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Page 17 Honoring / Irish Echo / NOVEMBER 6 - 12, 2013 / www.irishecho.com Irish- IRISH America’s Labor Legacy LABOR The contribution of the Irish in America to the cause of labor has been nothing less than immense. It could be argued that the American labor 3 movement would not exist at all 1 in its current form without the efforts of the standout Irish men and women through the years, 0 both immigrant arrivals and American-born. It is with this unique legacy in mind that the 2 Irish Echo is hosting an event this coming November 8th in AWARDS BANQUET New York. Friday, November 8th, 2013 • 5:30pm In honor of the centennial Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel anniversary of the 1913 lockout, 811 7th Ave at 52nd Street • New York, NY 10019 The Irish Echo is expanding our Third Annual Irish Labor 50 GUEST SPEAKER: Gerry Adams T.D. to 100. This year we will be honoring 100 leading SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER: Terry O’Sullivan Irish-American men and women in today’s labor movement, President LiUNA while at the same time reflecting on the work of those historical giants who paved the way to labor’s central role in contemporary American life. PREMIUM SPONSOR #LABOR100 The ARCHER, BYINGTON, Laborers’ International GLENNON & IrishEcho Union of North America LEVINE LLP Page Page 18 IRISH LABOR 100 The Irish gave life to American labor By Terry O'Sullivan and leading various labor organizations. [email protected] For many of these warriors of the working class, their work is more than a n this centennial year of the historic job, and larger than a career; it is a Dublin Lockout, it is fitting that we lifetime's commitment. Ihonor such a large group of Irish The men and women honored in Americans who today are playing a vital these pages are just such warriors; day role in the Labor Movement. in and day out, they fight the good fight Just as Jim Larkin, James Connolly, on behalf of working families. Whether and the men and women of the Irish they were raised in union households or www.irishecho.com / www.irishecho.com Irish Echo / NOVEMBER 6 - 12, 2013 / Transport and General Workers Union came to the labor movement as adults, (ITGWU) and the Irish Women Workers their dedication to our movement is Union (IWWU) fought for more than strong, their commitment to working better wages and working conditions, men and women is unwavering, and so the men and women honored on their passion for justice is fierce. these pages have been fighting for social and economic justice as well as for workplace justice. “The entire history They follow in the footsteps not only of Larkin and Connolly, but of Irish of the American women heroes such as Hannah Sheehy- labor movement is Skeffington, Margaret Cousins, and James Larkin. James Connolly. Constance Markievicz. peppered with Irish They also pick up the torch of justice from previous generations of Irish- names: Elizabeth American labor leaders whose courage, dedication, and hard work helped build Gurley Flynn, Kate our world. The story of Irish involvement in the Richards O'Hare, American Labor Movement began in the 1840s, when thousands of Irish Father John A. immigrants fled famine in their native land. Ryan, John Brophy, Those were dark times, and the United States offered opportunity not James Carey, Mike available at home. Many of these refugees chose the Quill, Maurice United States over Canada because they wished to get as far away as Tobin, George possible from British anti-Irish and anti- Catholic prejudices. Meany, John Little did they know that they would Sweeny, and be met by similar bigotry in many American cities, especially as their Thomas Donahue, ranks began to swell. But just as they would not suffer the Mother Jones. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. just to name a tyranny of British oppression in Ireland, so they were not about to accept bigotry themselves and their rights as human who served as LIUNA General Secretary- few.” and exploitation at the hands of beings, and in so doing became the Treasurer, and who chairs LIUNA's employers and their agents here. backbone of some of the first labor retiree council. Irish immigrants provided much of organizations established in the United From the beginning of Irish the brains, brawn, and backs of These are the Jim Larkins, James States. involvement in the American Labor Connollys, Mother Joneses, and America's first industrial workforce, and One son of Irish immigrants, Terence Movement, there was cross-pollination their response to the challenges they Elizabeth Gurley Flynns of our time. Powderly, took the Knights of Labor with the ongoing struggle for Irish The men and women profiled in this faced would shape the experiences of from a small, secretive organization to independence. waves of immigrant workers to follow. special supplement to