"WE HAVE FED YOU ALL FOR A THOUSAND YEARS"

 

          The Legacy of the Wobblies

 

          a dramatic and musical collage for Labor Day

 

 

          by Charles Deemer

 

          -----------------------------------------------

 

          For 5 actors

 

          Music by General Strike and actors

 

          -----------------------------------------------

 

                    

          LABOR DAY: INTRODUCTION

 

                                          ACTOR #5

                         Labor Day, the first Monday

                         in September, is a creation

                         of the labor movement and is

                         dedicated to the social and

                         economic achievements of

                         American workers. It is a

                         yearly national tribute to

                         the contributions workers

                         have made to the strength,

                         prosperity and well-being of

                         our country.

                         The first Labor Day

                         celebration was in 1882 in

                         New York, which also

                         introduced the first state

                         bill for such a holiday. But

                         the first state to pass a

                         Labor Day bill was Oregon, on

                         February 21, 1887.

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                              (in audience,

                              rising to feet)

                         Come on!  Let's tell the

                         whole truth here!

 

          He will make his way to the front.

 

                                          ACTOR #5

                         You are out of order!  This

                         is a Labor Day celebration.

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         What's there to celebrate? 

                         Open your eyes, people, and

                         look at the facts!

 

          Another actor rises from the audience.

 

                                          ACTOR #2

                         He's right!  Look at the

                         facts!  

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         Listen up!  In retail trade

                         there are 19 million of us

                         who earn less than $10,000 a

                         year, mostly with no

                         benefits. 

 

                                          ACTOR #2

                         Our 1.1 million bank tellers

                         and clerks earn an average of

                         $8.19 per hour and are

                         rapidly being replaced by

                         machines.

 

          A third actor rises from the audience. 

 

                                          ACTOR #4

                         Eight million of us are

                         machine operators and

                         assemblers. Average real

                         wages for these production

                         workers in 1993 were less

                         than what they were in 1973.

 

          The 3 actors move toward the front of the

          stage, speaking to, pleading with, the

          audience:

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         Two million adults work full-

                         time and yet remain at the

                         poverty level. And what's the

                         government doing about it? 

                         Nothing.  Instead we

                         subsidize the defense

                         industry.  

 

                                          ACTOR #4

                         What an incredible waste of

                         resources!  

 

                                          ACTOR #2

                         Every $1 billion spent in

                         such defense subsidies

                         creates 16,000 jobs. But

                         spending that much on mass

                         transit would create 30,000

                         jobs. 

 

                                          ACTOR #4

                         Spending it on housing would

                         create 36,000 jobs.

 

                                          ACTOR #2

                         On education 41,000 jobs, on

                         health care 47,000. 

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         Have you noticed that when

                         the discussion is about mass

                         transit, education, or health

                         care, the loud voices stop

                         talking about jobs and start

                         talking about affordability?

                         We can afford weapons jobs,

                         but not jobs fixing up

                         schools!

 

          They've reached the front of the room.

 

                                          ACTOR #2

                         So what the hell are we

                         celebrating here today

                         anyway?

 

 

          SONG 3: WOBBLY DOXOLOGY

 

          by General Strike

 

                                          CHORUS

                         Praise boss when morning work

                         bells chime   Praise him for

                         chunks of overtime   Praise

                         him whose bloody wars we

                         fight   Praise him, great

                         leech and parasite   A-hell!

 

 

          

 

                                          

 

 

          SONG 4: THE PREACHER AND THE SLAVE (JOE HILL) -

          D

 

          by General Strike

 

                                          VERSE 1

                         Long-haired preachers come

                         out every night,  Try to tell

                         you what's wrong and what's

                         right;  But when asked how

                         about something to eat  They

                         will answer with voices so

                         sweet: 

 

                                          CHORUS (MAIN)

                         You will eat, bye and bye, 

                         In that glorious land above

                         the sky;  Work and Pray, live

                         on hay,  You'll get pie in

                         the sky when you die. 

 

                                          VERSE 2

                         And the starvation army they

                         play,  And they sing and they

                         clap and they pray.  Till

                         they get all your coin on the

                         drum,  Then they tell you

                         when you're on the bum: 

 

          Chorus.

 

                                          VERSE 3

                         Workingfolk of all countries

                         unite,  Side by side we for

                         freedom will fight;  When the

                         world and its wealth we have

                         gained  To the grafters we'll

                         sing this refrain: 

 

                                          CHORUS (FINAL)

                         You will eat, bye and bye, 

                         When you've learned how to

                         cook and to fry  Chop some

                         wood,  will do you good  And

                         you'll eat in the sweet bye

                         and bye. 

