Union Workers
odd: label: Introduction
content: The 1971 Festival introduced a new program that focused on laborlore: the language, beliefs, and customs that comprise the special folklore of American workers within trade unions. Such lore was seen by the Smithsonian as constantly growing and evolving along with changes in the workplace, but as continuing to serve a fundamental purpose to union workers. It was considered to bind people together and to give individuals a sense of dignity on the job and within their movement.

Four unions were invited to demonstrate such skills and lore: the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America showed the lore of slaughterhouse workers and retail butchers; the Bakery and Confectionery Workers' International Union of America presented the skills of bakers, whether in factories or in small shops; the Glass Bottle Blowers Association of the United States and Canada offered demonstrations of the glassblowers' art; and the International Association of Bridge, Structural, and Ornamental Iron Workers erected the steel skeleton of a skyscraper on the National Mall.

The labor skills were complemented by narrative workshops in which members of one or several trades could compare their stories and customs, and by a diverse musical program of songs and theater that were used in labor organizing. The Union Workers' stage also hosted performances and workshops by musicians drawn from the Ohio program and the Performances program. Those participants are listed with their primary program, although recordings of their presentations on the Union Workers' stage are found here.

Richard Prentke served as Labor Program Coordinator and Ron Stanford as primary field researcher. In addition to the four unions that sponsored the 1971 program, it was made possible through the support of the American Federation of Musicians, Music Performance Trust Funds, Atlas Machine and Iron Works, Inc., Harnischfeger Company, and Karl·Koch Erecting Company.
label: Participants
content: Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America

Hilton E. Hanna, Chairman of Exhibit

Max Cullen, Chicago, Illinois

William Mosca, Sr., Baltimore, Maryland

Lavor Taylor, 1896-1989, Ephraim, Utah

William P. Eaton, Washington, D.C.

Local 117, Baltimore, Maryland

Local 593, Washington, D.C.

Bakery and Confectionery Workers International Union of America

Albert K. Herling, Chairman of Exhibit

Adolph Grossman, Chairman of Exhibit

Murray Miller, workshop & baker, New York, New York

Henry Eickenauer, bread baker, New York, New York

Salvatore Guglielno, bread baker, New York, New York

Milton Summers, cake decorator, Bayonne, New Jersey

Lewis Cooperman, baker, New York, New York

Ernest Schenkman, baker, New York, New York

Alfred Clayburn, baker, New York, New York

Joe Frundt, baker, New York, New York

Glass Bottle Blowers Association of the United States and Canada

Alex Smith, Chairman of Exhibit

Val Hamer, Baltimore, Maryland

Thurman Wade, Baltimore, Maryland

Leslie Woodward, Barrington, New Jersey

International Association of Bridge, Structural, and Ornamental Iron Workers Union

Joseph Maloney, Chairman of Exhibit

Preston George, Chairman of Exhibit

Michael King, Birmingham, Alabama

Glenn M. Harston, Chicago, Illinois

Bruce Bloomingdale, Detroit, Michigan

John C. Toennis, Denver, Colorado

John Lee Peck, Houston, Texas

Elijo Frijos, Los Angeles, California

Vincent Coyle, Boston, Massachusetts

Union Workers' Workshops and Daytime Concerts

Archie Green, discussion leader

Discussants

Max Cullen

Adolf Grossman

Hilton E. Hanna

Val Hamer

Murray Miller

Performers

Jim Garland, 1905-1978, singer and guitarist

Joe Glazer, 1918-2006, singer and guitarist

Sarah Ogan Gunning, 1910-1983, singer

Utah Phillips, 1935-2008, singer and guitarist

Florence Reece, 1900-1986, singer

Teatro Chicano de Austin, Austin, Texas  -- Teatro Chicano de Austin, Austin, TexasConnie Acosta, TexasMarie Acosta, 1949-, TexasJuan Chavida, TexasJo Fuentes, TexasRumel Fuentes, TexasSylvia Herrera, TexasAnita Loredo, TexasBob Perkins, TexasYolanda Perkins, TexasManuel Quiroz, TexasPaul Velez, Texas
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
setName: label: See more items in
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1971 Festival of American Folklife
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
identifier: label: Identifier
content: CFCH.SFF.1971, Series 5
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials