Friday, August 31st, 2012

THE HISTORY OF August 31st, I'm ___________________ .

And I’m ___________. Today in 1929: The Trade Union Unity League is founded when 690 delegates from 18 states cut the cord with the conservative American Federation of Labor, which still organizes along craft lines. An arm of the Communist Party, the league will push for unionizing workers along industrial lines, and will lead struggles of miners, textile workers and farm workers.

At its peak, the league will have 125,000 members. In 1930, it will lead almost a million jobless workers in a dozen cities to demand relief and unemployment insurance. The league will dissolve before the great organizing drives of the Congress of Industrial Organizations in the late 1930's.

 

Friday, August 31st, 2012

It's This Weekend’s Action Calendar!

Tonight, Indie Coffee and Berkeley Running Company will screen the film “Spirit of the Marathon.” Winner of the Audience Choice Award at the Chicago Film Festival, the film is a must see for anyone thinking about running a marathon and anyone who has run one. This is at 7pm at Indie Coffee, 1225 Regent Street. Call 259-9621 for more info.

Sunday is the 4^th Annual Boat Parade on Lake Mendota. See the parade anywhere along the Lake Mendota shoreline from Maple Bluff to the UW Memorial Union. The Parade starts at 7:45 pm with fireworks at 9:15. Presented by EZ Office Products and Drake & Company Staffing Specialists, find more info at lightsonthelakebydrake.com.

Wisconsin Books to Prisoners is a non-profit organization sponsored by Rainbow Bookstore that sends books to prisoners in Wisconsin and other states. They believe that quote “books are tools for learning and can open minds to new ideas and fresh possibilities.”  They accept donations. For more info, stop by the bookstore at 426 West Gilman Street or call 257-6050.

The Respite Center is a safe place for kids, ages birth to fourteen, whose families are under stress or in crisis. They are looking for volunteers to play with kids four hours a week. Training is required. Call 244-5730 for details.