By Alexandra Bradbury / Labor Notes
Wow! What an amazing weekend. Thank you to all 4,000 troublemakers who converged in Chicago June 17-19 and made this year’s Labor Notes Conference incredible.
The energy you brought, the stories you shared, the connections you made, the ideas and plans you’re bringing back home—that’s what it’s all about.
Special thanks to everyone who volunteered their time, interpreted between languages, donated money, spoke in workshops and panels, led meetings, and shared songs, poems, and art!
This year’s conference was further enriched by the Juneteenth celebration and a first-ever collaboration with the Great Labor Arts Exchange.
The main sessions, a few of the biggest panels, and the concert were livestreamed and are now available in video form. Here they all are:
Friday Main Session
Friday, June 17, 7:30p.m.
Featuring:
- Stacy Davis Gates, president-elect, Chicago Teachers Union
- Nolan Tabb, John Deere striker, Auto Workers/Unite All Workers for Democracy
- Dilson Hernandez, musician and hip hop artist
- Sean O’Brien, president, Teamsters
- Michelle Eisen, Starbucks Workers United
- Chris Smalls, president, Amazon Labor Union
- Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator
Chair: Alexandra Bradbury, Labor Notes
Saturday Main Session
Saturday, June 18, 9:00a.m.
Featuring:
- Lynn Marie Smith, The Motown Diva
- Victor “The Mixer” Bouzi, IATSE Local 695
- Marcia Howard, Minneapolis Federation of Teachers
Chair: Elise Bryant, Labor Heritage Foundation
Sunday Main Session
Sunday, June 19, 1:00p.m.
Featuring:
- Israel Cervantes, Casa Obrera del Bajio, General Motors, Mexico
- Jessica Wender-Shubow, Brookline Educators Union president
- Jon Schleuss, president, NewsGuild
- Liliana Herrera, singer-songwriter, with Lynn Marie Smith and Joe Jencks
Chair: Barbara Madeloni, Labor Notes
Panel: STRIKE! Reviving Labor’s Most Powerful Weapon
Friday, June 17, 1:00p.m.
Featuring:
- Donna Jo Marks, Bakery Workers Local 364, Nabisco
- Kevonna Neely, Communications Workers Local 1133
- Sarah Pappin, Starbucks Workers United
Chair: Sara Nelson, Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA)
Panel: A Union Brews at Starbucks
Friday, June 17, 3:00p.m.
Featuring:
- Mason Boykin, Jacksonville
- Jaz Brisack, Buffalo
- Kylah Clay, Boston
- Alydia Claypool, Kansas City
- Laila Dalton, Phoenix
- Will Westlake, Buffalo
- Bill Whitmire, Phoenix
Chair: Daisy Pitkin, Workers United-SEIU
Panel: Labor’s Upsurge: How Unions Can Make the Most of This Moment
Friday, June 17, 5:00p.m.
Featuring:
- Mark Meinster, United Electrical Workers
- Ruth Milkman, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies
- Kylah Clay, Starbucks Workers United
- Derrick Palmer, Amazon Labor Union
Chair: E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker
Panel: Amazon Workers in Motion
Saturday, June 18, 2:00p.m.
Featuring:
- Angelika Maldonado, Amazon Labor Union
- Rev. Ryan Brown, Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment
- Chris Zamarron, Amazonians United
- Jennifer Bates, Retail and Department Store Workers (RWDSU), Amazon Bessemer
Chair: Bianca Cunningham, Action Center on Race and the Economy
Concert: The Great Labor Arts Exchange
Saturday, June 18, 8:00p.m.
Featuring:
- Jayme Winell
- Judy Ancel
- Phil Monsour
- Anita Mathias
- Talison Crosby
- Dilson Hernandez
- SongRise (Nikki Nesbary, Nadia Danielle, Anita Mathias)
- Julia Wallace
- Ryan Garcia
- Emily Jo Tanzey
- Sam White
- Joe Jencks
- Lynn Marie Smith
- Seattle Labor Chortet (Diane Morrison, Bob Barnes, Miriam Anderson, and Lynn Marie Smith)
- Annabelle Heckler
- Ben Moss-Horwitz
- Jacob Chaffin
- Hali Hammer
- Steve Jones
- Ben Grosscup (with Dilson Hernandez, Nikki Nesbary, and Nadia Danielle)
Emcees: Kimmon “MacGyver” Williams and Ben Grosscup
