Related Articles

July 7, 2004

Roxanne Munksgaard, a member of IBEW Local 1837 traveled in late June from Bangor, Maine, to Silver Spring, Maryland, near Washington, D.C, to direct a workshop at a conference. It was anything but your typical seminar. There were no Power Point presentations, no slick brochures and everyone was wide-awake. This singing, guitar-playing, drum-beating, skit-directing union sisters workshop, part of the annual Great Labor Arts Exchange at the George Meany Center-National Labor College, was called "Raising a Ruckus-Getting Media Attention."

Munksgaard, also a member of American Federation of Musicians Local 1000, is a professional labor cultural worker. Cynthia Phinney, an organizer with Local 1837, who has performed with Munksgaard, says: "Roxanne has done some great work with skits on union-political issues. When workers on lay-off from local plants were losing their unemployment insurance, the AFL-CIO called a press conference to push for extensions in unemployment benefits. Roxanne set up a skit with workers jumping through hula-hoops trying to qualify for benefits. The skit got our message into the newspapers."

The Great Labor Arts Exchange (GLAE) along with the Conference on Creative Organizing (two conferences that run simultaneously) brings together cartoonists, actors, singers, artists, musicians, poets, writers and organizers from workplaces and union locals all over the United States to brainstorm over how to use their skills more effectively to advance the goals of the labor movement and share their creative ideas and artistic works from the past year. Munksgaard says: "I dont think I could live without this yearly event, the chance to be creative, to see what others are doing, to listen to diverse voices, like the African-American gospel singers from the South, with the pro-labor message, or organizers from the West Coast, who I normally wouldnt get to hear in Maine." This year, six labor choruses converged at the GLAE kicking off with a free Saturday night concert in Washington, D.C. Many chorus members from New York, North Carolina, D.C., Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area stayed for the conference, performing throughout.

Munksgaards message to those attending her workshop was simple: "The media sponges it up when we pull together rank and file workers, give them scripts and take our message to the streets with theatre." She delighted in telling the story of a skit that she wrote to coincide with a press conference, sponsored by several unions, labor councils and the AFL-CIO, that focused on the decline of Maines manufacturing base and the demise of good-paying jobs. The skit, which lasted about 10 minutes, featured a "jobsmobile," carrying workers dressed up in detective hats with magnifying glasses. As their vehicle pulled up, the "job detectives" got out to inspect for jobs, looking up and down with their magnifying glasses. Each worker got a chance to speak about their efforts in finding a job, ending each time with the group chiming in "Where are the Jobs?" Suddenly, a "vulture" appeared, dressed up with a large beak mask and yellow raincoat, symbolizing a CEO. As he flapped around, he moved the jobs from one low-wage country to another (also played by workers). Then the actual press conference continued. Speakers included U.S. Representative Michael Michaud (D-Me.),one of only a few union members in Congress.

The next day, the local newspaper featured a cover story with a large color photo of an unemployed woman from a local closed lumber mill holding her magnifying glass up to the sky, looking for a new job. Munksgaard says that workers, like the sister featured on the front page, are often self-conscious about acting and putting on costumes before the cameras. But she says that "its all about having fun" and that, once workers see the effectiveness of the skits --drawing media attention to their issues--they want to do it again.

Alan Fingold, an IBEW retiree from Local 332 in San Jose, California also attended this years event. Fingold, who worked 46 years as an inside wireman and training director, is a labor history instructor who teaches classes for new union members. He said: "All music has a history and a background. I met with other labor history instructors from Ohio and Washington State and learned from them. This is an outstanding event."

Participants at the 2004 GLAE mourned the death of Hedy Hilburn, a legendary singer and writer whose labor roots were in IBEW Local 369 in Louisville, Kentucky. Sister Hilburn died on Dec. 6, 2003 at age 56 from leukemia and pneumonia.

Hilburn left the IBEW in 1985, after working as an inside wireman, to join U.A.W. Local 862 at the Ford Louisville Assembly Plant. She edited the local and UAW regions newspapers and became the first woman in any Ford plant to be elected as a UAW skilled trades representative. Says Scott Pulliam, President of IBEW Local 369, "Hedy was one of only two women to complete her apprenticeship back in 1979. She was a fine, fine person and a very good labor advocate who stayed active in local politics. She sang labor folk songs and wrote op-ed pieces for the Louisville Courier-Journal on issues affecting the IBEW and the labor movement. We need more like her."

Roxanne Munksgaard encourages IBEW members to attend next years Great Labor Arts Exchange. To learn more, visit www.laborheritage.org or call the Labor Heritage Foundation at 202-974-8040.

Sister Munksgaard would be pleased to communicate with other labor-oriented artists to exchange ideas and experiences. She can be reached by e-mail at r.munksgaard@verizon.net.

IBEW Members Awarded Degrees At National Labor College

George Meany Center for Labor Studies

New Jersey Governor - AFL-CIO Initiate College Credits for Apprentices

NJ Governor's Office - Press Releases

NECA IBEW Electrical Training Center

Welcome to NJATC

IBEW Construction Conference Focuses on Excellence and Political Action