CWLU Herstory Blog

Book Launch and Reception

Wednesday, March 12, 20085 p.m. - 7 p.m.

UNITE! HERE

333 S. Ashland, Chicago IL

On the Global Waterfront by Suzan Erem and E. Paul Durrenberger tells the story of the Charleston 5, who became an international labor cause celebre when they were falsely accused of inciting a riot after police attacked a longshore protest in Charleston, South Carolina. The dockworkers were protesting the attempt by a multinational shipping conglomerate to shift to non-union labor.

Suzan Erem is a former Chicago labor organizer who wrote the book Labor Pains about her experiences as a SEIU staffer here in the Windy City. You can meet Suzan and get her autograph on the book by attending the celebration at UNITE! HERE on March 12.

The nursing profession faces enormous challenges in the coming years, particularly in hospital settings. Aggressive cost-cutting, higher patient acuity, physician/nurse relations, inadequate staffing and the intense physical and emotional demands of the work are driving experienced nurses from the field and discouraging new recruits.

Join the RN2RN Network on Saturday, February 23 to learn more about these issues and their impact on patient quality of care at a conference sponsored by the RN2RN Network. Discuss strategies to address these challenges and chart a new course for the nursing profession.

The RN2RN Network was launched by nurses from Resurrection Health Care hospitals, who are part of HEART/AFSCME, to bring together nurses from around the state to organize for improved patient care and better staffing in Illinois hospitals.

Labor singer Anne Feeney would love to finish her new CD "Dump the Bosses Off Your Back", but is still short of $$$. If you can help, send $100 to Anne Feeney, 2240 Milligan Ave, Pittsburgh, PA. She'll put your name on the liner notes as a TY.

Anne will be leading 3 music/history/politics and poetry tours of western Ireland in 2008 and there are still seats available. Check out Anne's website for more trip info as well as news about her life and music. She has some great audio clips for your listening enjoyment.

The first annual "Jane Addams Day" will be celebrated all across Illinois on December 10, 2007. AAUW-Illinois is leading the charge and Women & Children First is their official Jane Addams Day bookstore! Visit to the AAUW-Illinois webpage to read their press release, find local events and read background materials.

Then check out the Women and Children First suggested book list. There are book suggestions for all ages and levels of interest: children and teens, novices and scholars.

Among many achievements, Jane Addams was:

• A founder and the first president of the Women's International League for
  Peace and Freedom
• A founder of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
• A founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
• The first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize

The AFL-CIO has launched a major new campaign to secure healthcare for every American by 2009. According to campaign director Heather Booth,

Maybe we can make this election provide a mandate on health care reform--getting the candidates to commit to progressive reform and then holding them to it after the election by mobilizing a massive force, in this campaign that means 10 million union members and 3 million retirees. And this time, we will win.

Stop by the AFL-CIO blog to learn more and get involved.

Heather Booth is a longtime organizer with roots in the Civil Rights Movement. She was one of the founding members of the Chicago Women's Liberation Union.