Thursday Theater: Union Time (with featured guest speaker)

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At the Smithfield Pork Processing plant, a coalition of workers—led by Black workers, undocumented workers, and Latinx workers—fought for a union… and won! Join us for this month’s Thursday Theater to follow along with their journey to a union. We’ll also hear from the Labor Occupational Health Program about the next steps in fighting for safer workplaces. Then, stay after the film for an interactive conversation with Dr. Monique Hosein (Labor Occupational Health Program) about the next steps in fighting for safer workplaces.

Doors open at 3:45 pm, program begins at 4:00 pm. Light snacks provided!

About the speaker
Dr. Monique Hosein is a Coordinator of Public Programs at LOHP. Her project portfolio includes leading the WOSHTEP (Worker Occupational Safety and Health Training and Education Program) and SASH (School Action for Safety and Health) programs. A Cal alum, Monique is a graduate of the Doctor of Public Health program at UC Berkeley School of Public Health and the Master of Public Health program (Community Health Education) at San Francisco State University.

About the film
“It’s Union Time, people!”—the rallying cry of workers at the Smithfield Foods’ pork processing plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina. Since its opening in 1993, workers at the plant have endured various abuses. Often treated as expendable, the workers came together and engaged in a 16-year-long struggle for the right to unionize and receive safe, fair working conditions. Union Time shows how people standing together can break the cycle of poverty, injustice, and racial inequality.

Film content warnings
This film does not show gratuitous violence, but includes:

  • Still images of scarred injuries from machinery, including partial amputations
  • Animal butchery
  • Animal abuse (i.e., concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs)]
  • Workplace death
  • Deportation, including deportation of family members and parents

Accessibility
Venue is ADA-accessible. We encourage attendees to avoid wearing strong scents and to wear masks when participating in indoor Labor Center events. If you need accommodations to participate in the event, please email Sierra at snbarton@berkeley.edu.

Thursday, February 13, 2025
4:00-6:00 PM

2521 Channing Way
Berkeley CA

Accessibility / wayfinding guide for guests with disabilities

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