Top: A member of the Chinese Staff and Workers Association beats the drum for labor rights at a New Year celebration in a high school gym in New York City’s Chinatown.
I do not remember the Fairbanks strike and did not hear about the Chinese Staff and Workers strike. Recent renovation of the Old Labor Hall in Barre, Vt has brought back awareness of the 1912 Bread and Roses strike by textile workers mostly women and children in Lawrence, Massachusetts and that Vermont, particularly Barre accepted caring for many of the strikers' children who were going hungry during the strike. The conditions were still horrible compared to today after the strike but some gains were made. Although I suspect that some of the slaughter house conditions now probably mimic those conditions. Not to be confused with a recent documentary of the same name about Taliban women.
I had no idea about the Chinese Staff & Workers Assn. or their hunger strike! Sounds like it was an incredible action. Was it covered at all in ny or nat'l press? I do know about the struggles of home care workers to get the money they deserve and paid health care, for God's sake. Thank you again Terry.
Thanks. I didnt know anything about the group before attending this event, but it was a great bunch of tough old women. I'm in the city if you want to get coffee or a beer. you can see more pics of the workers here: flickr.com/photos/terryallen/albums
It's so rare to see women celebrated, or even pictured, for something other than being good-looking or fashionable. Men are also celebrated for being good-looking and fashionable, but they are just as frequently acknowledged for other qualities, as we all know. I can imagine the woman in the black-and-white photo being criticized as "plain." Would that adjective be applied to a similar man? No. Because men aren't assumed to be decorative. They're assumed to be actors in the world.
I do not remember the Fairbanks strike and did not hear about the Chinese Staff and Workers strike. Recent renovation of the Old Labor Hall in Barre, Vt has brought back awareness of the 1912 Bread and Roses strike by textile workers mostly women and children in Lawrence, Massachusetts and that Vermont, particularly Barre accepted caring for many of the strikers' children who were going hungry during the strike. The conditions were still horrible compared to today after the strike but some gains were made. Although I suspect that some of the slaughter house conditions now probably mimic those conditions. Not to be confused with a recent documentary of the same name about Taliban women.
It is a long long struggle and wont be getting easier soon. Thanks for the historical erspective
I had no idea about the Chinese Staff & Workers Assn. or their hunger strike! Sounds like it was an incredible action. Was it covered at all in ny or nat'l press? I do know about the struggles of home care workers to get the money they deserve and paid health care, for God's sake. Thank you again Terry.
Thanks. I didnt know anything about the group before attending this event, but it was a great bunch of tough old women. I'm in the city if you want to get coffee or a beer. you can see more pics of the workers here: flickr.com/photos/terryallen/albums
It's so rare to see women celebrated, or even pictured, for something other than being good-looking or fashionable. Men are also celebrated for being good-looking and fashionable, but they are just as frequently acknowledged for other qualities, as we all know. I can imagine the woman in the black-and-white photo being criticized as "plain." Would that adjective be applied to a similar man? No. Because men aren't assumed to be decorative. They're assumed to be actors in the world.
Well said! Susan