Strike Surge! U.S. Union Strike Activity Today and Throughout History, November 2023

We had a discussion about the current wave of strike activity and how we can understand it within a historical context. We were joined by two scholars of the labor movement - Jasmine Kerrissey, Director of the UMass Amherst Labor Center, and co-author of Union Booms and Busts: The Ongoing Struggle over the US Labor Movement, and Johnnie Kallas, project director of the Cornell ILR Labor Action Tracker.

Union-Busting Persuader Consultants, June 2023

LaborLab Executive Director Bob Funk and former DOL Office of Labor Management Standards (OLMS) Director John Lund team up to expose the covert world of anti-union "persuader" consultants. These consultants, utilized in 80% of union campaigns, defy disclosure laws to remain undetected. LaborLab is on a mission to uncover their tactics, bringing transparency and accountability to an industry that thrives in secrecy.

New Approaches to Protecting Immigrant Workers' Right to Organize, January 2023

A discussion of efforts made by unions to protect and organize immigrant workers, and efforts made by labor to advocate with the White House and Department of Labor for stronger policies to protect undocumented workers including news of upcoming victories!

• Professor Ruben Garcia, University of Nevada at Las Vegas, Moderator
• Liz McElroy, Policy Director, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT)
• Natalie Patrick-Knox, Senior Organizer, Jobs With Justice
• Carlos Jimenez, Special Projects, AFL-CIO

Unions Engage Mass Movements: Alternatives to Policing, April 2022

Since the uprising for Black Lives, workers and their unions have collaborated with other mass movements to push for alternatives to policing. They have done so at the bargaining table, in municipal budgeting, and as a support network to community organizations. For this webinar, the Labor Research and Action Network will host union activists from the United Electrical Workers in North Carolina and the University of Michigan Graduate Employees Organization (AFT Local 3550) to compare how different unions organizing around, and navigate internal conflict over, alternatives to policing

Building Scalable Campaigns with Action Builder, July 2021

What if we could keep track of all our organizing conversations, follow ups and relationships in one place? In this panel discussion Martha Grant from Action Builder will talk with Jennifer Gray & Adrian Sauceda of IBEW, Jason Grzywacz of UAW and Sara Waterfall from CWA about how we have built this new tool collaboratively, why it's necessary and how it has made a difference in the field.

Confronting Police Unions and Institutional Racism in the Labor Movement, August 2020

We are faced with confronting the legacy of institutional racism within unions and our ability as a movement to stand up for Black Lives in the face of police violence. The Labor Research & Action Network leadership organized this panel to engage in a candid conversation that tackles some of the following questions:

• What needs to happen for the labor movement to meet the moment and own up to its own history of institutional racism?
• Where do labor leaders stand on Black Lives Matter and how does that impact Black workers’ perspectives on unions?
• How can we reform police unions and communities’ approaches to policing? Should they be part of national and local unions and labor federations?
• What lessons can we learn from the Bargaining for the Common Good approach?

Featured speakers:

• Bill Fletcher Jr., talk show host, writer, and former field services director, American Federation of Government Employees
• Ruben Garcia, Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Workplace Law Program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• Tamara Lee, Assistant Professor, Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations
• Cedric de Leon, UMass Amherst Labor Center Director and Associate Professor Javier Morillo, Research Fellow, Center for Innovation in Worker Organizing, Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations
• Linda Sarsour, Palestinian-American author, community organizer, award-winning racial justice and civil rights activist and co-founder of MPower Change & Until Freedom
• John Taylor, National Field Director of the Property Services Division at SEIU and founder, Black Male Initiative, Georgia

Race in the Labor Movement, March 2019

Tanya Wallace-Gobern, Executive Director of the National Black Worker’s Center Project

With the new presidential administration, it is incumbent upon the labor movement to make racial justice a top priority. We will examine the labor movement’s historical and current challenges in organizing against racism, and will address some of the following questions:

• What is the National Black Worker’s Center project?
• How are unions addressing race and racism in the labor movement?
• How are unions relating to the Movement for Black Lives?
• Where does the labor movement stand on police unions’ role on accountability for police brutality?

