Labor agitator, organizer Bill Fletcher Jr. speaks at the Western New York Area Labor Federation

On International Women's Day (March 8, 2014), the Western New York Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, had special guest Bill Fletcher Jr. speak at their 2014 annual meeting.

According to BillFletcherJr.com, "Bill Fletcher Jr has been an activist since his teen years. Upon graduating from college he went to work as a welder in a shipyard, thereby entering the labor movement. Over the years he has been active in workplace and community struggles as well as electoral campaigns. He has worked for several labor unions in addition to serving as a senior staffperson in the national AFL-CIO.

"Fletcher is the immediate past president of TransAfrica Forum; a Senior Scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies; an editorial board member of BlackCommentator.com; and in the leadership of several other projects. Fletcher is the co-author (with Peter Agard) of "The Indispensable Ally: Black Workers and the Formation of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, 1934-1941″; the co-author (with Dr. Fernando Gapasin) of "Solidarity Divided: The crisis in organized labor and a new path toward social justice"; and the author of "'They're Bankrupting Us' -- And Twenty other myths about unions." Fletcher is a syndicated columnist and a regular media commentator on television, radio and the Web."

The event took place at the UAW Region 9 union hall in Buffalo, NY.