• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

LRANetwork

Log In
Register Lost Password
  • Home
  • About
    • Join LRAN
    • Volunteer
    • Donate
    • Advisory Comittee
  • Directory
  • Events
    • Events
    • Conferences
    • Conference Archives
  • Listserve
  • Webinars
  • Training
  • Resources
    • Articles
    • Useful Links
    • Listserve
    • Research Digests
  • Contact

Conferences

January 3, 2019 by Ben Woods Leave a Comment

LRAN 2019 Conference Call for Papers

The 2019 Labor Research and Action Network (LRAN) national conference will be held Wednesday, June 12 and Thursday, June 13 at Case Western Reserve University. Scholars, labor practitioners, and activists from across the country will convene in Cleveland, Ohio to share new ideas, research and best practices, and to identify points of connection and collaboration. This conference is an opportunity to develop proactive strategies to create healthy and prosperous futures for all workers in the face of political, economic, and technological changes, and to learn about organizing and research in the Midwest, including active campaigns in Ohio.

This year’s conference will examine The Future of Workers and LRAN invites participants from universities, unions, worker centers, and policy centers to submit proposals for on one or more of the following themes:

● new and revitalized approaches to organizing in a financialized economy and under a repressive labor law regime;
● the impact of technology on work and organizing;
● the intersection of work, workers, and climate change;
● organizing under authoritarian and/or white supremacist and fascist-like conditions;
● organizing and policy campaigns in the Midwest and those international in scope.

Workshop submissions are due by Friday March 15th. Proposals are being collected through this form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdA_-n867RupKXScxPEx7Sf9bEyKg8NlFaQCqsjkBpmAuYvew/viewform

This year’s LRAN conference is planned in coordination with the Labor Employment Relations Association Annual Meeting, to be held June 13-16 in Cleveland. This year’s LERA meeting is on the theme of technology and the new workforce. More information available here.

2019 LRAN Conference Planning Committee: Harriet Applegate (North Shore AFL-CIO), Jessica Cook (DePaul University Labor Education Center), Vonda Daniels (Nashville CLC), Eric Dirnbach (LIUNA), Julie Farb (AFL-CIO), John Flores (Case Western Reserve Univ.), Erin Johansson (Jobs With Justice), Adam Kader (ARISE), Michael Callahan Kapoor (Nashville CLC), Deb Kline (Cleveland JWJ), Lisa Kollins (Case Western Reserve Univ.), Chris Lamberti (Independent Researcher), Tami Lee (Rutgers University), Mariah Montgomery (Partnership for Working Families), Cassandra Ogren (Teamsters), Emily Smith (LERA), Ben Woods (Jobs with Justice)

Translation can be provided for non-English speakers.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

October 22, 2018 by Ben Woods Leave a Comment

Save-the-Date for LRAN 2019 Conference

The 2019 Labor Research and Action Network national conference will be held Wednesday, June 12th and Thursday, June 13th at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. The LRAN conference will be in conjunction with the LERA 71st Annual Meeting, June 13-16, 2019, Cleveland, Ohio.

The Case Western Reserve University Social Justice Institute will host the conference. Scholars and labor practitioners from across the country will convene to share news ideas and lessons learned, and connect around research and campaign work. In early 2019, we will issue a call for panel and workshop proposals. And we need volunteers to help us plan this conference! If you’re interested, contact Benjamin Woods at ben@jwj.org and please spread the word.

The Labor Research and Action Network (LRAN) is a collaboration between academics and labor practitioners to build economic and workplace power for working people.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

October 18, 2018 by Ben Woods Leave a Comment

Save-the-Date LRAN 2019 Conference

The 2019 Labor Research and Action Network national conference will be held Wednesday, June 12th and Thursday, June 13th at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. The LRAN conference will be in conjunction with the LERA 71st Annual Meeting, June 13-16, 2019, Cleveland, Ohio.

The Case Western Reserve University Social Justice Institute will host the conference. Scholars and labor practitioners from across the country will convene to share news ideas and lessons learned, and connect around research and campaign work. In early 2019, we will issue a call for panel and workshop proposals. And we need volunteers to help us plan this conference! If you’re interested, contact Benjamin Woods at ben@jwj.org and please spread the word.

The Labor Research and Action Network (LRAN) is a collaboration between academics and labor practitioners to build economic and workplace power for working people.

In Solidarity,

Benjamin Woods
Researcher
Jobs With Justice
Phone: 202.393.1044 x118
1616 P Street NW, Suite 150
Washington, DC 20036

Filed Under: Uncategorized

June 11, 2018 by Ben Woods Leave a Comment

Labor Research & Action Network Members Help Build Workers’ Power

The Janus decision, gig economy and southern organizing are among the issues discussed at the recent LRAN conference

Opening plenary at the LRAN conference. Left to right: Jackie Cornejo, Joerg Rieger, Vonda McDaniel, A. Jaxon Dale, Odessa Kelly and Stephanie Teatro. Photo by Carlos Jimenez.