 

 

          PART ONE: REMEMBERING THE WOBBLIES - A LEGACY

          IN BLOOD

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         The history of labor is a

                         story of courage and

                         sacrifice.  Today we take for

                         granted working conditions

                         that hundreds upon hundreds

                         of thousands of men, women

                         and children fought to

                         secure.  Nobody fought harder

                         for the rights of working

                         people than the Wobblies. 

                         Their legacy is a river, a

                         rapids, of sweat and blood.

                         We begin on a day in June,

                         1905, in a meeting hall in

                         Chicago.  The IWW, the

                         Industrial Workers of the

                         World, soon called the

                         "Wobblies," would define

                         their cause at this meeting. 

                         The gavel was struck by a

                         bull of a man named William

                         "Big Bill" Haywood.

 

                                          ACTOR #5

                         "In calling this convention

                         to order I do so with a sense

                         of the responsibility that

                         rests upon me and rests upon

                         every delegate that is here. 

                         This is the Continental

                         Congress of the working

                         class."

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         And a grandmotherly woman

                         with a fist for justice was

                         there as well: Mother Jones.

 

                                          ACTOR #3

                         "I belong to a class who have

                         been robbed, exploited and

                         plundered down through many

                         long centuries and because I

                         belong to that class I have

                         an instinct to go and help

                         break the chains."

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         After considerable debate, a

                         constitution was adopted.

 

                                          ACTOR #4

                         Preamble to the Constitution

                         of the IWW: "The working

                         class and the employing class

                         have nothing in common. 

                         There can be no peace so long

                         as hunger and want are found

                         among millions of working

                         people and the few, who make

                         up the employing class, have

                         all the good things in life."

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         The goal of the Wobblies was

                         to unify working people -

                         men, women and children,

                         white and non-white alike -

                         under the banner of One Big

                         Union.  

 

                                          ACTOR #5

                         "If the workers of the world

                         want to win, all they have to

                         do is recognize their own

                         solidarity.  They have

                         nothing to do but fold their

                         arms and the world will stop. 

                         The workers are more powerful

                         with their hands in their

                         pockets than all the property

                         of the capitalists"  Joseph

                         Ettor, IWW organizer.

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         This meeting did not come out

                         of a vacuum.  Working people

                         had suffered for centuries

                         but now were fighting back in

                         greater numbers than ever

                         before. By 1905, their

                         struggle was already very

                         old.

 

                                          ACTOR #2

                         On July 3, 1835, children 

                         employed in the silk mills in

                         Paterson, NJ go on strike for

                         the 11 hour day, 6 day week.

 

                                          ACTOR #3

                         In 1860, 800 women operatives

                         and 4,000 workmen march

                         during a shoemaker's strike

                         in Lynn, Massachusetts.

 

                                          ACTOR #4

                         January 13, 1874: in New

                         York's Tompkins Square Park,

                         a detachment of mounted

                         police charges into a crowd

                         of demonstrating workers. 

                         Hundreds of men, women and

                         children are injured.

 

                                          ACTOR #3

                         "The workers asked only for

                         bread and a shortening of

                         long hours of toil. The

                         agitators gave them visions.

                         The police gave them clubs."

                         Mother Jones.

 

                                          ACTOR #5

                         June 21, 1877: ten coal

                         mining activists, the "Molly

                         McGuires," are hanged in

                         Pennsylvania.

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         The voices of those who lived

                         through these events rise up

                         and come to us across the

                         gulf of years like ghostly

                         winds, reminding us of our

                         heritage, whether we want to

                         listen or not.  There are too

                         many of these voices to

                         count.  They are too loud to

                         ignore.  And they won't shut

                         up.

 

                                          ACTOR #4

                         July 14, 1877: A general

                         strike halts the movement of

                         U.S. railroads. In the

                         following days, strike riots

                         spread across the United

                         States. 

 

                                          ACTOR #5

                         July 11, 1892: Striking

                         miners in Coeur D'Alene,

                         Idaho, dynamite the Frisco

                         Mill, leaving it in ruins. 

                         Mining strikes spread to

                         Colorado, and Federal troops

                         are called up.

 

                                          ACTOR #3

                         "Mr. Rockefeller, I want you

                         to come out to Colorado ...

                         what you see will make you do

                         things which will make you

                         one of the country's greatest

                         men."

 

                                          ACTOR #2

                         "I am afraid the dear lady is 

                         inclined to throw

                         compliments."

