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LEWISTON — The Western Maine Labor Council will screen the award-winning documentary film “Roughing the Uppers,” about the 1937 Lewiston-Auburn shoe strike, at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 17, in Room 170, the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn campus, 51 Westminster St.
On April 20, 1937, intense clashes between police and striking shoe factory workers broke out on the streets of Lewiston and Auburn. As strikers attempted to march from Lewiston City Hall to Auburn, they were confronted by state and local police wielding batons. In the chaos that followed, a woman striker was clubbed by police and a “free-for-all riot” ensued, according to the Lewiston Daily Sun. The next day, Gov. Lewis Barrows ordered the Maine National Guard to Auburn to disperse the crowds with tear gas.
Maine labor historian Charlie Scontras, who appears in the film, will be in attendance to discuss the historic labor struggle. Refreshments will be provided.
For more information and to RSVP, email Joe Mailey at joemailey1964@gmail.com