WHAT’S GIG GOT TO DO WITH IT? ALGORITHMIC MANAGEMENT, GIG WORK, AND ORGANIZING, October 2018

• Alexandra Mateescu, Researcher, Data & Society Research Institute

• Cassandra Ogren, Deputy Director of Research, Strategic Research & Campaign Dept, International Brotherhood of Teamsters

• Sheheryar Kaoosji, Executive Director, Warehouse Workers Resource Center

• Brittany Rawlinson, Researcher, City of New York Office of Policy Standards, Bureau of Consumer Affairs

What is algorithmic management? What does the gig economy have to do with it and how can incorporating an analysis of technical systems provide insights that deepen research and organizing? The gig economy often is synonymous with Uber and Lyft, however, the technical systems that direct the movement of drivers also coordinate the work of house cleaners, care providers, retail employees, and myriad others. Algorithmic management refers to a diverse set of techniques for using data to manage labor that is much more pervasive than just the gig economy. Panelists discuss researching and organizing workers and technical systems, and illustrate how these systems reorganize, disrupt, and destabilize work. The participants will discuss how algorithms operate across various sectors including ride hailing, trucking, warehousing, and care work.

Sexual Harassment and the Labor Movement, April 2018

Robin Runge Senior Gender Specialist, Equality and Inclusion Department, Solidarity Center

KC Wagner The Worker Institute at Cornell, Co-Chair of Equity at Work, ILR School

The emergence of the #MeToo movement has shown that it is incumbent upon the US labor movement to make workplace harassment a central issue. Panelists examine how the labor movement is addressing the issue of workplace harassment and discuss some of the following questions:

• How do unions handle complaints of workplace harassment within the union?

• What resources on workplace harassment are available to unions?

• How are unions currently addressing workplace harassment on the job?

• How effective are the current union training programs on workplace harassment?

The Recruitment and Retention of Black Union Researchers, January 2018

Marc Bayard, Black Workers Initiative, Institute for Policy Studies

Cassandra Ogren, Deputy Director of Strategic Campaigns, International Brotherhood of Teamsters

We examined how labor unions are and can increase the recruitment and retention of Black Union Researchers. Some of the questions we addressed are:

• What programs exist to hire researchers of color in general and Black researchers in particular?
• How can labor unions be a better environment for Black researchers?
• What are some ideas to increase the number of people of color in research positions?

Internal Organizing and New Member Orientations, September 2017

Erin Young Assistant Regional Director, AFSCME

Mike Gross CWA District 6

Dr. Paul F. Clark Director of the School of Labor and Employment Relations at Penn State

Ben Woods Researcher, Jobs With Justice

With the possibility of federal right-to-work legislation, it is incumbent upon the labor movement to make internal organizing and orientations a top priority. The webinar examined how the labor movement is developing its new member orientations and internal organizing, and addressed some of the following questions:

• How can we use orientations to challenge right-to-work?

• How are unions like CWA and AFSCME strengthening internal organizing?

• How can good orientations help unions go on the offensive?

• How has internal organizing contributed to successful campaigns?

How Safety and Health Issues Can Drive Organizing Campaigns – A Case Study on Airports, December 2016

Melissa Amernick (Research Director of SEIU 32BJ) and Aldo Muirragui (Lead Researcher at SEIU 32BJ).

At LaGuardia Airport in October 2014, more than 200 contracted cabin cleaners launched a strike over occupational hazards and unhealthy and unsafe working conditions, including lack of protection from possible exposure to Ebola and other infectious diseases, and to protest unfair labor practices, including illegal threats to workers who planned to strike. Learn how these workers won the union through a campaign to expose safety and health conditions on the job and applications for other organizing campaigns.

Wall Street Accountability Training

Held on February 6-7, 2015 | Resources for the Future Building & AFL-CIO | Washington, DC

An emerging role for LRAN is to identify research needs that cut across multiple campaigns, and offer both training and networking opportunities to those conducting this research. On February 6th and 7th, LRAN partnered with the ReFund America Project, Rutgers University Center on Innovation in Worker Organization, and the Roosevelt Campus Network to train researchers on predatory finance deals. Union researchers, community groups, faculty and students attended the two day training, where experts led workshops on the financialization of the economy, locating finance data, calculating interest rate swaps, and developing a campaign and communications strategy to compel cities, universities and school districts to re-negotiate predatory finance deals.

LRAN and In the Public Interest: Research Training on Privatization

Held on October 17-19, 2013 | Hosted by the AFL-CIO | Washington, DC

One of the key goals of LRAN is to connect scholars with practitioners in order for their research to be relevant to the lives of workers. Last fall, the LRAN partnered with In the Public Interest (ITPI) to surface ongoing research needs related to privatization and responsible contracting, and to identify and cultivate scholars who could produce this research and serve as credible experts on the issues. On October 17-19 2013, LRAN & ITPI held a training at the AFL-CIO in Washington, DC for faculty, union and nonprofit staff. Experts led workshops on analyzing costs, contract language, operations, public services, government oversight, and other key elements of government contracting out.

Contact us to receive links to materials and videos from these trainings.