 

                                          ACTOR #3

                         "Oh, no.  I am much more

                         inclined to throw bricks." 

                         Mother Jones.

 

 

          SONG 5: MINER'S LIFEGUARD - D - FEATURING

          CHARLES

 

          Charles with General Strike

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         Miner's life is like a

                         sailor's.  'Board a ship to

                         cross the waves.  Ev'ry day

                         his life's in danger,  Still

                         he ventures being brave. 

                         Watch the rocks, they're

                         falling daily.  Careless

                         miners always fail.  Keep

                         your hand upon the dollar 

                         And your eye upon the scale. 

 

                                          CHORUS

                         Union miners stand together, 

                         Heed no operator's tale, 

                         Keep your hand upon the

                         dollar,  And your eye upon

                         the scale. 

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         You've been docked and docked

                         again,  You've been loading

                         two to one;  What have you to

                         show for working  Since this

                         mining has begun?  Overalls

                         and cans for rockers,  In

                         your shanties, sleep on

                         rails.  Keep your hand upon

                         the dollar  And your eye upon

                         the scale. 

 

          Chorus twice.

 

                                          

 

           

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         Too many voices to count -

                         and they won't shut up.

 

                                          ACTOR #2

                         1899 and 1901: U.S. Army

                         troops occupy the Coeur

                         d'Alene mining region in

                         Idaho.

 

                                          ACTOR #4

                         November 23, 1903: Troops are

                         dispatched to Cripple Creek,

                         Colorado, to control rioting

                         by striking coal miners.

 

 

          SONG 6: WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON? (FLORENCE REECE)

          - A MINOR

 

          by General Strike

 

                                          VERSE 1

                         Come all you good workers, 

                         Good news to you I'll tell, 

                         Of how the good old union 

                         Has come in here to dwell. 

 

                                          CHORUS

                         Which side are you on?  Which

                         side are you on? / Which side

                         are you on?  Which side are

                         you on?

 

                                          VERSE 2

                         Oh, workers can you stand it? 

                         Oh, tell me how you can. 

                         Will you be a lousy scab, 

                         Or will you take a stand? 

 

          Chorus.

 

                                          VERSE 3

                         Don't scab for the bosses, 

                         Don't listen to their lies. 

                         Us workers haven't got a

                         chance, 

                         Unless we organize. 

 

          Chorus.

 

                                          ACTOR #5

                         November 22, 1909: 20,000

                         female garment workers go on

                         strike in New York, and many

                         are arrested. A judge tells

                         them: "You are on strike

                         against God."

 

                                          ACTOR #3

                         "We don't want Sunday

                         schools.  We've had enough of

                         them.  We want to fight." 

                         Mother Jones.

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         In trade after trade,

                         occupation after occupation,

                         workers were organizing.

 

 

          SONG 7:  MAKIN' WHOOPEE (UNION VERSION) -

          FEATURING JO ANN

 

          Jo Ann with pianist

 

                                          ACTOR #4

                         Another night, another day 

                         Of livin' tight, from pay to

                         pay  And here's the reason my

                         life ain't easin'  Ain't got

                         a union. 

                         I go to work when work is

                         there  I never shirk, I do my

                         share  It doesn't matter, my

                         wallet's flatter  Without a

                         union. 

                         (Break:) Sometimes I sit and

                         daydream,  Thinkin' how

                         things could be,  Silly to

                         some it may seem  I'd like

                         seniority, and 

                         Grievance procedure, when

                         things ain't fair  Vacation

                         leisure, without a care 

                         Benefit fringes, I know it

                         hinges  On bein' union. 

                         Sisters and brothers, hear

                         what I say  We need each

                         other, there's just one way 

                         We've got to realize, we've

                         got to organize  Into a

                         union. 

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         And still more voices ...

 

                                          ACTOR #3

                         February 24, 1912: Women and

                         children are beaten by police

                         during a textile strike in

                         Lawrence, Massachusetts.  The

                         women were trying to send the

                         children to New York for

                         safety. 

 

                                          ACTOR #2

                         "The children approached the

                         train in a long, orderly

                         line, two by two, their

                         parents watching nearby. 

                         Suddenly the police closed

                         in, swinging their clubs. 

                         Mothers rushed to protect

                         their children but both were

                         beaten and bloodied

                         indiscriminately and dragged

                         to military trucks to be

                         hauled away." Report to

                         Congress by the Women's

                         Committee of Philadelphia.

