Be a Follower, Sharer, and a Tweeter!

Hello All,

We've added some new features to the blog to make it easier for us to share news with you, and for you to share news with your friends. The following features are explained below.

The  Follow This Blog feature located on the right side of the main page allows for you be notified by email every time we post new content. Simply enter your email address in to the box and press Submit. You will receive a confirmation email to the account you provided with a link to confirm that yes, you do want to follow this blog.

The Share This feature, also located on the right side of the main page (below the Follow This Blog feature) allows you to post the blog address on your Facebook Wall or your Twitter Feed. Just click on the option you want and it will direct you to sign into your account and post the blog URL for all your friends and followers to see, read, and enjoy.

Let us know how the new features work for you by leaving us a comment after this post!

Thanks for Your Generosity

To the delegates, observers, staff and guests at the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) National Capital Region (NCR) Convention held from June 3 to 5, 2011

On behalf of the Worker's History Museum, we want to thank you for your generosity that you showed by participating in our fundraising at your convention. We also want to thank the Union of National Defence Employees for helping us out by raffling off two shirts. Through the efforts of everyone, we were able to raise $1,002.00 which will be most beneficial to us in our first year of operation.

Phil Ochs Documentary

Last night at the Mayfair Theatre there was a screening of the new documentary about Phil Ochs, There But For Fortune.  It was a fundraiser for the WHM, generously arranged by the Ottawa Folk Festival, RavenLaw, and the Ottawa Folklore Centre, and the place was pretty much full.

Phil Ochs, if you don't know, was an American singer-songwriter-activist in the 1960s and 70s.  He was one of the early and on-going voices against the Vietnam War and many of his songs - Draft Dodger's Rag, I Ain't Marching Anymore, to name two - reflect this.  His songs were earnest, irreverent, biting, and absurd.  He was far more politically active than, say, Dylan but perhaps as a result not exactly mainstream.  Still, he was incredibly active and influential. 

The film is a good mix footage from the period and contemporary interviews with family, friends, activists, and musicians and it covers the whole range, from Ochs' childhood up to his suicide in 1976.  The screening at the Mayfair was a one night affair but I'd encourage you to be on the look out for it.  Trailers can be seen at this website:http://www.philochsthemovie.com/

After the screening, most folks headed down to Patty's Pub for a sing-a-long led by Arthur McGregor.  As a bonus, Phil Ochs's sister Sonny was there and was able to shed more light on the fascinating and tragic figure of her brother.

Thanks for all who helped make this a great evening!

A Struggle to Remember: Fighting for Our Families

The Workers' History Museum is currently working on a documentary and exhibition, focused on the establishment of paid Maternity Leave and Family Leave in Canada.

Maternity leave and family leave are something that we may take for granted at present, so it is difficult to believe that 30 years ago it didn't exist. The documentary and exhibition explore the struggle surrounding the establishment of paid maternity and family leave in Canada, and some of the challenges that still exist today.

To learn more about the documentary, please go to http://www.pastperfectpro.com/familyleavehome.html

To learn more about the exhibit, please email us at whm.mho@gmail.com

The Canadian Workers Hall of Fame

The Workers Arts and Heritage Centre in Hamilton, Ontario, has announced the launch of an on-line website honouring exceptional people from the struggle for workers' rights and social justice in Canada.

The Canadian Workers Hall of Fame will honour people from any part of the country who are 65 or older, alive or deceased, and who have made exceptional lifetime contributions to the betterment of working-class life. Their contribution can be from union work, social movements, politics, and other activism. The inductees will be determined by a panel of labour activists and academics who will review nominations and recommend who is to be included.

If you have someone to suggest, please go to the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre website and fill out the online nomination form.

What This Blog Is All About

We, at the Workers’ History Museum, are dedicated to the development and preservation of workers’ history and heritage. Our goal is to present, promote, interpret and preserve working class history, heritage and culture with a special emphasis on Ottawa and the Ottawa Valley. We try to do this through exhibits, educational programs, workshops, walking tours, oral history documentaries, and any other means that allow us to communicate the history of working people the public.

This blog has been set up is to allow us to communicate and interact with people interested in working class history, to tell you about what we have been up to, and to hear your feedback. You can talk to us by commenting on the posts, or emailing us at whm.mho@gmail.com

We hope to hear from you soon!