Telling Workers’ Stories

The KI undertakes video, written, and audio oral history projects that collect and preserve the stories of workers and communities and brings their narratives to diverse audiences. These projects tell the stories of workers and worker organizing in times of creativity and struggle.

Justice for Janitors

Justice for Janitors changed the lives of thousands of people. Since 2010, the Kalmanovitz Initiative has collected the stories of DC Justice for Janitors—union activists, politicians, employers, community leaders, and janitors themselves. We’ve dug up old newspaper clippings and video footage and collected photographs and flyers, and assembled all of it into a digital history website at georgetownlaborhistory.org.

Workers on the Frontlines

In September 2020, KI will release the first project of the upcoming “Labor History Resource Hub,” entitled “Workers on the Frontlines.” This project tells the stories of teachers and postal workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and illustrates the unique experiences of work and workers in a time of great social and economic upheaval. The LHRP is currently in the early stages of constructing a “hub” website that brings together the vast array of websites and online resources that address labor history and the history of working people in the United States. In the long term, the LHRP hopes to create digital archives featuring oral histories, photographs, documents, videos, and other sources related to important trends or developments of interest to educators, activists, and researchers, including the Postal Strike of 1970 and the history of teacher unionism in the United States. You can access the website here: frontlineworkers.lwp.georgetown.domains