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         Socialist candidates for

                         office challenged the status

                         quo.  In 1912, Presidential

                         candidate Eugene Debs got

                         900,000 votes, double what he

                         had in 1908. 

 

                                          ACTOR #5

                         April 20, 1914: The "Ludlow

                         Massacre."  State Militia

                         attack a union tent camp with

                         machine guns. Then they set

                         it on fire. Five men, two

                         women and 12 children die.

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         When World War I started, the

                         Wobblies refused to support

                         it.  They organized against

                         the draft.  This would be the

                         straw that broke the

                         government's back - not only

                         were they labor agitators,

                         they were unpatriotic as

                         well.

 

                                          ACTOR #3

                         "You ask me why the IWW is

                         not patriotic to the United

                         States. If you were a bum

                         without a blanket; if you had

                         left your wife and kids when

                         you went west for a job and

                         had never located them since;

                         if your job had never kept

                         you long enough in a place to

                         qualify you to vote; if you

                         slept in a lousy, sour

                         bunkhouse and ate food just

                         as rotten as they could give

                         you and get by with it; if

                         deputy sheriffs shot your

                         cooking cans full of holes

                         and spilled your grub on the

                         ground; if your wages were

                         lowered on you when the

                         bosses thought they had you

                         down; if there was one law

                         for Henry Ford and another

                         for Henry Thaw; if every

                         person who represented law

                         and order and the nation beat

                         you up, railroaded you to

                         jail, and the good Christian

                         people cheered and told them

                         to go to it, how in hell do

                         you expect a man to be

                         patriotic? This war is a

                         business man's war and we

                         don't see why we should go

                         out and get shot in order to

                         save the lovely state of

                         affairs we now enjoy."  Henry

                         Thaw, Wobbly.

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         During the "Red Scare" after

                         World War I, the government

                         went after the Wobblies with

                         no holds barred, lest they

                         lead a working class

                         revolution like the one that

                         had just happened in Russia.

                         What resulted was one of the

                         more oppressive periods in

                         our history.

 

                                          ACTOR #2

                         August 1, 1917: IWW organizer

                         Frank Little is lynched in

                         Butte, Montana. 

 

                                          ACTOR #4

                         "When Carlo told me the

                         terrible news, I left the

                         stove, sat down and began to

                         cry. Our friend Johnny, soon

                         to be in uniform, asked in

                         surprise, What's wrong?  As

                         Carlo told us the horrible

                         details - of how six masked

                         men came to the hotel at

                         night, broke down the door,

                         dragged Frank from his bed,

                         took him to a railroad

                         trestle on the outskirts of

                         town and there hanged him -

                         this simple working-class

                         youth said sorrowfully, So

                         that's what I'm going to

                         fight for?" Elizabeth Gurley

                         Flynn, radical and labor

                         organizer.

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         No wonder the government was

                         worried.  In New York in

                         1917, the Socialist candidate

                         for mayor got 22 percent of

                         the vote.  Ten socialists

                         were elected to the state

                         legislature.

 

                                          ACTOR #5

                         "Yes, in good time we are

                         going to sweep into power in

                         this nation and throughout

                         the world.  We are going to

                         destroy all enslaving and

                         degrading capitalist

                         institutions and re-create

                         them as free and humanizing

                         institutions.  The world is

                         daily changing before our

                         eyes."  Eugene Debs,

                         Socialist candidate for

                         President.

 

                                           

 

                                          

 

 

          SONG 8: WE HAVE FED YOU ALL FOR A THOUSAND

          YEARS - G

 

          by General Strike

 

                                          VERSE 1

                         We have fed you all for a

                         thousand years 

                         And you hail us still unfed 

                         Though there's never a dollar

                         of all your wealth 

                         But marks the workers dead 

                         We have yielded our best to

                         give you rest 

                         And you lie on crimson wool 

                         But if blood be the price of

                         all your wealth 

                         Good God! We have paid in

                         full!

 

                                          VERSE 2

                         There is never a mine blown

                         skyward now   But we're

                         buried alive for you  

                         There's never a wreck drifts

                         shoreward now   But we are

                         its ghastly crew   Go reckon

                         our dead by the forges red  

                         And the factories where we

                         spin   If blood be the price

                         of your cursed wealth   Good

                         God! We have paid it in!

 

                                          VERSE 3

                         We have fed you all for a

                         thousand years   For that was

                         our doom, you know   From the

                         days when you chained us in

                         your fields   To the strike a

                         week ago   You have taken our

                         lives, our husbands and wives  

                         And we're told it's your

                         legal share   But if blood be

                         the price of your lawful

                         wealth   Good God! We have

                         bought it fair!

