Working People in the United States have seldom formed or been active in philanthropic foundations. Aware of this reality, several San Francisco Bay Area individuals joined hands in 2000 to charter the FLCH, a non-profit entity geared to educational goals. Our activities reveal wide interests. We welcome correspondence regarding future projects as well as creative initiatives on funding.

Listed below are Activities 1 through 54 for the time period of July 2000 through December 2006.

Activities 55 through 77 list activities between January 2007 and February 2009.

Activities begining 78 lists activities after 2010.

1. Luncheon honoring Jack Henning, former Secretary of the California Federation of Labor, on his 85th birthday at SF Hilton Hotel. October 26, 2000. (Subsequent grant to Labor Archives and Research Center, SFSU.)

2. Distributed Occasional Paper No. 1, "Labor's Many Languages: A Bibliography of Workers' Speech," by Patrick Huber. February 2001. Paper updated and revised by author assisted by Tom Carey and Alida Field. October 2003.

3. Preliminary funding to Waterfront Soundings (Maria Brooks) for film on Knud-Bent Andersen, A Sailor's Journey. May 15, 2001.

4. Prepared a brief on the inclusion of labor history as a necessary component in the nomination process for the National Register of Historic Places for the San Francisco Waterfront. June 2001.

5. Submitted a proposal for a picture book on the San Francisco waterfront to the Port of San Francisco. Principal researchers and editors, Robert Cherny and Tim Kelley. March 29, 2002.

6. Dedicated a bronze plaque at the former Garcia & Maggini Warehouse on the SF Embarcadero to commemorate a key site in the 1934 Maritime Strike. July 3, 2002.

7. In partnership with the Labor Archives and Research Center at San Francisco State University, the SF Landmarks Board, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, preparation of San Francisco Labor Landmarks Guide Book: A Register of Sites and Walking Tours, editor Susan Sherwood. Intermittent fundraising beginning Summer 2002.

8. Participation by Archie Green in Getty Center (Los Angeles) conference on "The Future of California's Cultural Heritage Resources." Working peoples' views often neglected in conservation/preservation circles. November 19-21, 2002.

9. Grant towards publication of Scarecrow Press book, Exploring Roots Music, edited by Nolan Porterfield. March 8, 2003.

10. Adam Machado attended a conference on vernacular music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. April 5, 2003.

11. With Friends of Islais Creek (Julia Viera), Copra Crane Landmarks Association (Don Watson), and Robin Chiang & Co. (architect), a proposal submitted to the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) re: our ongoing efforts to "Save the Copra Crane." April 15, 2003.

12. Fundraising for book on Al Zampa Memorial Bridge, Spanning the Strait, by John Robinson at Carquinez Press. First check received, April 24, 2003; publication date October 4, 2003.

13. Assisted Harvey Schwartz (sponsored by Institute of Industrial Relations, UC-Berkeley) for paper on trade union/conservation/preservation constituencies co-operating to "Save the Copra Crane" as a labor landmark. Paper completed June 30, 2003. (note: The paper was published in the Labor Studies Journal, June 2008.)

14. Aided International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 6 and Local 1245 in preparing a bronze plaque marking San Francisco’s (and America’s) first commercial power plant (1879). Derek Green (6) and Tom Dalzell (1245) spearheaded this project. July 2003. Dedicated plaque June 15, 2005.

15. Distributed Occasional Paper No. 2, “Your Ad Here: Labor and the Historic Preservation Process,” by Tim Kelley. Essay commemorates a site vital to the Waterfront Strike of 1934. Paper first read at Southwest Labor Studies Conference, Berkeley, May 9, 2003; subsequently mailed by FLCH, August 2003.

16. Maria Hetherton prepared a middle-school study-guide on two films touching contrasting aspects of pride-in-craft by unionists: Red Alexander: Shipwright and Folk Artist; Pilebutt: Working Under the Hammer. Research began in May: guide submitted to UBCJA Local 34 and Local 2236, August 18, 2003.

17. First grant to Charles H. Kerr Publishing Company (Franklin Rosemont) towards Big Red Songbook, a comprehensive edition of IWW songs. August 22, 2003. Book published December 29, 2006.

18. Consulting with Maggie Holtzberg, Massachusetts folklorist, on oral history of workers on Boston’s Big Dig. August 24, 2003.

19. Planning with Joe Gladstone, Santa Cruz, re: publishing his book, To Make the Run. Manuscript received, August 27, 2003. Book issued by Carquinez Press. March 22, 2005.

20. Assisting Maria Brooks in fundraising for a projected film, Shipping Out, a story about America’s women seafarers. October 30, 2003. Film debuts, June 26, 2006.

21. Distributed Occasional Paper No. 3, "The Asbestos Workers' Salamander," by Tom Lemmon. Essay deals with the history and symbolism of the logo of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers. November 2003.

22. Grant to Plywood Films (New York) for a film on New Lost City Ramblers, a significant string band of the Sixties and Seventies. January 1, 2004.

23. Grant to United Mine Workers of America Local 9856, to restore Ludlow (Colorado) Massacre Monument. January 14, 2004. Rededication ceremony, June 5, 2005.

