Reuther-Pollack Labor History Symposium IX

SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE - SATURDAY, August 30, 2025

Doors Open: 9:30 am for Registration & Continental Breakfast

10:00 am - Dr. Peter Cole “Ben Fletcher: The Life and Times of a Black Wobbly ”

11:00 am - Dr. Jeffrey Johnson : “This Dastardly Act': San Francisco's 1916 Preparedness Day Bombing”

12 pm - Lunch Break: Lunch provided; Reuther Birthday Celebration; Walking Tour to the Reuther & Pollack monuments led by Dr. Hal Gorby

2:00 pm Raymond Tyler (author) and Summer McClinton (illustrator): “Black Coal and Red Bandanas: An Illustrated History of the West Virginia Mine Wars” - Graphic Novel

3:00 pm - James Schneider : “Joe Hill (Movie) A union organizer tries to change the world with his music and is met with violence” - Movie

4:00 pm - John Russell : “Union Organizing and Democracy”

SPEAKER BIOs & ABSTRACTS

Dr. Peter Cole is a Professor of History at Western Illinois University and a Research Associate in the Society, Work and Politics Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa). He wrote Dockworker Power: Race and Activism in Durban and the San Francisco Bay Area (2018), winner of the Philip Taft Labor History Book Prize, and Wobblies on the Waterfront: Interracial Unionism in Progressive-Era Philadelphia (2007). He edited Ben Fletcher: The Life & Times of a Black Wobbly (revised 2nd edition, 2021) and co-edited Wobblies of the World: A Global History of the IWW (2017). He co-edited and brought the novel, Presente: A Dockworker Story (2024), written by the deceased Herb Mills, to publication. Cole founded and co-directs the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project.

Abstract: In the early twentieth century, when many US unions excluded black and Asian workers, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) warmly welcomed people of color, in keeping with their emphasis on class solidarity and their bold motto: “An Injury to One Is an Injury to All!” A brilliant union organizer and a humorous orator, Benjamin Fletcher (1890–1949) was a tremendously important and well-loved African American member of the IWW during its heyday. Fletcher helped found and lead Local 8 of the IWW’s Marine Transport Workers Industrial Union, unquestionably the most powerful interracial union of its era, taking a principled stand against all forms of xenophobia and exclusion. For years, historian Peter Cole has carefully researched the life of Fletcher, painstakingly uncovering a stunning range of documents related to this extraordinary man. Ben Fletcher: The Life and Times of a Black Wobbly tells the story of one of the greatest heroes of the American working class.

Dr. Jeffrey Johnson is Professor of History at Providence College in Rhode Island, where he teaches courses on the Gilded Age /Progressive Era, labor history, and the American West. He is the author of three books: They Are All Red Out Here: Socialist Politics in the Pacific Northwest, 1895-1925 (University of Oklahoma Press, 2008), the edited collection Reforming America: A Thematic Encyclopedia and Document Collection of the Progressive Era (ABC-Clio, 2017), and The 1916 Preparedness Day Bombing: Anarchists and Terrorism in Progressive Era America (Routledge, 2018). He has held or currently holds fellowships at the University of Nebraska, the Montana Historical Society, UCLA, Harvard, and Stanford.

Abstract: In the summer of 1916, a patriotic parade in support of WWI occurred in San Francisco. When a violent attack erupted, the parade, San Francisco, and the country were forever altered. In the coming days authorities scrambled to find the culprit(s). The dubious conviction of a local labor organizer raised serious questions about extremism, pluralism, and freedom in the United States that continue to resonate in the twenty-first century.

James Schneider is the writer and director of “Joe Hill,” the movie. He started working in theater in the 1970’s; as a stagehand, an actor, a director, a designer, and a playwright. In the 1980’s he started working in film production as well as making his own films. Jim worked on over 50 feature films over the next 15 years. He continues to write and make films. In 2019, Jim produced and directed a feature that he wrote, “Jack and the Treehouse.” It was released in 2021, played in over 20 festivals, and won a number of awards. It is in distribution, currently available on Amazon Prime Video and Tubi.

Abstract: It’s a time of Robber Barons and wealth gone wild. The rich control the government and the courts. It’s the early 1900s. The Wobblies, the Industrial Workers of the World, form to fight for all workers. They want “One Big Union” to end wage slavery. Joe Hill is the Wobblies’ best known and most prolific songwriter. The movie is a western set after the Industrial Revolution, and it’s a buddy movie. Frank, Joe’s friend, sticks by him even after he’s dead. He helps Joe, and he haunts him. Joe is arrested and accused of M**der. Dead Frank suggests that this is Joe’s chance to be heard. Joe makes the trial about class war and injustice. The court convicts him of M**der, and sentences him to death. Joe is executed by firing squad and cremated. His ashes are spread around the world. His songs are still sung today. www.joehill-themovie.com

Raymond Tyler is a comics writer from Appalachian Georgia currently residing in Nyack, NY. He’s a longtime social justice and labour activist, bridging “history from below” with comics. Raymond’s most recent work is Black Coal and Red Bandanas: An Illustrated History of the West Virginia Mine Wars.

Summer McClinton is a comic book artist based in The Bronx. She has illustrated twelve books, including the Xeric Award-winning Thread. She is an award winning painter, illustrator and art director whose comic book work tends to favor notable historical figures engaged in the ongoing fight for social justice.

Abstract: In the early twentieth century, strikes and union battles were common in industrial centers throughout the US. But nothing compared to the class warfare of the West Virginia mine wars. The origins of this protracted rebellion were in the dictatorial rule of the coal companies over the proud, multiracial, immigrant and native-born miners of Appalachia. Black Coal and Red Bandanas: An Illustrated History of the West Virginia Mine Wars begins with Mary Harris “Mother” Jones's arrival at the turn of the century, then takes readers through the Paint and Cabin Creek strikes led by Frank Keeney, and the “Matewan Massacre” with the pro-union, quick-draw chief of police Smilin’ Sid Hatfield. Events climax with the dramatic Battle of Blair Mountain that pitched the spontaneous Red Neck Army of ten thousand armed strikers against a paid army of gun thugs in the largest labor uprising in US history. This graphic interpretation of people’s history features unforgettable main characters while also displaying the diverse rank and file workers who stood in solidarity during this struggle.

John Russell is based in Wheeling, WV. He earned a degree in Agricultural Science, farmed produce for seven years, and ran a stump grinder. He ran intentionally for state representative, accidentally for Congress, and later advised a major presidential campaign on rural policy and engagement. Later, John came back to the Ohio Valley and jumped into advocacy media. His reporting with More Perfect Union earned an Emmy nomination in 2023. In 2024, he spoke in primetime at the Democratic National Convention about the need to return to labor roots and class solidarity. Today, he’s a freelance reporter for More Perfect Union, a board member at the Wheeling Academy of Law & Science (WALS) Foundation, co-host of the Jess and John podcast, and the main author of a newsletter called “The Holler,” about class politics for rednecks and hippies everywhere.

Abstract: John will discuss the nexus between union organizing and democracy, weaving in the popular sentiment toward labor unions, the political moment, the attacks on unions, the examples of institutional unions that are good and bad, and what a path toward democracy through labor might look like in this specific moment.

And don't miss our special free pre-symposium event with Alan Reuther, discussing and signing his new book, "Roy Reuther and the UAW Fighting for Workers and Civil Rights" on Friday, Aug. 29 at 7 PM.

Also check out other Arts events in Wheeling, Entertainment events in Wheeling, Workshops in Wheeling.