Thursday April 30, 2020 | | 5–6 PM EST | Zoom Meeting

Topic: “The Final Labor Cafe: Class of 2020 congratulations and reflections”

Facilitator: Dan Graff, Director, Higgins Labor Program

Friday, April 17, 2020 | 5–6 PM EST | Zoom Meeting

Topic: “What’s Happening with Work and Workers During the Coronavirus Crisis”

Special alumni guests:

• Joseph Murphy (ND ’08), Lead Organizer, Unite Here! Local 11, Orange County, CA
• Alicia Quiros (ND ’10), Lead Organizer, Unite Here! Local 11, Los Angeles, CA

Friday, April 3, 2020 | 5–6 PM EST | Zoom Meeting

Topic: “Work and Workers during COVID-19 Times”

Special alumni guests: 

• From New York and Philadelphia: William McMahon (’15) Organizer, Northeast Nurses Association
• From Baltimore: Matt Hentz (’12), government teacher at Reach Partnership High School in the Baltimore City Public School System, and member of the Baltimore Teachers Union

Friday, February 28, 2020 | 5–6 PM | Geddes Hall | Coffee House

Topic: “Teachers’ Strikes, Racial Justice, and the Common Good”

Facilitator: Ms. Judy Benchaar, Higgins Labor Program assistant

Resources: 

• Samantha Winslow, “Teacher Strikes Boost Fight for Racial Justice in Schools,” Labor Notes, Feb. 4, 2020
• Marnie Brady, “Workers and Renters of the World, Unite!,” Jacobin, Sep. 14, 2019
• Rebecca Burns, “Chicago Teachers Didn’t Win Everything, But They’ve Transformed the City—And the Labor Movement,” In These Times, Nov. 1, 2019
• Chris Braunlich, “Collective Bargaining in Schools: a Prescription for Problems,” Bacon’s Rebellion, Feb. 19, 2020

Friday, January 31, 2020 | 5–6 PM | Geddes Hall | McNeill Library

Topic: “LABORatories of Democracy? What Are State and Local Jurisdictions Up To on The Labor Question”

Facilitator: Dan Graff, Director, Higgins Labor Program

Resources: 

• Start here for the stark contrast between two jurisdictions:
  • “Wage & Hour FAQs,” Indiana Department of Labor
  • “San Francisco Labor Laws: Citywide,” Office of Labor Standards Enforcement, City and County of San Francisco
• Then explore these news stories & analyses on the state of states & localities as sites for action on labor issues:
  • David Weil. “Ratcheting Up Workplace Protections,” The Regulatory Review, Apr. 1, 2019
  • Karen Gaudetter Brewer. “States Raise Minimum Wage, Legalize Pot, Expand Paid Parental Leave in 2020,” US News & World Report, Dec. 30, 2019
  • Raymond J. LaJeunesse, Jr. “The Future Looks Bright for the Right-to-Work Movement,” The Regulatory Review, Apr. 5, 2019
  • Rachel M. Cohen. “Progressives Help Progressives—Across City Lines,” The American Prospect, Jan. 13, 2020

Friday, December 6, 2019 | 5–6 PM | Geddes Hall | Coffee House

Topic: “Labor and Criminal Justice System: Who are prisons for?” 
Facilitator: Natalie Weber ’20 

Resources:

• Adam Looney. “5 facts about prisoners and work, before and after incarceration.” Brookings. Mar 14, 2018
• Brent Parker. “Working in the prison system took over my life.” The Marshall Project. Oct 25, 2017
• Bryan Stevenson. “Why American prisons owe their cruelty to slavery.” New York Times. Aug 14, 2019
• Elena Holodny. “‘It still haunts me’: What it’s like to get a job after prison in America.” Business Insider. Jul 30, 2017
• Olivia Fields. “Money changed everything for me in prison.” The Marshall Project. Mar 11, 2019
• Wendy Sawyer. “How much do incarcerated people earn in each state?” Prison Policy Initiative. Apr 10, 2017

Friday, November 1, 2019 | 5–6 PM | Geddes Hall | Coffee House

Topic: “The Gender Pay Gap in the US: Why Isn’t it Closing Faster?” 

Facilitators: Bridget Simons (AMST ’20) & Anna Scartz (ANTH & ECON ’20)

Resources:

• Andy Kiersz, etc. “7 charts that show the glaring gap between men and women’s salaries in the US,” Business Insider, August 26, 2019. 
• Bridget Gordon, “The USWNT’s equal pay lawsuit is a fight for all of women’s sports” SBNATION, Jun. 7, 2019
• Claire Cain Miller, “The Gender Pay Gap is largely because of Motherhood,” The New York Times, May 13, 2017
• “Equal pay day: How do we close the gender pay gap?” BBC News, Apr. 2, 2019
• Henry Steele, “The Wage Gender Age Gap at America’s Top Colleges,” Business Student, Jun. 12, 2018
• Heather Wilhelm, “Not every woman wants to own a company,” Chicago Tribune, Apr. 5, 2017 

Friday,  October 4, 2019 | 5–6 PM | Geddes Hall | Coffee House

Topic: “The Green New Deal: Sustainable or Unattainable?” 

Facilitators: Greg Campion ‘20 and Anna Scartz ‘20

Resources:

• “Green New Deal,” New Consensus
• Lisa Friedman, “What is the Green New Deal: A Climate Proposal Explained,” New York Times, Feb. 21, 2019
• Mark Whittington, “Forget the Green New Deal – the private sector has solved climate change,” Washington Examiner, Sep. 25, 2019
• “The Resolution,” [U.S. House of Representatives], Sunrise Movement, Feb. 7, 2019
• Umair Irfan, “The Green New Deal is fracturing a critical base for Democrats: unions,” Vox, Jun. 19, 2019

Friday, September 6, 2019 | 5–6 PM | Geddes Hall | Coffee House 

Topic: What’s Happening in the World of Work? Bring your questions, experiences, and ideas! 

Facilitator: Dan Graff, Director, Higgins Labor Program