Welcome to the Harry Bridges Project
The Harry Bridges Project was created to promote the legacy of labor leader
Harry Bridges and to aid in the public's understanding of his importance to
history. Bridges' work, which had and still has an enormous impact
on our lives, is largely unknown outside specific labor union and academic
circles. Our project presents his story to a much wider audience through
a variety of mediums. We will take our audience on a journey through
some of America's most turbulent years, with one of its most dynamic figures
as their guide.
Recent & Upcoming Performances :
In November of 2006, Ian Ruskin performed his one-man play "From Wharf Rats to
Lords of the Docks" at the AFL-CIO Headquarters in Washington DC. To read the
full review click
here.
- Harvard Law School, Trade Union Program's 65th Anniversary, Cambridge, MA, October 6, 2007. See letter of recommendation here.
- Worksafe OSH Policy Conference. Emeryville, CA, December 2nd, 2007
- California Teachers Association, Region 3 Leadership Conference, Los Angeles, CA. February 3rd, 2008
- California State Assembly Speaker's Commission on Labor Education,
Sacramento, CA – presentation of the Project's work February 8th - Idyllwild Community Recreation Council - Speaker Series, February 20th
- University of Washington, "Walker-Ames Lecturer" series, Spring, 2008
- California Studies Association, Berkeley, CA April 12th, 8 PM
- The Liverpool Dockers/Initiative Factory at
- The Casa 29 Hope Street, Liverpool, England. August 8th and 9th, 2008
Film Screenings
- Screening of "To Make a Long Story Short: the Life and Times of Sam Kagel" at the ILWU Pensioner"s Convention, Long Beach, CA on September 18, 2007
- "From Wharf Rats to Lords of the Docks' at the Dryden Theater, George Eastman House, Rochester, New York, October 12, 2007 as part of their Labor Film Series.
- "To Make a Long Story Short" – Port of San Francisco January, Pier One, San Francisco, CA, 22nd January
Videos
Click below (broadband connection recommended) to see Arlo Guthrie singing "The Ballad of Harry Bridges."
Arlo Guthrie
Our First Radio Documentary
To listen to the radio documentary "From Wharf Rats to Lords of the Docks" click Part I and Part II.


