Founded in 1903, the International Laborers and Hod Carriers Union, today known as the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA), played a vital role in building New Brunswick as we know it today. Chartered in 1915, Local 156 and its members were the backbone of the area's construction industry. The new schools, churches, cultural centers, hospitals, factories, office, and university buildings these Laborers built are lasting tributes to their spirit and hard work. The exhibition will feature photographs, documents, and memorabilia from eighty-six years of Local 156 history, as well as images of the buildings and neighborhoods of New Brunswick from the Rutgers University Libraries' collections. The exhibition will be on display in the Special Collections and University Archives Gallery until July 31, 2002.

At the opening, Rutgers University's Norman Markowitz, Associate Professor of History, and John Leggett, Associate Professor of Sociology and former member of the International Laborers and Hod Carriers Local 334 in Detroit, will speak about the history of the labor movement in the 20th century. Middlesex County Sheriff Joseph C. Spicuzzo, a past Local 156 shop steward, will offer his special reminiscences.

The program will be followed by a reception sponsored by the Friends of the Rutgers University Libraries.

RSVP to Harry Glazer at 732/932-7505 or by email to bullhorn@rci.rutgers.edu.

This exhibition was made possible by a grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.