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Fight Like Hell | Discussing the Untold History of American Labor with Kim Kelly – New Labor Book Series #2
April 19, 2022 at 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm PDT
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Join us to discuss the forgotten, marginalized heroes of the U.S. labor movement with Kim Kelly, on the eve of the release of her new book: Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor (which we’ll hear about before the book comes out).
Hosted by Siena Chiang, we will speak to Kim about how the history of organized labor in America has long been considered the domain of white men—but in fact, many of the struggles and hard-won gains we now take for granted were won by members of the country’s most marginalized communities: women, people of color, LGBTQIA people, disabled people, sex workers, prisoners, and the poor. We’ll discuss how this new book is excavating, and therefore helping to reclaim that history, showing us how the rights the American worker has today—the forty-hour workweek, workplace-safety standards, restrictions on child labor, protection from harassment and discrimination on the job—were earned with literal blood, sweat, and tears.
The first 50 event attendees will receive a free pre-order copy of Fight Like Hell. The book will be available on April 26.
This Interintellect event is being organized by Roy Bahat of Bloomberg Beta, as part of our new monthly series of talks with authors of books on labor, co-led by Siena Chiang.
About Kim Kelly
Kim Kelly is an independent journalist, author, and organizer. She has been a regular labor columnist for Teen Vogue since 2018, and her writing on labor, class, politics, and culture has appeared in The New Republic, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Baffler, The Nation, the Columbia Journalism Review, and Esquire, among many others. Kelly has also worked as a video correspondent for More Perfect Union, The Real News Network, and Means TV. Previously, she was the heavy metal editor at “Noisey,” VICE’s music vertical, and was an original member of the VICE Union. A third-generation union member, she is a member of the Industrial Workers of the World’s Freelance Journalists Union as well as a member and elected councilperson for the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE). She was born in the heart of the South Jersey Pine Barrens, and currently lives in Philadelphia with a hard-workin’ man, a couple of taxidermied bears, and way too many books.
Early Praise for the Book
“A thought provoking must read… Meticulously researched and beautifully told, Kim Kelly has established herself as a true champion for the working class.”
—Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO President
“In Fight Like Hell, Kim Kelly throws wide the doors to inspire all of us to seize power for ourselves by showing how—yesterday and today—the oppressed overlooked, the outcasts and the misfits, shaped history. ”
—Sara Nelson, International President, Association of of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO
“FIGHT LIKE HELL tells the inspiring stories of badass working class heroes who have all too often been written out of history. We need to hear these voices now more than ever, and Kim Kelly vibrantly brings their struggles and sacrifices to life.”
—Tom Morello, musician, actor, political activist, and lead guitarist for Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave
“No one is more passionate about workers’ struggles than Kim Kelly, and it shows. Let her take you on a wild ride through American labor history, introducing you to some of labor’s unsung heroes, inspiring victories, and tragic defeats. This book will change how you think about the labor movement.”
—Sarah Jaffe, author of Work Won’t Love You Back
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