 

                                          ACTOR #4

                         In September, 1917, the FBI

                         simultaneously raids 48 IWW

                         meeting halls across the

                         country, confiscating

                         literature.  

 

                                          ACTOR #2

                         Later that month, 101 Wobbly

                         leaders are put on trial and

                         convicted of conspiring to

                         hinder the draft.

 

                                          ACTOR #3

                         "I doubt if ever in history

                         there has been a sight just

                         like them.  One hundred and

                         one lumberjacks, harvest

                         hands, miners, editors ...

                         who believe the wealth of the

                         world belongs to him who

                         creates it."  John Reed,

                         journalist.

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         Today, the best known Wobbly

                         is probably Joe Hill, the

                         great labor song writer.  He

                         wrote the "pie in the sky"

                         song that we sang earlier. 

                         Joe Hill was executed in Utah

                         for a crime many people think

                         he didn't commit.  30,000

                         people joined his funeral

                         procession in Chicago.  Some

                         of Joe Hill's last words were

                         in a letter Joe sent from

                         jail to Big Bill Haywood:

                         "Don't waste any time in

                         mourning. Organize."

 

 

          SONG 9: "I DREAMED I SAW JOE HILL LAST NIGHT"

          (EARL ROBINSON) - G? - FEATURING ELISA

 

          Elisa with General Strike

 

                                          ACTOR #2

                         I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last

                         night,  Alive as you or me 

                         Says I, "But Joe, you're ten

                         years dead,"  "I never died,"

                         says he  "I never died," says

                         he 

                         "In Salt Lake, Joe," says I

                         to him,  Him standing by my

                         bed,  "They framed you on a

                         murder charge,"  Says Joe,

                         "But I ain't dead,"  Says

                         Joe, "But I ain't dead" 

                         "The copper bosses killed

                         you, Joe,  They shot you,

                         Joe," says I.  "Takes more

                         than guns to kill a man," 

                         Says Joe, "I did not die," 

                         Says Joe, "I did not die" 

                         "Joe Hill ain't dead," he

                         says to me,  "Joe Hill ain't

                         never died.  Where working

                         folk are out on strike  Joe

                         Hill is at their side,  Joe

                         Hill is at their side". 

                         "From San Diego up to Maine, 

                         In every mine and mill, 

                         Where workers strike and

                         organize,"  Says he, "You'll

                         find Joe Hill,"  Says he,

                         "You'll find Joe Hill." 

                         I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last

                         night,  Alive as you or me 

                         Says I, "But Joe, you're ten

                         years dead,"  "I never died,"

                         says he  "I never died," says

                         he 

 

                                          ACTOR #2

                         December 22, 1919: Amid a

                         strike for union recognition

                         by 395,000 steelworkers,

                         approximately 250

                         "anarchists," "communists,"

                         and "labor agitators" are

                         deported to Russia.  Many of

                         these are Wobblies.

 

                                          ACTOR #3

                         January 2, 1920:  the FBI

                         begins carrying out the

                         nationwide "Palmer Raids."

                         Federal agents seize labor

                         leaders and literature in 

                         hopes of discouraging labor

                         activity. 

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         The ranks of the Wobblies

                         were jailed, deported and 

                         decimated, but it was too

                         late to reverse their call to

                         arms. 

                         Workers had heard enough to

                         make a difference, and if

                         there was not yet One Big

                         Union, workers were

                         organizing all over the

                         country and demanding better

                         working conditions.

 

          OFFERING during song below.

 

 

          SONG 10: SOLIDARITY FOREVER (RALPH CHAPLIN) - G

 

          by General Strike

 

                                          VERSE 1

                         When the union's inspiration 

                         Through the workers' blood

                         shall run,  There can be no

                         power greater anywhere

                         beneath the sun,  Yet what

                         force on earth is weaker than

                         the feeble strength of one, 

                         For the Union makes us

                         strong. 

 

                                          CHORUS

                         Solidarity forever,

                         solidarity forever,

                         solidarity forever  For the

                         Union makes us strong. 

 

                                          

 

          Chorus.

 

                                          VERSE 2

                         They have taken untold

                         millions  That they never

                         toiled to earn,  But without

                         our brain and muscle  Not a

                         single wheel can turn;  We

                         can break their haughty

                         power,  Gain our freedom when

                         we learn  That the Union

                         makes us strong. 

 

          Chorus.

