Next Generation Labor Symposium

The video casts of the Next Generation Labor symposium, which took place at UC Davis on May 22, are now available at:
http://regionalchange.ucdavis.edu/next-generation-labor-symposium

Best,
Alida Cantor
Community Development Graduate Group
University of California, Davis

Symposium Summary

Over the past 30 years, the U.S. has experienced dramatic processes of economic restructuring, driven by processes of globalization, informationalization, and growing workforce diversity. During this time, the percentage of workers represented by unions has declined dramatically, leading some commentators to suggest that unions are out-dated institutions that are inappropriate for contemporary workplaces. At the same time that unionization has declined, however, a range of new innovative labor organizing efforts have emerged. These efforts are more rooted in community organizing (particularly in low-income and immigrant communities), labor-community partnerships, and in targeting organizing efforts at leveraging a wide-range of public policies and regulations to improve workers conditions, rather than focusing exclusively on attempting to gain collective bargaining status and a formal union contract. Many of these strategies have moved beyond the experimental stages, and are now providing exciting models for effective organizational forms and organizing strategies. The purpose of this symposium is to have a strategic discussion between researchers, organizers, and advocates about these organizing efforts, discussing lessons learned to date, next steps for organizing and policy, and broader implications for the future of the labor movement.

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