the Irish Echo are one of the largest labor organizations of Many of the Irish immigrants who torchbearers of justice. Each, in his or Many of the organizations and its day. stood up for their rights here had fought institutions they established created her own way, has been working to build A daughter of County Cork, Ireland, for their rights in Ireland as well, as a better world in which workplaces are the foundation on which much of the Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, became members of the Land League, an American Labor Movement is built, and safer, workers have a greater voice in one of the most well-known American organization devoted to Irish decisions that affect their lives, and all some of those organizations still exist labor leaders, working first with the independence and land reform. today. working people receive their fair share Knights of Labor, then with the United Indeed, the use of the boycott as a of the rewards of their labor. T h e y Irish immigrants and descendant s of Mine Workers. tool of protest came directly from Irish immigrants were among the remind us that none of us stands alone, The American Federation of Labor similar boycotts of landlords in Ireland. and that individual achievement is founders of my union, and hold was co-founded by an Irishman, P.J. So prevalent was the Irish influence positions at every level of LIUNA today. impossible without collective McGuire. on the American Labor Movement, that advancement. Stepping onto the shores of this new The entire history of the American by 1910, nearly half of the 110 member land, our ancestors dug tunnels, mined The selfless dedication of the men labor movement is peppered with Irish unions of the American Federation of and women honored in these pages is coal, built railroads, milled steel, names: Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Kate Labor were led by Irish-born or Irish- erected buildings, and provided the raw both an inspiration, and a cause for Richards O'Hare, Father John A. Ryan, American men. recognition and celebration. manpower demanded by a rapidly John Brophy, James Carey, Mike Quill, Today, the sons and daughters of industrializing nation. Maurice Tobin, George Meany, John Ireland serve in positions throughout Treated like animals, shunned as Sweeny, and Thomas Donahue, just to the American Labor Movement, strangers, feared because of their name a few. organizing workers, negotiating Terry O'Sullivan is General President religious beliefs, the y were forced by And I would be remiss not to mention contracts, handling grievances, circumstance to stand up for of LIUNA, the Laborers' International my own father, Terence J. O'Sullivan, ensuring worksite safety, and staffing Union of North America. Page Page 19 / Irish Echo / NOVEMBER 6 - 12, 2013 / www.irishecho.com The Irish gave life to American labor By Terry O'Sullivan and leading various labor organizations. [email protected] For many of these warriors of the working class, their work is more than a n this centennial year of the historic job, and larger than a career; it is a Dublin Lockout, it is fitting that we lifetime's commitment. Ihonor such a large group of Irish The men and women honored in Americans who today are playing a vital these pages are just such warriors; day role in the Labor Movement. in and day out, they fight the good fight Just as Jim Larkin, James Connolly, on behalf of working families. Whether and the men and women of the Irish they were raised in union households or Transport and General Workers Union came to the labor movement as adults, (ITGWU) and the Irish Women Workers their dedication to our movement is Union (IWWU) fought for more than strong, their commitment to working better wages and working conditions, men and women is unwavering, and so the men and women honored on their passion for justice is fierce. these pages have been fighting for social and economic justice as well as for workplace justice. “The entire history They follow in the footsteps not only of Larkin and Connolly, but of Irish of the American women heroes such as Hannah Sheehy- labor movement is Skeffington, Margaret Cousins, and Constance Markievicz. peppered with Irish They also pick up the torch of justice from previous generations of Irish- names: Elizabeth American labor leaders whose courage, dedication, and hard work helped build Gurley Flynn, Kate our world. The story of Irish involvement in the Richards O'Hare, American Labor Movement began in the 1840s, when thousands of Irish Father John A. immigrants fled famine in their native land. Ryan, John Brophy, Those were dark times, and the United States offered opportunity not James Carey, Mike available at home. Many of these refugees chose the Quill, Maurice United States over Canada because they wished to get as far away as Tobin, George possible from British anti-Irish and anti- Catholic prejudices.