 LRAN 2018 Conference Program 

When a conference keynote speaker says “Our mission is to be the most radical city on the planet”, it gets some attention.  Activist and attorney Chokwe Antar Lumumba was elected mayor of Jackson, Mississippi last year and was the much anticipated highlight of the Labor Research & Action Network (LRAN) conference, held at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.  He talked about the importance of labor organizing and the development of a cooperative economy in his city. One potential initiative is to fund cooperative business development and use the recently passed 1% sales tax to fund infrastructure improvements performed by a cooperative construction company.

By highlighting the work of the Jackson People’s Assembly, he stressed the importance of local social movement organizing. And recognizing the limitations of electoral politics for radical change, he quotes Andre Lorde’s “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house”, and says he wants to use his time in office as a means to an end of helping to organize people for long term empowerment and self-determination.

This was LRAN’s 8th annual conference, which drew 145 participants. Founded in 2011 by Jobs with Justice, LRAN has over 1,000 members and is a collaboration connecting labor academics and members of labor unions, workers’ centers and community organizations to help worker organizing to build workplace and economic power. Mayor Lumumba’s address reminded the conference that labor and community organizing comes in various forms, and we should think boldly about building power.

Although there is always plenty to discuss at LRAN conferences, this was a particularly interesting time to meet. With the Supreme Court’s Janus decision looming, large teachers’ strikes in a number of states, increased anti-immigrant repression, and a growing gig economy, there was much debate about changes in the labor movement and different forms of organizing.

The opening plenary panel, kicked off by Vonda McDaniel, president of the Nashville and Middle Tennessee Central Labor Council, discussed union organizing in the south and Nashville in particular.  Several participants called Nashville the “Crane City” for its construction boom, nearly all of it low wage and non-union, which is also driving gentrification and unaffordability for low income workers. Local activist Odessa Kelly discussed Stand Up Nashville, a labor-community collaboration to fight for responsible development that meets the needs of workers and community members.

 

Particularly interesting are the alliances that have formed in recent years between the labor and faith communities, for example, the Nashville Organized for Action and Hope (NOAH) coalition.  Vanderbilt Theology Professor Joerg Rieger, co-author of the book “Unified We Are a Force” about faith and labor, reminded the conference that religious communities are also a site of organizing, saying “Religion has to be organized just like labor, there is a class struggle in religion, the wealthy donors have too much power.”

 

  1. Jaxon Dale, a leader of the Amalgamated Transit Union local of city bus drivers described their successful efforts to increase membership and emphasized that back-to-basics member engagement can overcome the challenges of a “right to work” state. Regarding the anti-immigrant environment, Jackie Cornejo of the Partnership for Working Families reminded the audience that “The South has been living in Trump’s America for a long time. Anti-immigrant and anti-worker policies were tested out here.”

 

Impressive research projects that assist worker organizing are often featured at LRAN conferences. The Partnership for Working Families presented the findings of their report “Build a Better South” which was based on a sophisticated survey of over 1,400 construction workers in six southern cities.  They found rampant low wages, wage theft, employment misclassification and unsafe work.

The worker center Workers’ Dignity and the Painters Union discussed their collaboration to help immigrant workers in Nashville organize and fight wage theft. The recent passage of HB 2315 in Tennessee, which requires close cooperation of local law enforcement with ICE, has increased the fear among workers.  And organizing construction in Nashville is urgent as there has been an increase in worker deaths in the last few years. The group talked about the developing Rapid Response network which provides support for immigrant workers, and Diana López of Workers’ Dignity discussed the expectation for members to participate in the campaigns, saying “It’s for you today, but it’s for your neighbor tomorrow.”

 

A panel on “Bargaining Without Bargaining Rights” featured representatives from the West Virginia Education Association and the United Campus Workers from Tennessee in a discussion on how worker organizing can succeed even without formal bargaining. Dana Smith of the United Campus Workers said that without traditional recognition and contracts the union has built a culture of organizing, with constant membership contact and member leadership. The union has only 2,000 members statewide but her colleague Melanie Barron said, “We’re a minority union with a majority mindset.” They successfully fought off an effort by the governor to outsource university facilities jobs.

Chris Brooks of Labor Notes remarked that the teachers’ revolt of 2018 has been driven in large part by the Republican takeover of multiple states and subsequent public sector budget cuts, but we have seen that prohibitions on strikes can be defied with collective action. Indeed, these mass strikes have changed the conversation in the labor movement and provide inspiration for the post-Janus environment we expect.