24. Assisted Gallery Agniel (Providence, RI) in a traveling exhibition of Wobbly Art. January 21, 2004.

25. Tim Kelley attended a Great Places Architecture Conference at New York.
April 1-2, 2004.

26. Grant towards the publication of Norm Cohen's All This for a Song: A Bibliography and Selected Anthology of Ballad Case Studies (a book in the Vernacular Music Reference Shelf Series at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Southern Folklife Collection). August 16, 2004.

27. Consulting with James Hunter and Mary Murphy on remodeling of Old Chronicle Building (690 Market St., SF). May-August, 2004.

28. Grant to James Nicolopulos (University of Texas, Austin) for study of commercially recorded corridos (US-Mexican border ballads). August 3, 2004.

29. Grant to help preserve Old Monterey (CA) Jail, site important in life of Cesar Chavez. August 14, 2004.

30. Distributed Occasional Paper No. 4, "Crime Against Memory at Ludlow," by James Green. August 2004.

31. Held first national meeting, Laborlore Conversation I, at Piledrivers' Hall Local 34, Oakland, CA. Ellie Matus responsible for event's success. Kerry Taylor and Bill Friedland prepared separate reports on the meeting. Copies available on request. October 2, 2004.

32. Tim Kelley continued case for including story of workers and buildings on the San Francisco Embarcadero as part of the process of nomination for the National Register of Historic Places. June 7, 2005.

33. Consulted with Stephen Wade (Hyattsville, MD) on a proposed National Public Radio series of work tales. October-December, 2004.

34. Contributed to Ottilie Markholt memorial meeting, Tacoma, WA. January 12, 2005.

35. Initial exploration with Ron Piksa (Secretary of the Pacific Northwest District Council of Iron Workers), and John Robinson (Carquinez Press) on a photo-essay book, Bridging the Tacoma Narrows, about building the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge. April 15, 2005.

36. In cooperation with Chris Strachwitz, funding a study of the late Harry Oster, a folklorist who recorded work songs in Louisiana prisons. April 20, 2005.

37. Discussed a video film project, Rebuilding San Francisco: The Workers' Story. Grant to Waterfront Soundings (Maria Brooks). May 2005. Film's premier. August 24, 2006.

38. Distributed Occasional Paper No. 5, “Where Is the Lowell Factory Girl: A Tangled Yarn from the Textile Mills,” by Norm Cohen. May 2005.

39. Planning with Gunnar Lundeberg and David Connolly, Sailors’ Union of the Pacific, re: publication of Harry Lundeberg’s Stetson & Other Nautical Treasures, by Archie Green at Carquinez Press. June 16, 2005. Book issued September 30, 2006.

40. Grant from Iron Workers Local 378 to prepare a photo-essay on the new concrete Benicia Bridge. July 21, 2005.

41. Assisted in display of Patrick Henry McCarthy material by the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council. July 6, 2005.

42. Contribution to Down Home Sisters (Maureen Gosling and Christine Simon) towards No Mouse Music, a film on recent vernacular traditions as seen through the eyes of Chris Strachwitz. August 28, 2005.

43. Held second national meeting, Laborlore Conversation II, at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Tim Prizer’s report on meeting available on request. Patricia Sawin and Patrick Huber to plan an informal assembly of recipients of UNC Graduate fellowship in Occupational Folklife to assist FLCH in future projects. September 24, 2005.

44. John Robinson undertook a study of bridges in Contra Costa County for Crockett Community Foundation. November 17, 2005.

45. Grant to MaryJoy Martin (Montrose, CO) for biography of Vincent St. John, IWW Secretary. Henry Anderson (Berkeley, CA) will issue parallel compilation of the “Saint’s” writing. March 2, 2006.

46. Preliminary research for laborlore plaque commemorating centennial of San Francisco’s street-car strike of 1907. Consulted with Larry Martin, Transport Workers Union of America Local 250-A. March 16, 2006.

47. Grant to Arhoolie Foundation for study of diverse elements in Sixties folksong revival as it played out in Berkeley, California. April 26, 2006.

48. Tom Walker (FLCH planning committee chair) proposed to the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, a conference in 2007 to celebrate a century of collecting and archiving occupational lore. May 2006.

49. Consulted with Jeff Dunn, Rachel Anne Goodman, and Bill Friedland (all of Santa Cruz, CA) on radio series on IWW songs. June 5, 2006.

50. Grant received from International Longshore and Warehouse Union towards restoration of Islais Creek Copra Crane. This project involved: Bill Ward, Don Watson, Rex McCardell, Tom Meisenbach, Pat Karinen, Robin Chiang, and others. July 7, 2006.

51. Explored with Mike Seeger, musician, Dan Sheehy, Smithsonian/Folkways Recordings, and Chris Strachwitz, Arhoolie Foundation, the reissuing of key labor/occupational/industrial discs in a DC format. Tipple, Loom & Rail (1966) and Work’s Many Voices (1986) to open series. September 22, 2006.