 

                                          VERSE 3

                         En los campos de Delano

                         luchan por su libertad  Todos

                         los trabajadores quieren ya

                         vivir en paz  Y por eso

                         companeros nos tenemos que

                         juntar  Con solidaridad!

 

                                          SPANISH CHORUS

                         Solidaridad por siempre (3x)

                         / Que viva nuestra union!

 

                                          VERSE 4

                         In our hands is placed a

                         power greater than their

                         hoarded gold; Greater than

                         the might of armies,

                         magnified a thousand fold.  

                         We can bring to birth a new

                         world from the ashes of the

                         old,  For the Union makes us

                         strong!

 

          Chorus.

 

          

 

 

          PART TWO: WORKING IN AMERICA

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         What most of us want is

                         simple enough: work that

                         means something to us, for

                         compensation with which to

                         provide ourselves and our

                         families a comfortable life. 

                         But what is simple to express

                         can be hard to achieve.

                         In 1972, Studs Terkel

                         published a remarkable book

                         called WORKING: PEOPLE TALK

                         ABOUT WHAT THEY DO ALL DAY

                         AND HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT WHAT

                         THEY DO.  Perhaps no other

                         document better captures the

                         diversity of work in America

                         and gives voice to our

                         continued dreaming for a

                         better life.  Here are a few

                         of the voices in that book.

 

                                          ACTOR #2

                         "You come in at nine, you

                         open the door, you look at

                         the piece of machinery, you

                         plug in the headpiece. That’s

                         how my day begins. You

                         tremble when you hear the

                         first ring. After that, it’s

                         sort of downhill – unless

                         there’s somebody on the phone

                         who is either kind or nasty.

                         The rest of the people are

                         just non, they don’t exist.

                         They’re just voices. You

                         answer calls, you connect

                         them to others, and that’s

                         it". Sharon Atkins,

                         receptionist

 

                                          ACTOR #3

                         "I have to be a waitress. How

                         else can I learn about

                         people? How else does the

                         world come to me? I can’t go

                         to everyone. So they have to

                         come to me. Everyone wants to

                         eat, everyone has hunger. And

                         I serve them. If they’ve had

                         a bad day, I nurse them,

                         cajole them. Maybe with

                         coffee I give them a little

                         philosophy. They have

                         cocktails, I give them

                         political science. I’ll say

                         things that bug me. If they

                         manufacture soap, I say what

                         I think about pollution. If I

                         pour water, I say, Would you

                         like your quota of mercury

                         today? I just can’t keep

                         quiet. I have an opinion on

                         every single subject there

                         is. In the beginning, it was

                         theology, and my bosses

                         didn’t like it. Now I am

                         political and my bosses don’t

                         like it. I speak sotto voce.

                         But if I get heated, then I

                         don’t give a damn. I speak

                         like an Italian speaks.  I

                         give service. There is a

                         difference." Dolores Dante,

                         waitress

 

                                          ACTOR #2

                         "I started picking crops when

                         I was eight….We used to work

                         early, about four o’clock in

                         the morning. We’d pick the

                         harvest until about six. Then

                         we’d run home and get into

                         our supposedly clean clothes

                         and run all the way to school

                         because we’d be late. By the

                         time we got to school, we’d

                         be all tuckered out. Around

                         maybe eleven o’clock, we’d be

                         dozing off. Our teachers

                         would send notes to the house

                         telling Mom that we were

                         inattentive.  I began to see

                         how everything was so wrong.

                         When growers can have an

                         intricate watering system to

                         irrigate their crops but they

                         can’t have running water

                         inside the houses of workers.

                         Veterinarians tend to the

                         needs of domestic animals but

                         they can’t have medical care

                         for the workers.  They treat

                         him like a farm implement. In

                         fact, they treat their

                         implements better and their

                         domestic animals better. They

                         have heat and insulated barns

                         for the animals but the

                         workers live in beat-up

                         shacks with no heat at all."

                         Roberto Acuna, farm worker

 

                                          ACTOR #5

                         "This is a profession that

                         everyone has looked up to and

                         respected. They always say,

                         ‘Here comes the mailman’ –

                         pony express or something.

                         This always brought a gleam

                         to everyone’s eye. Everyone

                         likes to receive mail. I feel

                         it is one of the most

                         respected professions that

                         there is throughout the

                         nation. You’re doing a job

                         for the public and a job for

                         the country." John Fuller,

                         mail carrier.

