This will be a banner year for Fort Wayne’s annual Labor Day picnic – literally.

Monday’s event, sponsored by about 35 northeast Indiana labor unions, welcomes everyone to gather and enjoy free food and drinks at Headwaters Park downtown. Union membership is not required.

“It’s truly a gift to the community,” said Herb Anderson, co-chairman of the Northeast Indiana AFL-CIO’s picnic committee.

This year, the organizers are hanging banners highlighting five individuals and five events that played significant roles in labor history. They include the Pullman Strike of 1894. Led by Eugene V. Debs, the strike evolved into a national boycott of Pullman cars by the American Railway Union.

Also featured will be A. Philip Randolph, who led a 10-year drive to organize the Brotherhood of Sleeping

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