Tag: labor history

Pullman Railroad Days

It was pouring rain on Saturday! Actually, it was OK in the morning (I even biked earlier), but it started raining the moment Igor and I got off Metra Electric. it was unfortunate because we could not walk around and there was no usual block party atmosphere, but the good part was that there were no lines. We got to see everything we wanted to see, and everything was included in our advanced tickets.

First, we went on a Railcar Tour (we couldn’t get there two years ago). All of the cars on this tour are privately owned and Amtrak-certified. That means that, for example, if you own one of these cars and decide to go to New Orleans, Amtrak will attach your car (your hotel-on-wheels) to the train that goes to New Orleans, and here you go!

Blue Ridge Club car (1950)
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May Day

I was hoping for a bigger crowd, but there were just a few people who cared. As everyone who spoke at the rally mentioned, the whole world remembers the Haymarket riots and the fight for the 8-hour workday—the whole world except for the country where they took place. And fewer and fewer people remember the lyrics of “Solidarity Forever.”

This lady in front is a sculptor who created this monument

Happening on May 1

Two Upcoming Events

Labor Day Parade Pictures

(As usual, I am waiting for more from Igor). I think it was a good idea to move this parade to Pullman, but the parade organizers have a lot of work to do to make this event better attended next year. I do not have pictures from the Eddie Fest because, once again, it was a suboptimal planning. We will do better next year!

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Pullman Visitors Center And Musem

Each time Igor and I come to Pullman (and especially since it acquired the status of the National Monument), we see some new improvements. This time, we wanted to check out the new visitor’s center and its exhibits.

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Pullman Labor Day Parade

I am not going to pretend that I know everything about the Labor History of Chicago, so I will simply copy-paste the information from the Pullman website about today’s event. I want to mention that the event was poorly advertised, and the participation was not so great. Igor and I went thee and took a decent amount of pictures, which I will ty to post tomorrow. But for now – just the information:

Official records vary, but one can be certain that Chicago’s first Labor Day Parade took place in the 1880s. Labor Day parades in Chicago before the turn of the 20th century regularly involved upwards of 30,000 working men and women and drew thousands more onlookers. Roughly 75,000 workers turned out to march in the 1903 parade.​

Early parades were massive and aimed to show the solidarity and sheer size of the labor movement. Parades were often followed by picnics where workers could enjoy a relaxing day off with their families after marching with their union. However, support for the parade waned in the 1940s and would eventually be discontinued in the 1950s.

In 1959, the East Side Labor Day Parade was established. Chicago’s Southeast Side has always had a strong connection to labor, and with the steel mills in operation and working families employed at U.S, Wisconsin, Republic, and Pressed Steel, the booming economy of the neighborhood gave rise to the celebration of union and labor achievements. The parade ran strong for over 30 years until its retirement in 1993.

The Chicago Federation of Labor revived the Labor Day Parade that traditionally marched through downtown Chicago in the 1980s. Iterations of the parade through the 80s and 90s often included a festival and picnic component, held in Grant Park. The 1982 parade and festival was held over several days and included musical performances by Count Basie and Glen Campbell. But the “downtown parade” once again went by the wayside in the 2000s.​

Years later the tradition was revived by former 10th Ward Alderwoman Susan Sadlowski Garza in September 2015 with the support of local businesses, unions, and community members. The new parade ran down Ewing Avenue on the Southeast Side and was followed by Eddie Fest, featuring live music, food and fun for the whole family. Eddie Fest was named after Sadlowski Garza’s father, the legendary United Steelworkers activist Edward ‘Oilcan’ Sadlowski.

The 2023 Chicago Labor Day Parade and Eddie Fest is moving from the East Side, but not far. After Sadlowski Garza’s retirement in 2023, the parade and festival will move to the Pullman Historic District, which has been developing and highlighting its ties to the Chicago labor movement and labor history over the past few years.

Labor Day is an American holiday that celebrates and honors the contributions of working-class people. Organized and run by the Chicago Federation of Labor, the parade seeks to celebrate union pride, solidarity, and community togetherness. We look forward to hosting another successful event that families can enjoy for years to come.

Since 1896, the CFL has fought for economic, social, and racial justice for all working people. The CFL proudly represents 300 unions, who in turn represent approximately 500,000 working people in Chicago and Cook County.

Open House Chicago 2021 – Part 2

The next neighborhood we visited was Bridgeport. I never knew Chicago had a maritime museum, but there it was! The building where the Chicago Maritime Museum is located is a former Spiegel Catalogue Warehouse, on the banks of Bubbly Creek (Now, it’s a Bridgeport Art Center, and the Maritime Museum is in the basement).

The museum is wonderful; honestly, it’s a pity it is so far from the Loop! If it were closer, I would take more people there :).

One of the curators explained to us how the large ships could not sail in the Chicago River because it has so many bends
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Open House Chicago 2021 – Part 1

OHC is an event I try not to miss. Although some years I was in Helsinki that very weekend, and some years, the weather was really horrible, I would make it more often than not.
Each time we go together, Igor comes up with a route we never did before, and each time we explore new places (at least, new to me :))

Last year, there was no OHC due to COVID, and this year, there were way fewer sites than in pre-COVD years, which Igor declared to be a positive thing: planning became easier.

On the first part of our OHC tour, we went to the Back of the Yards neighborhood. The first stop was The Plant – a former slaughterhouse and meat-packing facility converted into a green technology site, housing 20 businesses, including indoor and outdoor farms, beer and kombucha breweries, a bread bakery, and other emerging food producers and distributors. Bubbly Dynamics, who owns the facility, tried to preserve the features of the original building. You can see the signs on the walls identifying different stages of meat processing. Also, the toilets are located in the former walk-in refrigerators. That might sound funny, but I felt very uncomfortable closing a heavy door behind me and putting the latch down. It almost felt like the temperature was about to start dropping right away.

Approaching The Plant
At the entrance
Algae everywhere!
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More From Pullman

Yesterday, I forgot to add Igor’s pictures which he shared with me, and he made much better ones. Besides, he had a chance to see the cars (this one accidental ticket I got from a person who didn’t need it)

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A Visit To Pullman

For many years, Igor and I visited Pullman on one of the Labor Day weekend days – they always had something interesting going on. Last year, there was nothing because of COVID, but that year, it was going to be a big celebration: Pullman officially became a Nationa Monument.

We decided to go on Saturday because according to the museum website, the actual ribbon cutting was supposed to be on that day. Also, they were going to give away free tickets to tour a factory and Florence Hotel, and also there were going to be old Pullman cars tours.
It turned out that the ribbon cutting was scheduled for Monday, and as for the tickets, people stood in lines from 7-30 AM to get them!

We didn’t get any – they were all gone five minutes after we arrived. However, one lady happened to have one extra ticket for the cars tour, and I gave it to Igor.

Still, we managed to see a lot on the museum grounds, and we were shocked by the amount of restoration work that was done on the site!

Restored Main Gate
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