Laborfest: 1913 Paterson Strike; Dreamworks China

See also:
War in Paterson, the Strike that Changed the Labor Movement (15 min.) By Dana Seidel
One hundred years ago, a mass labor strike took place at Paterson, New Jersey, led by the IWW. Young Jewish and Italian immigrant women organized to fight for health and safety and human rights, as well as the fight to defend free speech. This struggle, while unsuccessful, showed the tremendous solidarity and power of the working class, and the ability to unite immigrant women workers from Europe. It also showed that the fight for the right to free speech and democratic rights is critical, if workers are able to tell their stories. The Paterson Pageant, which was performed at Madison Square Gardens was a important theatrical production on the class struggle for working people, and while the show lost money, it has left an indelible imprint on American workers history.

A Witness to the Paterson Strike
Interview with Ralph Golzio (5 min.)
This short film will be also shown with an interview with Ralph Golzio, whose mother was a silk spinner and member of the IWW. She was one of the many women organizers that fought for a strong democratic union to defend their labor and human rights. After the films, there will be a discussion with labor educator Gifford Hartman, who will give an overview of the strike and its meaning today.

Dreamworks China (56 min.) By Tommaso Facchin & Ivan Fraceschini
Dreamworks China looks at the lives of Apple i-phone workers and their dreams for the future. Foxconn is the largest private employer in China and the militarized conditions at the plants that produce the Apple products have led to dozens of suicides and the destruction of dreams. While Apple has a cache of 80 billion, it refuses to provide decent working conditions for the hundreds of thousands of workers who toil to make their products. What this says about this system is left to the viewer, but it is clear that this contradiction is harmful to the workers and society.
See also:
http://www.patersonsilkstrike.org/
http://www.iww.org/
http://www.northjersey.com/community/history/Ralph_Golzio_last_living_witness_to_historic_Paterson_silk_strike_dies_at_103.html
http://turbulence.org.uk/turbulence-5/california/ (by Gifford Hartman)
http://www.laborfest.net/2013/2013Films.htm#f28
http://www.laborfest.net/2013/2013schedule.htm