At the plenary on day two, “Attacks on Workers, Lessons from the Field, and Fighting Back”, panelists discussed various campaigns in tough environments. Jesse Case from the Teamsters in Iowa talked about their struggle against the Republican anti-union assault and their success in keeping their public sector bargaining units certified through deep internal organizing with their members. They have also reconsidered different ways of organizing and have started the Teamsters Community Action Network to train non-members in organizing skills. Regarding the political attacks, including the upcoming Janus decision, he says “We’re going to organize workers, we don’t need their permission. It doesn’t matter what the laws are.”

 

Christine Campbell, president of the American Federation of Teachers – West Virginia, talked about the beginnings of the famous teachers and service personnel strike. The union leadership was initially caught by surprise but worked hard to catch up with the members to coordinate a genuine, organic rank and file struggle in the union.  Jacklyn Izsraael from the National Domestic Workers Alliance in Atlanta reported that 1,600 members in Georgia have signed their Fair Wage Pledge promising each other that they would not work for less than $15/hour. They are also organizing employers to pay this amount.

 

A panel on building power through workplace and community research highlighted the importance of engaging workers and community members directly in designing and conducting surveys. Puget Sound Sage in Seattle and United for a New Economy in Denver conducted community surveys on transit development and housing issues to inform policy fights.  The Communication Workers of America and the Warehouse Worker Resource Center worked with members to gather corporate outsourcing and health and safety information that was critical for their bargaining and organizing campaigns.

This is the model of “participatory action research” where people are respected and not just the passive research subjects of outside experts. As Sheheryar Kaoosji of Warehouse Worker Resource Center said “We don’t want to use people to prove a point we already have.” This collaborative process can both provide useful new information and serve as an organizing tool.

At the LRAN membership meeting, held at lunch during the conference, members discussed the work of the past year, potential locations for the 2019 conference, and possible new initiatives.  LRAN will continue hosting quarterly webinars on labor issues, funding new scholar’s research grants, fostering new project collaborations and will work to expand its website to serve as a broader clearinghouse on labor research materials and reports.

After an exciting two days, LRAN members returned to their communities to continue the hard work of research, organizing and building workers’ power. In these difficult times, this kind of collaborative network is very much needed. More information about LRAN can be found at https://lranetwork.org.

Eric Dirnbach is researcher with the Laborers’ Union and an LRAN Advisory Committee member.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

October 16, 2017 by Ben Woods Leave a Comment

LRAN Conference in Nashville, TN May 31-June 1st

 

The 2018 Labor Research and Action Network (LRAN) national conference will be held Thursday, May 31st and Friday, June 1st at Vanderbilt University. Scholars, labor practitioners, and activists from across the country will convene in Nashville, TN to share new ideas and lessons learned, and connect around research and campaign work. We hope this conference is an opportunity to develop an offensive strategy in the changed political climate nationwide, and to learn from the unique challenges faced by organizers and researchers in the South and in right to work states, including from active campaigns in the Nashville area.

Registration

Early bird tickets are available through April 30th

Lodging
Rooms are available on campus. For a single room (twin bed) with a shared restroom the price comes to $93.55, per person, per night. To reserve please call (615)340-7500 prompt #2. Follow the link for pictures.

Conference Schedule

Final revised LRAN Conference Program

Filed Under: Uncategorized

October 16, 2017 by Ben Woods Leave a Comment

LRAN 2017 National Conference Summary

On June 8th and 9th, the Labor Research Action Network (LRAN) hosted its 2017 national conference at Howard University co-sponsored by the Political Science department.   This was LRAN’s first convening at Howard, one of the nation’s oldest Historically Black College and Universities.  The recent presidential election has emboldened the most white supremacist, sexist, homophobic, and xenophobic elements of this country.  Hosting the conference at Howard is a demonstration of LRAN’s commitment to racial and economic justice.  We were pleased to see how thelocation attracted a younger and more racially and ethnically diverse group of attendees.

The conference was composed of two plenary sessions and fifteen workshops.  The two plenary’s were “Building Worker Power Under the Trump Administration” and “Messaging to Win.”  Panelists included Princess Moss (Secretary-Treasurer of National Education Association), Clarence Lusane (Chair of Political Science at Howard), Sharon Block (Harvard Law School) and others.  The workshops covered a range of topics from women in the labor movement to automation in the logistics industry toorganizing strategies in manufacturing.  This year LRAN distributed $15,500 to the New Scholar grantees for their research on critical worker issues, and the grantees discussed their research in progress at the conference.  The conference also seeded a new LRAN initiative focused on promoting the recruitment and retention of Black researchers in the labor movement.

Conference Program

JWJ_LRANProgram2017FINAL

Filed Under: Featured Posts

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Page 4
  • Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Log In

Footer

About

  • Join LRAN
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Advisory Comittee

Events

  • Conferences
  • Events Calendar

Resources

  • Articles
  • Useful Links
  • Listserve
  • Research Digests

Copyright ©2019 · Labor Research Action Network (LRAN). All Rights Reserved · Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Sitemap