Music, Art and Organizing

"You have to organize hearts as well as heads," says John McCutcheon, president of AFM Local 1000. Labor organizers, activists and artists will converge on the National Labor College in Silver Spring for the Conference on Creative Organizing and the Great Labor Arts Exchange June 17-19. The Conference on Creative Organizing trains union staff, organizers and activists to use songs, chants, skits, game shows, costumes, theater, and other creative strategies. Participants exchange experiences, brainstorm about specific union campaigns, share resources and return home with a battery of new ideas and tools that will make their campaigns more compelling. "It’s a good program for any group that wants to pump a little life into their campaigns," says Jeri Cooper, UAW Local 651. The Great Labor Arts Exchange is a gathering of union members, union staff, union officials, artists, labor educators, and youth who already use or would like to use songs, art, poetry, theater, skits, posters, cartoons, and film to celebrate the rich culture of working people and to strengthen the union movement. "Just feeling the energy of so many creative and dedicated people lifts my spirit," says Charles Bernhardt of AFGE. Both events are sponsored by the Labor Heritage Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the labor movement through the use of music, art and culture; and by the National Labor College. For more information and to register on-line, click here or call Peter Jones at 202-637-3963. Photo from the Labor Heritage Foundation website