Great Depression.
July 17, 2011, Sunday, 1:30 p.m. "The Poison Fruit of Taft-Hartley."
The United Steelworkers annual Bernard Kleiman Lecture will feature Richard J. Brean, General Counsel of the USW, to speak about the "Slave Labor Statute" and other legal obstacles to organizing today.
August 14, 2011, Sunday, 1:30 p.m. "Community Gardens, Agricultural Cooperatives, and Food Politics in Our Region: Watching What We Eat."
A panel of those engaged in these projects will discuss them.
 Author William Adler brought his definitive biography of Joe Hill "The Man Who Never Died" to the Pumphouse, accompanied by the irrepressible Anne Feeney Photos: Jim Jim Hohman |
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Movie Schedule for 2011
April 28, 2011, Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Triangle Fire. Jamila Wignot; Mark
Zwonitzer. Apograph Productions, PBS Distribution, 2011. 60
min. Triangle Returns: Young Women Continue to Die in
Locked Sweatshops. Institute for Global Labour and Human
Rights (formerly National Labor Committee), 2011. 9 min.
This Triangle Fire documentary was produced to mark the 100th anniversary of one of the nation's deadliest workplace tragedies. In New York City, on March 25, 1911, 146 garment workers, mostly young Jewish and Italian women, were unable to escape a blazing factory fire because of locked doors. The tragedy sparked greater unionization efforts and gave rise to a progressive coalition of reformers who sought safety and workplace legislation that set a precedent for the New Deal.
Triangle Returns reminds us that tragedies like the Triangle Fire continue to happen today. In the global economy, workers in sweatshops toil for 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, for little pay. They are subjected to locked exits that prevent them from escaping fatal workplace fires. People were outraged by the Triangle Fire, but where is the outrage today?
May 26, 2011, Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Coal Country. Phylis Geller, writer and director; Mari-Lynn Evans, producer. Evening Star Productions, 2009. 84 min.
This award-winning documentary explores the impact, benefits, and costs of mountaintop removal in contemporary West Virginia. The filmmakers' opposition to mountaintop removal does not prevent them from allowing proponents of the process of blasting off the tops of mountains to obtain the coal therein as well as opponents of that process to have their say. This examination of an important issue is one everyone should see.
June 30, 2011, Thursday, 7:30 p.m. One Day Longer: The Story of the Frontier Strike. Amie S. Williams. Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees International Union. Bal-Maichen Films, 1999. This film documents the story of one of the longest strikes in U.S. history. UNITE HERE workers at the Frontier Hotel and Casino went on strike in Las Vegas in 1991 after the company slashed wages and benefits. The strikers held a 24-hour picket line for over six years. In those six years not one striking worker crossed the line. Their victory is inspiring as we must face and take action against the current attack on unions that is happening across our country.
July 28, 2011, Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Struggles in Steel: A Story of African- American Steelworkers. Tony Buba, Ray Henderson, and others. California Newsreel, 2009, 1996. 58 min. Tony Buba's powerful film describes the important role of African American workers in the steel industry. Poignant interviews with veteran steelworkers trace black struggles for justice inside both the industry and the steel workers union. Ray Henderson, longtime activist in Braddock and Duquesne, provides knowledgeable commentary and insightful interview questions. A photography exhibit will accompany the movie.
August 25, 2011, 7:30 p.m. People and Power, The Struggle Continues: A History of Steelworkers, 1880-1980. Rick Peduzzi, producer and writer. IUP Homestead Project. 96 min. This film provides an overview of the history of steelworkers in the Pittsburgh region. Its special focus is the USS Homestead Plant. Using documents and interviews with a wide variety of people, it covers the organization of the steel industry, the 1892 lockout, the 1919 strike, the organization of the United Steel Workers, and the post World War II era. Of special interest is its portrayal of the fight against the plant closings of the 1970s and 1980s.
September 29, 2011, Thursday, 7:30 p.m. The Coca-Cola Case. Montreal: NFB/ONF, 2010. 85 min. Directors German Gutiérrez and Carmen Garcia present a documentary inquiry and indictment of the Coca-Cola Company's alleged kidnapping, torture and murder of union leaders who were and are seeking to improve working conditions in Colombia, Guatemala, and Turkey. Union lawyers and activists were followed as they sought to hold the giant U.S. multinational corporation accountable for violations of legal and human rights.
October 27, 2011, Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Newspaper of Record: The Pittsburgh Courier, 1907-1965. 2009. 75 min. Pittsburgh filmmaker Kenneth Love, or one of his associates, will introduce his documentary about this nationally significant, Pittsburghbased, African American newspaper. At its height, the newspaper had 14 national editions and circulated to more than 350,000 people. It not only served as a record of African American life in general but also as a vanguard of the civil rights movement in particular.
| Literature |
Poetry | Film |
Labor | Music |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Serrin Judith Serrin John Hoerr Nick Coles Laurie Graham Clarke Thomas Melvyn Dubofsky Mildred Beik Jeanne Cecil and Dorothy Svitesic Jack Metzgar Lori Jakiela John Hinshaw Michael Yates |
Jan Beatty Peter Blair Robert Gibb Peter Oresick Timothy Russell |
Tony Buba Steffi Domike James Catano Jim Hohman |
John Sweeney Bill George Leo Gerard George Becker Rosemary Trump Jack Shea Dan Kavolik Lynn Williams Oliver Montgomery Sean George Tony Slomkowski |
Anne Feeney Joe Glaser Nelson Harrison Mike Stout Smokestack Lightning Raging Grannies |
| History | Artists |
Photography |
Community |
Other Distinguished Speakers |
| Dave Demarest Russ Gibbons Charles McCollester Joe White |
Gary Huck Mike Konopacki Robert Qualters Bill Yund |
Charlee Brodsky Gene Levy Steve Mellon Annie O'Neill Sandra Gould Ford Mark Perrot |
Mike Wagner Ed Salaj Ray Bodner Betty Esper Barney Oursler Paul Lodico Ed Salaj John and Linda Asmonga |
Bernard Kleiman William Gaughan Thorsten Gressor Msgr Charles Owen Rice Father Jack O'Malley Ken Wolensky Mike Healy |