By Elise Bryant
More than 300 labor music fans gathered on Saturday, May 2, to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the New York City Labor Chorus with a joyful concert featuring many of the chorus’s favorite songs from across the decades.
Founded in 1990, the NYC Labor Chorus has long been a powerful cultural voice for working people, bringing music to picket lines, rallies, conferences and concert halls while lifting up the stories and struggles of workers through song.
The anniversary concert was both a celebration and a reaffirmation of the vital role that labor arts continue to play in building community and solidarity.
New York City Central Labor Council President Brendan Griffith captured that spirit perfectly when he told the audience:
“The communities we build are more powerful than those who seek to divide us and art fosters those communities. Thank you to the NYC Labor Chorus for 35 years of building solidarity!”
The evening featured audience favorites, spirited singalongs, and the unmistakable sense of connection that comes when labor and music come together in shared purpose.
Congratulations to the NYC Labor Chorus on 35 years of raising voices, inspiring activists, and building solidarity through song.
Bryant is the Director of the DC Labor Chorus