Labor history program now set for March 20

A discussion of Northwest labor history has been rescheduled for March 20 at Vancouver Community Library after it was snowed out in February.

The Clark County Historical Museum’s free panel discussion — “Labor: The History of Work and Workers in the Pacific NW” — will be from 7-9 p.m. in the Columbia Room of the library, 901 C St.

Historians and authors Laurie Mercier (Washington State University Vancouver), Erasmo Gamboa (University of Washington) and Sandy Polishuk (Portland) will discuss working people in the Pacific Northwest, followed by a conversation with the audience.

The event will kick off a series of book discussion groups on labor union history. Contact the Clark County Historical Museum, 360-993-5679. Books will be provided.

Twenty readers can participate in each of the three reading sessions, then return to the museum for Saturday discussion groups with the authors:

• 10 a.m.-noon April 12: Polishuk, “Sticking to the Union: An Oral History of the Life and Times of Julia Ruuttila.”

• 10 a.m.-noon April 26: Mercier, “Anaconda: Labor, Community and Culture in Montana’s Smelter City.”

• 10 a.m.-noon May 3: Gamboa, “Mexican Labor and World War II: Braceros in the Pacific Northwest.”

After those discussions, the three authors will all return for a panel discussion open to the public. That date has not been determined.