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And
that is why labor organizers, activists and artists will converge on the National Labor College
in Silver Spring, MD for two great
events - the Conference on Creative Organizing, and the Great Labor Arts
Exchange -which will both be held June 18-20, 2006.
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.
They learn to take risks, think outside the box, and put
the zing back into their organizing.
"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, on the other hand, is a gathering of union members, union staff,
union officials, artists, labor educators, and youth who already 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.