 

                                          ACTOR #3

                         "My work is trying to change

                         this country. This is the job

                         I’ve chosen. When people ask

                         me, Why are you doing this?,

                         it’s like asking what kind of

                         sickness you got. I don’t

                         feel sick. I think this

                         country is sick. The daily

                         injustices just gnaw on me a

                         little harder than they do on

                         other people." Bill Talcott,

                         labor organizer

 

 

          SONG 11: "BY THE SWEAT OF MY BROW" (HAZEL

          DICKENS)- FEATURING DEBORAH

 

          Deborah with General Strike

 

                                          ACTOR #3

                         I'm making my livin' by the

                         sweat of my brow / I couldn't

                         be crooked 'cause I don't

                         know how / I've lived in a

                         shack and cooked in a can /

                         Making a fortune for some

                         other man

 

                                          CHORUS

                         I learned early in life that

                         that was the rule / A worker

                         ain't nothin' but a rich

                         man's tool / Every day he

                         gets richer, I get poorer

                         somehow / Making a livin' by

                         the sweat of my brow

 

                                          ACTOR #3

                         Picked food for your table

                         'til my back ached with pain

                         / Planted rows of trees in

                         the cold freezing rain / Been

                         sprayed like an insect, think

                         I'm dyin' now / Making a

                         livin' by the sweat of my

                         brow

 

          Chorus.

 

                                          ACTOR #3

                         Rich folks sell junk bonds,

                         do S&L scams / We fight their

                         bloody wars in far away lands

                         / I've worked hard, stayed

                         honest, and I've got by

                         somehow / Making a livin' by

                         the sweat of my brow

 

          Chorus.

 

                                          ACTOR #4

                         "A housewife is a housewife,

                         that’s all. Low on the totem

                         pole. Someone who is a model

                         or a movie star, these are

                         the great ones. I don’t

                         necessarily think they are,

                         but they’re the ones you hear

                         about. Somebody who goes out

                         and works for a living is

                         more important than somebody

                         who doesn’t. What they do is

                         very important in the

                         business world. What I do is

                         only important to five

                         people. I don’t like putting

                         a housewife down but

                         everybody has done it for so

                         long.  It’s sort of the thing

                         you do. Deep down, I feel

                         like what I’m doing is

                         important. But you just hate

                         to say it because what are

                         you? Just a housewife."

                         Therese Carter, housewife

 

 

          SONG 12: FATHER GRUMBLE (POEM)

 

                                          ACTOR #3

                         There was an old woman, there

                         was an old man 

                         Who never could agree 

                         He said he could do more work

                         in a day 

                         Than she could do in three. 

 

                                          ACTOR #2

                         Now said the old woman unto

                         the old man 

                         If this you will allow, 

                         Why you shall stay at home

                         today 

                         An' I'll go follow the plow. 

 

                                          ACTOR #4

                         But you must milk the teeny

                         cow 

                         For fear she will go dry, 

                         An' you must feed the little

                         pigs 

                         That lay within the sty. 

 

                                          ACTOR #2

                         An' you must watch the

                         speckled hen 

                         For fear she'll go astray, 

                         An' you must wind the bobbin

                         of yarn 

                         That I spun yesterday. 

 

                                          ACTOR #3

                         The old woman she picked up

                         the shares 

                         To go an' follow the plow, 

                         The old man he picked up the

                         pail 

                         To milk the teeny cow. 

 

                                          ACTOR #4

                         Teeny she winked an' Teeny

                         she blinked 

                         An' Teny curled up her nose, 

                         An' give' the old man such a

                         kick in the face 

                         That the blood streamed down

                         to his toes 

 

                                          ACTOR #3

                         He went to feed the little

                         pigs 

                         That lay within the sty, 

                         The old sow run up against

                         his legs 

                         An' knocked him ten foot

                         high. 

 

                                          ACTOR #4

                         He went to watch the speckled

                         hen 

                         For fear she'd go astray, 

                         An' forgot to wind the bobbin

                         of yarn 

                         That his wife spun yesterday. 

 

                                          ACTOR #2

                         He swore by the sun, he swore

                         by the stars 

                         An' the green leaves on the

                         tree, 

                         That his wife could do more

                         work in one day 

                         Than he could do in three! 

 

                                          ACTOR #5

                         "I can’t imagine a job where

                         you go home and maybe go by a

                         year later and you don’t know

                         what you’ve done. My work, I

                         can see what I did the first

                         day I started. All my work is

                         set right out there in the

                         open and I can look at it as

                         I go by. It’s something I can

                         see the rest of my life."

                         Carl Murray Bates, stonemason

 

                                          ACTOR #2

                         "I used to work in a bank.

