Peter Cole, author of Wobblies on the Waterfront, will be speaking at Modern Times Bookstor, 888 Valencia Street, San Francisco

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The rise and fall of America’s first truly diverse labor union

For almost a decade during the 1910s and 1920s, the Philadelphia waterfront was home to the most durable interracial, multiethnic union seen in the United States prior to the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) era. In a period when most unions, like many institutions, excluded blacks or segregated them, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) was ideologically committed to racial equality. More than any other IWW affiliate, however, Local 8 worked to become a progressive, interracial union. For much of its time, the union majority was black, always with a cadre of black leaders, which included Ben Fletcher. Local 8 also claimed immigrants from Eastern Europe, as well as many Irish Americans, who had a notorious reputation for racism.

The IWW, KPFA, Earth First!, KPFA and the Berkeley Unitarians invite you to come celebrate the life, songs, and stories of this beloved American troubadour, hobo, wobbly organizer, rabble rouser, and tireless crusader for peace, environmental justice, and the rights of working people everywhere.

Join Rebecca Riots, the Labor Chorus, Hali Hammer, Darryl Cherney, Carol Denney and others for a rousing evening of music and memories of the unforgettable Utah Phillips, who left us on May 23. Proceeds will benefit the Hospitality House homeless shelter in Utah's hometown of Nevada City.

Videos of Utah will be shown during the program.

Doors open at 8 p.m.

$10 donation requested

For more information: 510-548-3113