The Penthouse of Heaven
Chicago's Immigrant Rights/Workers Rights March, May Day 2006

On May Day, 2006 the largest march ever in Chicago took place--to support the rights of immigrant workers. Estimates of the size of the march ranged from 400,000 to 700,000.

Labor Beat has produced a 27 minute documentary about that event and what led up to it: the earlier March 10 massive march which kicked off a national immigrants rights movement; follow-up community planning meetings for the next big march; the emerging role of the unions in this struggle, including the press conference on April 24 at Haymarket Square, with CFL (AFL-CIO) and Change To Win speakers; the last minute preparations of the organizers on the eve of the march; the launch point activities at Union Park on march day.

The video contains interviews with union spokespeople from UNITE HERE, UFCW, SEIU, Carpenters, U.E., and others, including Jorge Mujica of the March 10 Committee, and a speech at the Haymarket Square ceremony by James Thindwa (Chicago Jobs with Justice) reminding us that the negative effects of NAFTA have been forgotten in the national discussion about border crossings from Mexico. The message of the video also criticizes guest worker schemes, and calls for unionization, not just legalization, of immigrant workers, and living wage legislation.

The march participants remind us with their signs and in eloquent statements that this protest was not only about Mexican/Hispanic immigrants, but about all immigrants, from Poland to India to the Philippines. Don't miss our video about this historic day in the movement for social justice.

On Cable:

CHICAGO
CAN TV, Cable Channel 19
"The Penthouse of Heaven"
9:30 pm, Thurs., June 1
4:30 pm, Fri., June 2
9:30 pm, Thurs., June 8
4:30 pm, Fri., June 9

(To get information on cablecasting in
Rockford, IL; St. Louis, MO; Princeton, NJ,
please contact lduncan (at) igc.org)

Screening:
"The Penthouse of Heaven" will be screened at the upcoming LaborFest 2006 in San Francisco on Friday, July 28 at the Mission Cultural Center. Please check www.laborfest.net for more information.

Ordering a DVD:

- Indicate title “The Penthouse of Heaven”, and send check for $15 to:
Labor Beat, 37 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL 60607.
Indicate whether you want dvd or vhs.

or

- $15 by PayPal
Fill out and send form at:
www.laborbeat.org/3/forml604.htm

For more info: mail (at) laborbeat.org, 312-226-3330
(Labor Beat is affiliated with IBEW 1220. Views expressed are those of the producer, not necessarily of IBEW.)