[xmca] Labor Education Conference April 09

Greetings:

Having just come from ISCAR where I met people and heard presentations that looked at work (as well as nearly everything else) I realized I should post this conference call on XMCA. This is a small conference (usually 150 people) where people who are doing education that is related to work, and who are looking at it from the perspective of workers, labor organizations and the working class generally, get together. The core membership of the organization is union-based labor educators, university-based labor educators like myself, and community-organization-based labor educators. There is usually a lot of current stuff.

We are taking very seriously the hope that people will submit proposals to this conference that are not the usual thing -- at least, not the usual thing that we see here in the US. "Alternatives" can mean things from other countries, from other theoretical perspectives, from voices that we haven't heard from.

Any questions -- ask me. I've been drafted to organize it this year and next year.

Thanks --

Helena Worthen
hworthen@illinois.edu

About the 2009 UALE Conference
April 16-17-18 at the National Labor College

             “Imagining Alternatives: The Challenge to Labor”

In 2006 and 2007 the UALE (United Association of Labor Education) annual conferences focused on structural issues for the labor movement and labor education. In 2008 we moved the topic to examine workers’ rights as human rights.

In 2009, anticipating that important changes will be taking place in our social and political environment, we are asking our presenters to focus on alternatives for labor that may or may not emerge from those changes.

We are calling for presenters to describe research, educational tools and strategies, historical precedents or theoretical constructs that address three general types of alternatives:
            1. Alternatives that are emerging within the U.S. labor movement;
            2. Alternatives that are emerging in Europe, Asia and the global South;
            3. Alternatives that have not yet emerged, but may be needed to replace existing structures and models that are failing.

Deadline for proposals is Friday, November 14, 2008. The following questions are examples of the range of alternatives that we hope to discuss at the conference:

A. What can we learn from other countries? For example, alternatives to:
¨ Types of workers’ organizations
¨ The basis of labor law
¨ Labor’s relation to social movements
¨ Experience with and response to trade agreements
¨ Relationship and interaction with the ILO and allied organizations
¨ Social contracts
B. Can we take wages out of competition in a global economy?
C. What do “sustainable good jobs” look like?
D. What new lessons are emerging from corporate or pressure campaigns occurring outside of formal unions?
E. What alternatives are possible for organizing within the informal or casualized sector?
F. What might be possible with labor law reform (EFCA, etc.)?
G. How can we strengthen labor-community partnerships? What new alliances are possible?
H. How can we strengthen the relationship between universities, unions and the labor movement? How can labor increase its power and influence with (and within) universities and colleges?
I. How can we strengthen and transform the relationships with regulatory agencies?
J. What alternatives exist for public sector workers in the current economy?
K. What might be strategic alternatives to the “social contract” of the post New-Deal era?

And, given these questions and the alternatives they reference,
¨ What are effective pedagogies for labor educators?
¨ What are effective tools for evaluating our educational and research work?
¨ What educational/organizing strategies benefit the widest range of workers (informal, white-collar, day laborers, service, etc.)?

Conference organizers will expand and define these topic areas as needed. We welcome proposals that challenge the very assumptions and directions of labor education and the labor movement, as well as those that imagine the future of labor education and/or the labor movement differently.

Types of Submissions:

The United Association for Labor Education encourages the following types of submissions:

Research Papers
Completed research papers in any of the topic areas listed above or related areas.
   •
Abstracts
Abstracts of completed or proposed research in any of the topic areas listed above, or related areas. The abstract for proposed research should include the research objectives, proposed methodology, and a discussion of expected outcomes.
   •
Student Papers
Research done by students in any of the topic areas listed above, or related areas. All accepted student papers will be submitted for an award.
   •
Case Studies
Case studies in any of the topic areas listed above, or related areas.
   •
Work-in-Progress Reports or Proposals for Future Research
Incomplete research or ideas for future research in order to generate discussion and feedback in any of the topic areas listed above, or related areas.
   •
Reports on Issues Related to Teaching
Reports related to innovative instruction techniques, or research related to teaching in any of the topic areas listed above or related areas.
   •
Examples of Innovative Instruction Techniques or Materials
Such as:
¨ Educational curricula
¨ Trainer’s notes
¨ Workshop guidelines
¨ Educational strategies related to the topic areas listed above or related areas.

Format of Presentations

Paper sessions will consist of three to five presentations in a 90 minute session. The session will be divided equally between the presenters. A session moderator will time each presentation and introduce the session.

Workshop presentations will be given a full 90 minute session. Workshops are interactive sessions that involve participants.

Panel sessions will provide an opportunity for three or more presenters to speak in a more open and conversational setting with conference attendees. Submissions for these 90 minute sessions should include the name, department, affiliation, and email address of each panelist in addition to a description of the presentation and the title page.

Roundtable sessions will last approximately 90 minutes and consist of a large number of presenters. Roundtable sessions allow attendees to speak with the presenters on a one-to-one basis.

Submitting a Proposal:

1. Create a title page for your submission. The title page should include:

a. title of the submission
b. topic area of the submission (choose from above list or related area)
c. presentation format (choose from above list)
d. name(s) of the author(s)
e. department(s) and affiliation(s)
f. mailing address(es)
g. e-mail address(es)
h. phone number(s)
i. fax number(s)
j. corresponding author if different than lead author

2. Email your abstract and/or a summary of your paper, no more than 750 words long, along with a title page to UALE Conference Review Committee, care of Helena Worthen at hworthen@illinois.edu. Receipt of submissions will be acknowledged via email within 1 week.

There is a limit of two contributed submissions per lead author/presenter.

3. At least one of the authors/presenters must register at the full conference rate and attend the conference. Others may attend for part of a day or one day and pay the one day rate. Some scholarships will be available. More information will be provided upon acceptance.

4. If you wish to be a session chair, please e-mail your request to Helena Worthen and indicate the topic area in which you are interested. Registration for the conference is required to be a session chair.

The quality of proposals is always outstanding. The number of proposals has been growing every year. All conference participants learn from each other and we look forward to your contribution. To become involved in the conference planning, contact Helena Worthen at <hworthen@illinois.edu>.

Awards

There will be awards for Best Book; Labor Studies Journal, best Article from 2008; Outstanding Contribution to Labor Education, and New Generation. Awards. For more information on the awards, including how to submit nominations, contact Dawn Addy at Florida International University (addy@fiu.edu).

Labor Studies Journal Special Sessions on Labor and Politics

The Labor Studies Journal invites submissions of papers on the theme of labor and politics for the LSJ Special Sessions at the UALE Conference. Papers accepted for presentation at the 2009 Conference will be submitted to a peer reviewed process for possible publication in a special issue of the Labor Studies Journal, to be guest edited by Robert Bruno.

We encourage papers on themes such as (incomplete list):
· Analysis of the issues that workers voted on
· Was there a religious or working class vote?
· How did unions educate their members?
· Did the Thomas Frank theory (i.e., workers voting on social issues and not economic ones) hold up?
· Studies of AFL-CIO and Change-to-Win efforts; impacts of other campaigns
· Is a left labor party unrealistic?
· What will change if a Democrat wins the White House and more labor-friendly Democrats are elected to Congress?

Please send a short description of your proposed paper to Robert Bruno at <bbruno@illinois.edu>.

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