52. Laborlore Conversation III, at Benicia, California in Iron Workers Hall Local 378. September 30, 2006.

53. Grant to Arhoolie Foundation (Frontera Collection) to assist in digitization of Mexican-American Vernacular Recordings, December 1, 2006.

54. Consulting with Kerry Taylor, Maggie Holzberg, Janet Gilmore, David Roediger, and Julie Ardery concerning a Laborlore anthology, December 10, 2006.

55. Dan Huff (Local 2236, UBCJA) and Megan Sheer (San Francisco Filmmaker) collaborate on a film on mill/cabinet work and careers of Tony Ramos and Angelo Balestrini, retirees in Local 2236. January 15, 2007.

56. The Smithsonian Institution's Festival of American Folklife (SI-FAF) introduced contempory craft worker on the National Mall in 1971 with a crew of ironworker union apprentices erecting/dismantling a steel frame building. John Robinson began to locate and interview Festival "veterans" on their memories of folklife performance. February 1, 2007.

57. Bill Myers (Piledrivers Local 2375) proposed a picture book covering the history of piledriving in Southern California. February 5, 2007.

58. Lincoln Cushing and Tim Drescher requested help in funding for a book, Art/Works: American Labor Graphics, to be published at the Cornel University Press. February 12, 2007.

59. Initiated a Jack Henning Scholarship in Labor Culture & History similar to one at the University of North Carolina in Occupational Folklife. Mary O'Shea organized the launching event with Speaker Nancy Pelosi at a luncheon on August 15 in San Francisco. March 16, 2007,

60. Paid fee to the University of California, Bancroft Library, for the use of The George Farris Diary, kept by a working carpenter in Local 22. Farris born in Ohio, 1859; died in Oakland, 1947. Robert Mattacola to coordinate publication project. March 28, 2007.

61. Distributed FLCH Activities List July 2000 - December 2006 to friends and former contributors. March 30, 2007.

62. Adam Machado attended the national meeting of the Experience Music Project, Seattle, Washington. April 19-22, 2007.

63. Grant Application "The Bridge Builders: The Latino Experience," submitted to the California Council for the Humanties by John Robinson. April 25, 2007.

64. David Walls (Sebastopol, CA) represented FLCH by delivering a paper on "The Red Flag" at the Working Class Studies Association Conference at Saint Paul, Minnesota. June 14-17, 2007.

65. Maria Brooks participated in the Great Labor Arts Exchange at the George Meany Center, Silver Spring, Maryland. June 17-19, 2007.

66. Laborlore Conversation IV held in conjunction with Library of Congress, American Folklife Center at Washington, DC. August 15, 2007.

67. Adam Machado proposed an anthology on Mack McCormick's miscellaneous writing on Texas blues music. September 27, 2007.

68. Gilbert Gonzales (University of California, Irvine, Chicano/Latino Studies) requested fundraising assistance for a film on Bracero Agricultural Labor. January 31, 2008.

69. Maria Brooks proposed a television documentary film on sheet metal worker artistry. John Gregson, a Local 104 retiree and apprenticeship instructor, to collaborate with Maria. February 26, 2008.

70. Archie Green testified before the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Landmarks Committee, on preservation of India Basin boatyards and Shipwrights Cottage. March 31, 2008.

71. John Robinson proposed a book about the history and demolition of the 1927 Carquinez Bridge. April 1, 2008.

72. Ron Cohen suggested a bibliography of labor songbooks. April 13, 2008.

73. Adam Machado attended a Corrido Conference at UC Santa Barbarba. May 8-9, 2008.

74. Maria Brooks begins a film on Women in the Building Trades. July 22, 2008.

75. Laborlore Conversation V held at Sailors' Union of the Pacific Hall, Rincoln Hill, San Francisco. September 20, 2008.

76. Molly Martin, retired electrical building inspector for San Francisco and member of Local 6, IBEW, began a book about Tradeswomen. October 30, 2008.

77. Archie Green wrote a memo to Speaker Nancy Pelosi pertaining to the current legislation involving a job's program/cultural documentation, and jobs program meeting at LOC-AFC. December 12, 2008.

78. Laborlore Conversations VI held at Chicago Roosevelt University, with Labor & Working Class History Association, May 28-30, 2009.

79. Proposal from Max Stein for production of a documentry regarding San Francisco School Bus Drivers Local 1741 during the 1970's. Local 1741 is affiliated with the Sheet Metal Workers' International Association and the United Transportation Union, (SMART). June 3, 2015.

80. Laborlore Conversations VII, San Francisco, with the Labor and Community Studies Department of City College of San Francisco. Panel participants from Sign Display Local 510, SEIU Janitor's Local 87, and La Colectiva de Mujeres. July 11, 2015.

81. Molly Martin proposes producing a video about Tradeswomen in the construction industry, January 21, 2016.

82. NBEW-IBEW Museum Laborlandmark. Support towards restoration of NBEW-IBEW Founders Museum and Plaza in St. Louis, MO. by IBEW Local 1 and IBEW members in the United States and Canada. May 7, 2016.

83. Herb Mills: A Tribute. Editor, Mike Miller, 2020.

84. San Francisco Port Pier 84 Islais Creek Labor History Display. 1995-2022.

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