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Plan Your Road Trip with MLHS’s New Labor History Map

Click on Labor History Map to see the latest Michigan Labor History Society publication. This double-sided 17” x 22” map, “Exploring Our Roots,” depicts 36 sites connected to labor history in Michigan’s two peninsulas, with information about each site. This colorful poster is great to display in classrooms, union halls, and other facilities. For ordering information, click: Order Blank for Map Poster

Mobilizing for Labor Day 2019

The annual Labor Day Mobilization Luncheon sponsored by the Michigan Labor History Society will be held on Tuesday, August 20, at UAW Region 1-A, 9650 S. Telegraph Rd., Taylor, MI. Tickets are $40 and include a tasty luncheon, a special program, and a one-year membership in the Society. 2019 LUNCHEON FLYER

Finnish-Americans in Michigan’s Workforce

Thousands of immigrants from Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East came to Detroit during the 20th Century to seek jobs in the growing auto industry. Among them were many settlers from Finland, some of whom went to work in the copper mines of the Upper Peninsula, while others moved into the Detroit neighborhood around Woodrow Wilson and Davison Streets. From September 22-25, many of the descendants of these Finnish immigrants will come to metro Detroit for the annual FinnFest, a gathering that features panels, lectures, and field trips. The Michigan Labor History Society has been asked to provide a labor history bus tour for participants. In addition to the usual tour of labor history sites, we will visit the old Finn Hall on 14th Street in Detroit, which later became the headquarters of UAW Local 157.

‘Rosie the Riveter:’ A Herstory for Children

Author Bailey Sisoy Igro has written a children’s book about women who worked in war production plants during World War II in southeast Michigan. “Rosie: A Detroit Herstory” tells the story of women symbolized by the character “Rosie the Riveter” who built tanks, aircraft, and ammunition at factories that built automobiles and were retooled for the war effort. More than 60,000 Michigan women of all ages and races participated in the war production, filling the jobs of men who had been drafted into the armed forces.

The 48-page book is geared to readers aged six to 12 and was published last year by Wayne State University Press. The list price is $16.99 and the book is available from WSU Press, at many bookstores, and on line.

Three Conferences Focus On Michigan History

The Michigan Labor History Society was one of the sponsors of the “Michigan in Perspective: The Local History Conference” held March 22-23, 2019 at the Sterling Conference Center in Sterling Heights. The conference, which featured speakers, panels, and workshops on a variety of Michigan history topics, is one of three held annually by the Lansing-based Historical Society of Michigan.

An Upper Peninsula History Conference will be held June 28-30 in Escanaba, and the Historical Society of Michigan’s annual meeting and history conference is planned for Ludington Sept. 27-29.

Information, schedules, and registrations are available from the Historical Society of Michigan, 5816 Executive Drive, Lansing MI 48911 or online Historical Society of Michigan

Changes Coming To Hart Plaza?

Detroit’s riverfront Hart Plaza may see some design changes in coming years, according to a story in the Detroit Free Press. City planners have informally discussed ways to better connect downtown Detroit to the Detroit River, the paper reports. As changes are made, several works of public art including the Labor Legacy Landmark “Transcending” and the Underground Railroad Monument “must be treated respectfully,” the paper declares. The Labor Legacy Landmark, to which hundreds of workers, unions, and others contributed over $1.6 million for construction costs, was dedicated over 15 years ago as a gift to the city on the 300th anniversary of the arrival of French explorers. A project of the Michigan Labor History Society, the Landmark is visited by thousands of people every year who come to learn about labor’s past, its present, and its vision for the future.

Last edited: Wednesday, March 9, 2022

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