Bill of Rights Journal: Labor and Dissent, 1986

Ralph Fasanella was incredibly involved with various labor unions, and he devoted himself to depicting labor history in his artwork. Beyond his involvement with many unions, he was particularly affiliated with 1199 SEIU in New York, because of its Bread and Roses Cultural Project, which often organized events and exhibitions incorporating labor history and the arts. Fasanella’s artwork was exhibited at the 1199 Gallery in 1981 and in 2000.

Fasanella was also involved with the city of Lawrence, Massachusetts, where the historical 1912 Bread and Roses Strike took place. The city of Lawrence purchased Fasanella’s painting, Lawrence 1912: Bread and Roses, in 1988, but Fasanella had been involved with the city before that as well, including a 1978 exhibition of his artwork and participating in the Bread and Roses Heritage Festival.

Sub-series C: Alphabetical Unions includes both labor unions and organizations involved with labor history and study, such as labor study centers at universities. After the original 2009 processing, much of the material related to these organizations had been interfiled into the files related to museums and galleries. These files were separated from the other cultural institutions, and arranged with the labor unions in this series.