                         You know, it’s just paper.

                         It’s not real. Nine to five

                         and it’s shit. You’re lookin’

                         at numbers. But now I can

                         look back and say, ‘I helped

                         put out a fire. I helped save

                         somebody.’ It shows something

                         I did on this earth." Tom

                         Patrick, fireman

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         The voices never stop,

                         reminding us of those who

                         gave their lives so we might

                         work an eight-hour day, a

                         five-day week.  The voices

                         never stop because, in fact,

                         the struggle continues. 

                         Today corporate downsizing

                         makes job security a pipe

                         dream, and the gulf between

                         rich and poor gets even

                         wider.

 

 

          SONG 13: BANKS OF MARBLE - A

 

          by General Strike

 

                                          VERSE 1

                         I've traveled 'round this

                         country. 

                         From shore to shining shore; 

                         It really made me wonder 

                         The things I heard and saw. 

 

                                          CHORUS

                         But the banks are made of

                         marble, 

                         With a guard at every door, 

                         And the vaults are stuffed

                         with silver 

                         That the worker* sweated for. 

 

                                          VERSE 2

                         I saw the poor dirt farmer, 

                         Plowing sod and loam; 

                         l heard the auction hammer 

                         A-knocking down his home. 

 

          Chorus.

 

                                          VERSE 3

                         I saw the weary

                         mother/Working two jobs in

                         one

                         day;/Low wages at the

                         factory/And at home, she gets

                         no pay. 

 

          Chorus.

 

                                          VERSE 4

                         I've seen my fellow workers 

                         Throughout this mighty land, 

                         We will fight to get together 

                         In the one big Union grand.

 

                                          CHORUS (FINAL)

                         Then we'll own those banks of

                         marble 

                         And we'll open every door 

                         And we'll share those vaults

                         of silver 

                         That we all have sweated for! 

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         The struggle continues: and

                         there are even moments to

                         celebrate.  In June, workers

                         organized at the country's

                         largest textile plant,

                         breaking a 93-year anti-union

                         bias.  And on college

                         campuses across the country,

                         the anti-sweatshop movement

                         is the largest wave of

                         student activism since the

                         student demand for divestment

                         from South Africa.  The

                         struggle continues.  Join us

                         now in singing a song that

                         many people think should be

                         our national anthem:

 

 

          SONG 14: THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND (WOODY GUTHRIE)

          - C

 

          General Strike with congregation

 

                                          CHORUS

                         This land is your land, this

                         land is my land 

                         From California to the New

                         York Island, 

                         From the redwood forest to

                         the gulf stream water, 

                         This land was made for you

                         and me. 

 

                                          VERSE 1

                         As I went walking that ribbon

                         of highway 

                         I saw above me that endless

                         skyway, 

                         I saw below me that golden

                         valley 

                         This land was made for you

                         and me. 

 

          Chorus.

 

                                          VERSE 2

                         One bright Sunday morning, in

                         the shadow of the steeple 

                         At the relief office, I saw

                         my people; 

                         As they stood hungry I stood

                         there wondering

                         If God blessed America for me 

 

          Chorus.

 

                                          VERSE 3

                         As I went walking, I saw a

                         sign there; 

                         On the sign it said NO

                         TRESPASSING, 

                         But on the other side it

                         didn't say nothing-- 

                         That side was made for you

                         and me! 

 

          Chorus.

 

                                          ACTOR #1

                         There is still much to be

                         done.  The stock market goes

                         up, but the gulf between rich

                         and poor widens.  Popular

                         designer clothes with high

                         price tags are manufactured

                         in overseas sweat shops. 

                         In Third World countries pre-

                         pubescent brothels serve the

                         erotic tastes of visiting

                         businessmen from the

                         developed countries.  

                         According to Anti-Slavery

                         International, there are over

                         27 million slaves in the

                         world today, people that in

                         author Kevin Bales calls

                         "Disposable People: New

                         Slavery in the Global

                         Economy".  In this light, the

                         struggle of the Wobblies is a

                         contemporary struggle, and

                         the question they asked at

                         the beginning of the 20th

                         century has a contemporary

                         ring as we enter the new

                         millennium:  Which side are

                         you on?  It's a question to

                         ask of ourselves, our

                         associations, and our

                         government.  Which side are

                         you on?  Which side are you

                         on?  Go in peace, go in love

                         - GO IN SOLIDARITY!  Amen.

 

 

          SONG 15 - "RED, RED ROBIN" (WOBBLY VERSION)

 

          as actors file out

 

          ----