‘Labor Sing’ concert at State Fairgrounds July 28

July 6, 2015 by

web.JoeHill-solidarityThe Twin Cities Labor Chorus will host its annual summer concert and sing-along, “Labor Sing,” at the State Fairgrounds July 28. Local folk musician Emmett Doyle and other special guests will join the performance.

The 7 p.m. concert will take place inside the Minnesota AFL-CIO Labor Pavilion, located at the corner of Dan Patch Ave. and Cooper St., near the Snelling Avenue entrance to the fairgrounds.

Admission is free, but the Labor Chorus will take a freewill offering to support its efforts to perform at the 2016 Western Workers Labor Heritage Festival. Donations can be made payable to: Twin Cities Labor Chorus, PO Box 40095, St. Paul, MN 55104-8095.

Founded in 2009, the Labor Chorus has become a staple at area union events, from picket lines to membership parties. The chorus is supported in part by Minnesota unions and the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. For information about joining or booking the chorus, e-mail tclaborchorus@gmail.com.

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Photos: ‘Labor Sing!’ raises funds for locked-out musicians, striking Laborers

August 2, 2013 by

web.laborchorus-pipesThe Twin Cities Labor Chorus put solidarity into song Tuesday night, hosting “Labor Sing” with Minnesota musician Charlie Maguire at the State Fairgrounds’ Labor Pavilion.

The sing-along did more than raise the spirits of 30-plus people in attendance, however. Donations collected at the concert were split evenly between relief funds supporting locked-out musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra and Laborers on strike at the Cretex concrete plant in Shakopee.

Founded in 2009, the Labor Chorus has become a staple at area union events, from picket lines to membership parties. For information about joining or booking the Labor Chorus, e-mail tclaborchorus@gmail.com.

Check out a gallery of Union Advocate photos from “Labor Sing” below.

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Keillor to host free concert with Musicians of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra

September 24, 2012 by

The union musicians of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO), currently engaged in a contentious round of negotiations with their employer, will present a free concert for the public at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 2 on the Macalester College campus, with St. Paul-based author and radio personality Garrison Keillor serving as host.

The musician-led program will feature works by Rossini, Mozart and Beethoven. Afterward, musicians will host a special reception for all patrons in attendance.

“The musicians in the SPCO adore their enthusiastic audiences in the Twin Cities, and this is a fun and celebratory way to really give something back to the community that supports what we do, and in an unexpected venue as well,” Concertmaster Steven Copes said in a statement.

The concert will take place in the Leonard Center gymnasium, 125 Snelling Ave., St. Paul.

For more information about the Musicians of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and their contract negotiations, go to www.musiciansspco.org.

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Singing for a settlement: Labor Chorus plans benefit for Crystal Sugar workers

July 12, 2012 by

Members of the Twin Cities Labor Chorus perform “songs of protest, resistance, justice, and a vision for a better world.”

On the eve of the one-year anniversary of American Crystal Sugar’s decision to lock out its 1,300 union workers at facilities in Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa, the Twin Cities Labor Chorus and the Lex-Ham Community Theater will present an evening of songs and words of action in support of the locked-out workers – and, hopefully, raise money for their hardship fund.

The concert and reading at the Minnesota AFL-CIO Labor Pavilion on the State Fairgrounds, located at the corner of Dan Patch Avenue and Cooper Street, will begin at 7 p.m. July 31.

Admission is free, but donations are encouraged. Money raised will support locked-out members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, as well as the Labor Chorus and the Lex-Ham Community Theater.

American Crystal Sugar’s union workers have voted three times since the lockout began last year to reject the company’s “final offer.” The company has refused any real negotiations with the union and is proceeding with the process of hiring replacement workers.

The mission of the Twin Cities Labor Chorus is “to empower the labor movement and reclaim protest and social justice music from the forces that would commodify it for profit. Also, to promote singing amongst union members and the public as a tool for building community and magnifying our collective power.”

Click here to view the event page on Facebook.

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