Coming up at 6 p.m. Thursday, December 1, Café Chicago in cahoots with Café Society will be hosting a great event at our home base, called “Lessons from Immigrant Workers: Occupying the Hood, Transforming the Economy.” This informal program is heavy on dialogue and refreshments, as we struggle together to find meaningful avenues of social and economic change in this time of high flux. Day laborers in Albany Park have been occupying the only spaces open to them in the area for years while searching for work, the street corners. Meanwhile, the coffee roasters of the Chicago Coffee Confederation have been occupying unused spaces like empty garages and backyards for close to a decade in order to bring great tasting fair trade organic coffee to the people while supporting the work of organizations like the Latino Union. The coming together of these two forces in Café Chicago is paving a new road towards economic self-determination and transformation, a lesson for others involved in struggles of all kinds. “Lessons” will take place at the Albany Park Workers Center, 3416 W. Bryn Mawr. Ami Saraiya and Anna Soltys will be on hand to perform their rebel song dedicated to the day laborers, "Sweet Chariot."