Bard College Presents Two Events Focusing on the History and Future of the Labor Movement

Annandale-on-Hudson, NY—The Bard Center for Civic Engagement and the Roosevelt Institute are partnering with the Levy Economics Institute at Bard and Local 775 of the Service Employees International Union, Seattle, to present two events in April focusing on the history and the future of labor unions. Both events are free and open to the public and no reservations are required.

On Tuesday, April 14, The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum will host “The Labor Movement and the New Deal—A Legacy Reborn?” a panel discussion and conversation beginning at 7:30 p.m. The discussion is sponsored by the Bard Center for Civic Engagement and the Roosevelt Institute, in association with the Roosevelt Library and the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College. The program will be held in the Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Museum. For more information about this event, please contact Cliff Laube at [email protected] or call (845) 486-7745.

The following Monday, April 20, the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College and Local 775 of the Service Employees International Union are cosponsoring a daylong workshop, “Bard Labor Workshop: The State of Labor, New Models of Organizing, and the Future of Work.” The program addresses three primary themes: the state of the American labor movement, the future of work, and new models of organizing and worker power. An expert panel will address each topic, followed by a Q&A session. The workshop takes place in the Conference Room at the Levy Economics Institute, Bard College. For further information, contact Azfar Khan at [email protected] or call 845-758-7776.

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“The Labor Movement and the New Deal—A Legacy Reborn?”

Tuesday, April 14, 2015, 7:30 p.m.

Henry A. Wallace Center, FDR Presidential Library and Home

The year 2015 marks the 80th anniversary of the passage of the most important piece of labor legislation in American history: the National Labor Relations Act. Given the current debate about such issues as the minimum wage and the adoption of right-to-work laws, as well as the ongoing struggle to reduce the nation’s unemployment in the wake of the Great Recession, the question of how best to incorporate the rights of workers in a rapidly changing economy seems as relevant today as it was during the New Deal.

“The Labor Movement and the New Deal—A Legacy Reborn?” will examine the New Deal approach to labor and employment and how the lessons of the 1930s might apply to today. The panel will also explore the current state of work and labor, probing such questions as why union membership has dropped so precipitously in the past three decades, if the right to work should be considered a human right, and the impact of gender and race on employment.

The evening’s panelists include Bard professors David Kettler and Peter Rosenblum, as well as Bard’s public historian in residence, Cynthia Koch. Phillip Harvey, professor of law and economics at Rutgers School of Law, will also take part, as will Dorian Warren, senior fellow of the Roosevelt Institute and associate professor of political science at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. The panel discussion will be moderated by Stuart Shinske, executive editor of the Poughkeepsie Journal.

Please contact Cliff Laube at (845) 486-7745 or email [email protected] with questions about the event.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum

As generations of Americans that have no personal memory of the Roosevelt era emerge, it is more critical than ever that the lives and legacies of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt be preserved and presented to new generations. The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum stands ready to serve as a visible and valuable resource for children and families, educators and students, and an international audience seeking to understand the past to make a better tomorrow. With a newly renovated building and new permanent museum exhibits, the Library seeks to honor President Roosevelt's vision in dedicating his library to the American people. The Roosevelt Library is one of 13 presidential libraries administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. For more information about the Library or its programs, call (800) 337-8474 or visit www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu.

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“Bard Labor Workshop: The State of Labor, New Models of Organizing, and the Future of Work”

Monday, April 20, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Conference Room, Levy Economics Institute, Bard College

This one-day conference will address three main themes throughout the day: the state of the American labor movement, the future of work, and what new models of organizing and worker power we are seeing today. Each topic will have a panel of experts that will provide comment and thought-provoking ideas, allowing time for Q&A. David Rolf, president of SEIU 775, will kick off the workshop by introducing the day’s three main topics, followed by a 70-minute panel on each. Following the conference, there will be a reception beginning at 4 p.m.

The State of the Unions panel features labor experts from academia, nonprofits, and the private sector. Speakers will discuss the current state of the American labor movement and explore where it may be headed. Moderated by Ruth Milkman, professor of sociology at the City University of New York Graduate Center and at the Joseph F. Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies, where she also serves as research director. Panelists include Keith Mestrich, president and chief executive officer of Amalgamated Bank; Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economics and Bernard L. and Irene Schwartz Chair in Economic Policy Analysis at The New School; Haeyoung Yoon, deputy program director at the National Employment Law Project; and Stephanie Luce, professor of labor studies at the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education, CUNY School of Professional Studies.

The Future of Work panel features thinkers from diverse fields investigating the future of work, including the changing nature of jobs, the workplace, and attitudes toward work. Moderated by Dorian Warren, associate professor in the department of political science and the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. Panelists include Andy Stern, Columbia University; Larry Mishel, president, Economic Policy Institute; Felicia Wong, president and CEO, Roosevelt Institute; and Tom Kochan, George Maverick Bunker Professor of Management, professor of work and employment research and engineering systems, and codirector of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan Institute for Work and Employment Research at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

In the final panel of the day, New Models of Organizing and Worker Power, worker organizers, philanthropists, academics, and activists will discuss new models for building worker power, examples of successful experiments, lessons learned, and where the movement should go from here. Moderated by Janice Fine, associate professor of labor studies and employment relations at the School of Management and Labor Relations, Rutgers University. Panelists include Carmen Rojas, CEO, The Workers Lab; Dan Cantor, founder and executive director, Working Families Party; and Rick McGahey, professor of professional practice and director of environmental policy and sustainability, Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy, The New School for Public Engagement.

Cosponsors for the event at the Levy Institute include the Hannah Arendt Center, and the Political Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, American Studies, and Economics programs at Bard College.

For more information about the conference, go to www.levyinstitute.org/events/.

Program: “Bard Labor Workshop: The State of Labor, New Models of Organizing,
and the Future of Work”

The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, founded in 1986 through the generous support of the late Bard College trustee Leon Levy, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public policy research organization. The Institute is independent of any political or other affiliation, and encourages diversity of opinion in the examination of economic policy issues while striving to transform ideological arguments into informed debate.

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(3.31.15)

This event was last updated on 04-06-2015

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