Fight Like Hell: Discussion with the Author – Recording

August 17, 2023

Whose stories get to be told in the history of the labor movement? The names and faces of countless silenced, misrepresented, or forgotten leaders have been erased by time as a privileged few decide which stories get cut from the final copy: those of women, people of color, LGBTQIA people, disabled people, sex workers, prisoners, and the poor. 

In Fight Like Hell, Teen Vogue columnist and independent labor reporter Kim Kelly excavates that history and shows how the rights the American worker has today—the forty-hour workweek, workplace-safety standards, restrictions on child labor, protection from harassment and discrimination on the job—were earned with literal blood, sweat, and tears.

Inspirational, intersectional, and full of crucial lessons from the past, Fight Like Hell shows what is possible when the working class demands the dignity it has always deserved.

On Thursday, August 17th 12-1pm, we had a conversation with author Kim Kelly about her book and how our labor history informs our current moment of economic reckoning. This was a conversation between Kelly and Samantha Gordon, Chief Programs Officer at TechEquity.

We recommend picking up the book from your favorite local bookstore; you can find its availability in your area on IndieBound. 

As always with our book club series, you don’t have to read the book to join! If you’re looking for a brief primer on the topic before the event, we recommend this Vogue interview with Kim Kelly about her journey to labor journalism and her outlook on the future of the movement.

Agenda:

  • Webinar kicked off at 12:00 PM
  • Panel discussion began at 12:05 PM
  • Q&A from attendees from 12:40-1:00 PM

About Kim Kelly

Kim Kelly is an independent journalist, author, and organizer. She has been a regular labor columnist for Teen Vogue since 2018, and her writing on labor, class, politics, and culture has appeared in The New Republic, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Baffler, The Nation, the Columbia Journalism Review, and Esquire, among many others. Kelly has also worked as a video correspondent for More Perfect Union, The Real News Network, and Means TV. Previously, she was the heavy metal editor at “Noisey,” VICE’s music vertical, and was an original member of the VICE Union. A third-generation union member, she is a member of the Industrial Workers of the World’s Freelance Journalists Union as well as a member and elected councilperson for the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE). She was born in the heart of the South Jersey Pine Barrens, and currently lives in Philadelphia with a hard-workin’ man, a couple of taxidermied bears, and way too many books.

This webinar was hosted on Zoom.