JIMMY HIGGINS: A Life in the Labor Movement
Written and performed by Harlan Baker
Directed by Christopher Price
Saturday, October 4, 2008
4:00 pm at Encuentro 5
33 Harrison Ave., 5th Flr., Boston
Tickets $25

Sponsored by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO
Proceeds benefit Boston Democratic Socialists of America
Info: (617) 354-5078, web site: dsaboston.org   September 2, 2008

Dear Friends of Labor:
We are pleased to invite you to the Boston premiere of a new play we think you will truly enjoy, Jimmy Higgins: A Life in the Labor Movement. Written and performed by Harlan Baker, a former 5 term State Representative from Portland, ME and longtime labor activist, the play will take place at Encuentro 5 (UNITE HERE Building, 5th floor), 33 Harrison Ave., Boston, on Saturday, October 4, at 4:00 pm. It will be followed by a wine and cheese reception with the author/playwright.

This event is sponsored by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO.  Proceeds will benefit the work of the Boston chapter of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
The play is set on the eve of the 1960 Presidential race, on which labor activist Jimmy Higgins is interviewed by a college reporter about his long life. He recounts his meetings with Gene Debs and other radicals opposed to American participation in World War 1, his experience in the 1924 union backed "Fighting Bob" LaFollette Presidential campaign, and his adventures as a labor reporter covering organizing drives of tenant farmers and auto workers in the 1930s.
Jimmy Higgins initial staging last June was sponsored by the Southern Maine Labor Council and SEIU Local 1989. It received an excellent review from the Portland Phoenix theatre critic, who compared it to the classic John Dos Passos USA trilogy.

Author and performer Harlan Baker shares some of the union heritage he writes about he formerly worked in Boston for the Amalgamated Clothing Workers (a forerunner of UNITE), and is currently Vice President of Local 4593 of the American Federation of Teachers as well as a member of Actors Equity
(he's done Shakespeare!) and DSA. During his time in the Maine legislature from 1979 to 1988 he sponsored legislation for worker owned cooperatives, a State owned bank, and divestment from South Africa.

We don't need to tell you about all the current struggles of our labor movement, from the breakthrough contract that IBEW and CWA have just won from Verizon, to the ongoing organizing of Boston cab drivers with the Steelworkers, to the Nurses resisting the give back demands at the Boston Medical Center, not to mention our efforts to install a more labor friendly Administration in Washington this November, while fighting off Referendum Question 1 here in Massachusetts.
But this play can be an occasion to learn about and reflect upon our past and to really ENJOY ourselves! With the 4:00 show time, even if you choose to stick around for the reception afterwards, the event will be over in plenty of time for you to do whatever else you might want to do in Boston on Saturday night.   So let's see you all on October 4!
In solidarity,

Ed Collins International Representative IBEW   Julie Johnson
Massachusetts Teachers Association*
* Affiliation given for identification purposes, only.

Boston Jimmy Higgins Committee
PO Box 51356, Boston Massachusetts 02205