Carbondale Chamber of Commerce recently issued the following announcement.
An evening of labor-themed events including the film “Norma Rae” is planned
for Friday, Aug. 31st at The Varsity, for Labor Day Weekend.
Starting at 5 p.m. there will be opening reception for an art exhibit, Art & Labor, with
participating artists in attendance. The Varsity Bar will be open for drinks and other
refreshments. The exhibit, Art & Labor, will run from August 26 through September 6th.
The Art Exhibit will feature painting, photography and video art on the themes of labor and
work. “We are hoping for a range of work that both show labor as an enriching process but also
a process too often of exploitation. We expect a diverse set of works from local artists and
employees who use art to reflect on their work experiences,“ explained Cade Bursell, Professor
of Cinema Studies at Southern Illinois University who is organizing the exhibit.
At 7 p.m., The Varsity Center will show the film “Norma Rae.” “Norma Rae” is the story of
Norma Rae (Sally Fields), a North Carolina textile worker who organizes a union at her mill in
the face of fierce company opposition.
After the film, the audience is invited to stay for a panel discussion featuring employees from
The Southern Illinoisan who voted to form a union in May this year and Registered Nurses from
the SIUC Student Health Center who also organized in the last year. Employees will talk about
their own experiences organizing a union.
“Despite enormous attacks on labor unions over the last decades, union organizing persists. We
are looking forward to hearing people from southern Illinois talk about their experiences. It is
still possible to stand up to powerful companies and powerful administrations and win,”
explained Sam Smucker, one of the event organizers and Chief Steward of the Graduate
Assistants Union at SIUC.
Smucker added: “The message of the evening is: you don’t have to be afraid to stand up for
yourself and your co-workers when faced with greed or mismanagement. There is a lot of
support in this community for labor.”
There will be a closing reception for the Art & Labor Exhibit on Thursday, Sept. 6 featuring a talk
by Professor Jyotsna Kapur entitled “Labor power and the artistic impulse” at 7 p.m. Doors
open at 6 p.m. and The Varsity Bar will be open.
The exhibit and panel discussion are organized by The Southern Illinois Chapter of the
Democratic Socialist of America which formed during the last year and is part of the growing
movement towards a more working-class centered political perspective in the United States.
Two members of DSA, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, won primaries for Congress
this year. The DSA advocates for Medicare for all health care; tuition-free higher education and
trade schools; better wages and benefits for workers; and racial and gender equality.
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up