The Boston Labor Conference: Labor Organizing, Political Power, and the Trump Effect

Date: 
Sat, 04/14/2018 - 8:30am - 4:30pm
Sponsor: 
UMass Boston Labor Resource Center

Labor Organizing, Political Power, and the Trump Effect

Trump's election, charged rhetoric, and reactionary policies have produced an outpouring of protests and opposition. Amid the fear and anger there has been a forceful push for action and change. Much of the response has necessarily been defensive in nature, aimed at protecting the latest target of Trump's attacks. But there is also a broader dissatisfaction with the pro-business orientation of the two major political parties that reflects a deep desire for a more equitable society. This tentative backlask against gross inequality provides an opportunity for the labor movement while raising a fundamental challenge: How do we build movements that are more effective in beating back Trump's agenda, and that develop the political vehicles -- both on and off the job -- to represent, unite and build power for working people? What are the roles of worker organizations and the labor movement in this process?

 
Current participants include:
  • Kim Bobo, Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, author of Wage Theft in America: Why Millions of Americans are Not Getting Paid--And What We Can Do About It
  • Janice Fine, Rutgers University, author of Workers Centers: Organizing Communities at the Edge of the Dream
  • Sam Gindin, former research director of Canadian Auto Workers, author The Making of Global Capitalism: The Political Economy of American Empire
  • William P. Jones, University of Minnesota, author of The March on Washington: Jobs, Freedom, and the Forgotten History of Human Rights
  • Jane McAlevey, longtime organizer, and author of No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the Gilded Age
  • Adolph Reed, Jr., University of Pennsylvania, author of Class Notes: Posing as Politics and Other Thoughts on the American Scene
     

Location:

UMass Boston
100 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125
 

For more information, Contact

Wally Soper 
Labor Resource Center 
617-287-7267 
laborresourcecenter@umb.edu

Javascript is required to view this map.