2023 Report of President Candice Owley:

Labor’s history critical to renewed power and strength of unions

These are exciting days for the labor movement.  Support for unions is at an all-time high with nearly 70% of the public voicing support and an amazing 80% of young people in favor of unions.  Labor’s resurgence in popularity has resulted in renewed organizing and strike actions in the last year.  Some of the largest strikes in recent history occurred in both the auto and health care industries.  With this trend has come a greater understanding of the power labor unions have in building a better life for all of us.  Labor’s positive influence on our democracy has been shown in its proud history.

The Wisconsin Labor History Society has been busy these past few years continuing to preserve labor’s history and to spread the word about how important our labor unions are to the future of our nation and its people.  Check out these activities:

Labor History in the Schools.  The Society believes one of its most critical roles is the educating our children on the great role unions had in building our state.  We recognize that one day these children will be entering the workplace.  They must be made aware that workers need collective action to gain decent standards of living and safe and humane working conditions.  We sponsor:

  • Labor History Essay Contest with generous cash prizes for high school students in the state. We urge all of our members to promote this contest among high school children of their acquaintance.
  • National History Day contests with prizes to encourage middle and high school students to create exhibits with a labor history theme. This is very popular among Wisconsin’s school children and offers an excellent way in which to build interest in labor history.

The funds needed for the prizes in the above two projects – and to fund additional outreach programs for children – were provided by generous donations from nearly 70 local unions or labor councils.  We sincerely thank those WLHS members who have voluntarily given their time to act as judges for both programs.

Frank P. Zeidler Academic Awards:  Thanks to donations made to our Legacy Fund, the Society offers each year a $1,000 award for a graduate academic paper on Wisconsin labor history and a $500 award for papers by undergraduate students.

Communications and Media:   Our online newsletter comes out monthly – more often when news requires it – and its popularity is shown in that more than 45% of recipients “open” the message.   If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, send an email to info@wisconsinlaborhistory.org.  We also publish our printed newsletter on a quarterly basis.   Our Facebook page has become a “go-to” spot for up-dated information on labor history.  Thanks to Executive Director Jaclyn Kelly for developing a series of on-line interviews on Facebook with labor history experts.

Presentations on Labor History: Executive Director Jaclyn Kelly has created a power point presentation on Wisconsin Labor History and has made presentations to dozens of community and labor groups around the state.  If your organization would like presentation, contact info@wisconsinlaborhistory.org

Oshkosh Wood workers strike 125th anniversary:  WLHS sponsored a very successful program commemorating the 125th anniversary of the Oshkosh woodworkers strike.  The event included a presentation on the significance of the event not only in Wisconsin but also US labor history.  The program featured a reenactment of the famous Clarence Darrow speech in defense of the rights of labor unions.  The event was supported by many organizations.  In addition, WLHS received a Humanities grant to support the conference.  Plans for the future include establishing a Wisconsin Historical Marker commemorating the 1898 strike and developing programs and materials for classroom teachers.

Our 41st Annual Meeting:  For the third year in a row, our annual meeting was held virtually due to the pandemic.  We had a stimulating discussion on the value that LBGTQ+ workers bring to strengthening solidarity in our unions.  Our president since 2009, Steve Cupery, chose not to run for re-election, and I was honored to take his place.  We also added three new members to the Board.

2023 Lifetime Achievement Award.  We were proud to have given our Lifetime Achievement Award to one of our founders and most dedicated members, Board Member Joanne Ricca.  She was one of our early presidents and has since been steadfast in supporting our activities.

Bay View Tragedy.  This most significant and historic labor event occurred on May 5, 1886 when 1500 workers, marching in an eight-hour-day rally, were fired upon by the state militia and seven were killed.  The Society, with support from various Bay View area citizens, has been commemorating this event since 1986, typically attracting some 300 persons on the first Sunday of May. The pandemic forced us to hold this event virtually in 2020 and 2021, live-streaming it before an abbreviated crowd practicing social distance protocols.  Last May, we were able to return to an in-person event, attracting nearly 200 persons.

U.S. – Canada Labor History Network:  The Wisconsin Labor History Society joined with the Illinois Labor History Society and the Pacific Northwest Labor History Association to lead in seeking to build a coalition of state and provincial labor history groups in Canada and the U.S.  Plans are to continue holding virtual conferences and meetings.

Archives.  The Society has compiled a catalogue of our archives, listing the numerous items we have accumulated, including pictures, various histories of local unions or labor councils, button and badge collections, minutes, etc.  The cataloguing was done by Jamakaya, the author of our popular booklet, “Like Our Sisters Before Us.”

Mapping Project.  In 2018, we acquired the rights to a project developed by the South Central Federation of Labor to create an interactive online map of prominent locations in Wisconsin labor history.  The map needs to be up-dated and made more accessible.

Website.  We continue to work on up-dating and improving our popular website, making it more attractive and more easily accessible.  Check it out at www.wisconsinlaborhistory.org

Membership is growing:  We are gratified for the loyalty of our members (individual and organizational), as indicated by the high renewal rate each year. For our needed operational income, we rely on membership dues and donations and that makes us doubly thankful for the great support from our friends throughout the state and elsewhere.

Other support:  We thank President Stephanie Bloomingdale of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO and their staff for providing us with office space and other key logistical support that is so necessary for an organization that is basically voluntary.

Looking ahead:  With the pandemic behind us we are already making plans for various new and exciting programming, including resuming our in-person annual meeting and conference in the spring of 2024.    In addition, we retained an intern, a UWM graduate student, named Nate Tease.  His services have already made an impact in assisting our executive director.

Labor’s heritage is a story of how working people have struggled to gain better standards of living, safer and healthier working conditions and dignity for themselves and their families through numerous examples of courage and solidarity.  Labor’s history gives us the inspiration to move forward, and the Wisconsin Labor History Society is proud to play a role in preserving and promoting that history.