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November, 2008

DHLI Labor Studies Primer

This resource was originally posted on Thu, 11/27/2008 - 6:02pm

 

Introduction  

 
My body?—Oh!—, if I could choose,  
I would to ashes it reduce,  
And let the merry breezes blow,  
My dust to where some fading flowers grow.,  
Perhaps some fading flowers then,  
Would come to life and bloom again.,  
This is my last and final will.,  
Good luck to you.

 --Joe Hill, November 19, 1915, afternoon before his death

Few people today would know about Joe Hill, the “troubadour of discontent,” who from the docks of San Pedro, California traveled the trail of migratory laborers and captured their struggles and aspirations in song until his death by execution by the state of Utah. The news of his trial and death crossed the globe at the time yet it barely penetrates the current consciousness of the nation. The forgetting of this shooting star is not as tragic as the absence of his songs that encouraged those who would question their world.


LAVC STARS Workshop: The Value of Education

Published on Tuesday, 25th November, 2008 at 12:06PM
12/03/2008 - 1:00pm
12/03/2008 - 2:30pm

DHLI will be presenting a workshop entitled, "Education as the Practice of Freedom." 

Other workshops include:Dale Fulkerson's workshop on how to calculate the future earning potential generated by each unit of credit that a student earns and another faculty member's workshop on why employers pay higher salaries to college graduates.

SLA Internship Period

Published on Thursday, 20th November, 2008 at 11:14PM
06/22/2009 - 11:00pm
08/14/2009 - 11:59pm
 

SLA Training

Published on Thursday, 20th November, 2008 at 11:12PM
04/03/2009 - 11:00pm
04/05/2009 - 11:59pm
 

SLA Application Due

Published on Thursday, 20th November, 2008 at 11:04PM
02/27/2009 - 11:00pm
02/27/2009 - 11:59pm

Application deadline for Student Leadership Academy.

Selected applicants will be invited to a group interview.  Decisions will be announced by Monday, March 16, 2009

Apply for the Student Leadership Academy! Deadline Extended to March 3!

Published on Thursday, 20th November, 2008 at 10:03PM
Image of the Student Leadership Academy Flyer

The application deadline for the Student Leadership Academy has been extended to March 3, 2009.

Applications are now available for the 2009 Student Leadership Academy (SLA), which is hosted by the DHLI and the UCLA Labor Center. Students are encouraged to apply.

Student Addresses Board of Trustees on Importance of Labor Studies

Published on Sunday, 16th November, 2008 at 1:45PM
Portrait of student Bryan Lopez
 On Wednesday, June 11, 2008, Pierce College student Bryan Lopez addressed the Board of Trustees and gave a thoughtful speech about why labor studies should be made an integral part of the community college curriculum and how it has impacted his life.
 
"As a student at Pierce College, my only exposure to labor unions has been through one chapter on the relations of unions and the law in my Microeconomics class and the plight of the worker and the beginnings of the AFL-CIO in my History of the U.S. in the 20th Century class.

Links to Union and Labor Web Sites

This resource was originally posted on Fri, 11/14/2008 - 7:48pm

Unions and Labor

The following is a list of some union and labor organizations, including brief descriptions.  Click on the name to go to the website.

 

A. Philip Randolph Institute

To A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin, APRl's co-founders, the fight for workers' rights and civil rights were inseparable. Randolph (1889-1979) was the greatest black labor leader in American history and the father of the modern American civil rights movement. Rustin (1912-1987), a leading civil rights and labor activist and strategist, was the chief organizer of the historic 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Randolph's greatest protege. Randolph and Rustin founded APRI in 1968 to continue the struggle for social, political and economic justice for all working Americans.

 

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1277

Representing Los Angeles transportation workers.

 

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations


Opening of the Luisa Moreno Labor Studies Collection

Published on Friday, 14th November, 2008 at 7:23PM
Image of a sign stating, "The Luisa Moreno Labor Studies Collection."
On Friday, April 4, 2008, union members, students, community members, educators and labor activists gathered to mark the opening of the Luisa Moreno Labor Studies Collection at the Southern California Library. The event featured displays of primary labor resources, such as pamphlets, photographs, books and artwork and a private tour of the library.The Collection is named after Luisa Moreno, a trade union leader and civil rights activist. She was a major figure in the struggle for Mexican-American civil rights and fair treatment for nearly three decades. During World War II, her efforts led to better pay and working conditions for women workers, particularly Latino workers in the war industries.

Access to Public Education Guide

This resource was originally posted on Fri, 11/14/2008 - 7:08pm
NEW Resource for Immigrant Students!
 
Access to Public Education Guide: Unlocking the Key to Our Nation’s Future
 
Authors: National Korean American Service & Education Consortium & Korean Resource Center
 
32 pages. July 2008
 
To obtain a copy, contact Becky Bae at 323.937.3703, ext, 209 or bbae@nakasec.org.  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
 
A downloadable PDF is available at:

Approaches for Teaching Labor Studies: Methods for English 101

This resource was originally posted on Fri, 11/14/2008 - 6:44pm

The following is a guidebook developed by English Instructor, Scott Weigand from LA Valley College on one approach to teaching an English 101 course with a labor studies theme.

From the Introduction:

"In developing a syllabus and course that speaks to some aspect of labor studies or class-consciousness, there are various approaches an instructor can take, especially for a “skills”-based course (as opposed to a “content” course).  Most English 101 course outlines offer faculty a great deal of flexibility in terms of choosing the readings and meeting the course objectives.  For example, one approach for a “labor-themed” English 101 course would be to include different works of literature that thematically address some aspect of labor or working class issues.  Currently in the LACCD, Bruce Anders is one instructor who developed such a course.


Historic March from Hollywood to the Docks Teaching Guide

This resource was originally posted on Fri, 11/14/2008 - 5:54pm
 

More than 350,000 workers belonging in 30 unions will be renegotiating their union contracts with their employers. This is the largest number of workers in Los Angeles history with contracts expiring in the same year. These workers form a part of the core of the Los Angeles economy. They include actors, janitors, longshoreman, port drivers, homecare workers and teachers.  For those living in the middle class, these negotiations will determine whether they stay in the middle class or fall out. For three straight days from April 15 through April 17, workers representing the 350,000 workers will march 28 miles from Hollywood to the docks to show that they are fighting for good jobs and not just more poverty jobs. This historic event also serves as a teaching moment. It offers us a chance to discuss the meaning of work and class, the role of unions and the future of Los Angeles.


Making Literacy Dangerous Again by Patrick Finn

This resource was originally posted on Fri, 11/14/2008 - 5:50pm
 Patrick J. Finn, PhD is a leading educational theorist/practitioner and professor emeritus at State University New York, Buffalo. Several of his books and articles focus on pedagogical theory and practice.  His previous books include Helping Children Learn to Read, Helping Children Learn to Read, Second Edition and Helping Children Learn Language Arts.  This document is the text of the lecture he gave during the DHLI Voices and Images event at LA Valley College, "Literacy with an Attitude: Educating Working-Class Youth in Their Own Interest."  In this lecture, Patrick Finn answers the following questions from his seminal text, Literacy with an Attitude: Educating Working-Class Children in Their Own Self-Interest. -Is education different for the working class than it is for those who are expected to achieve powerful status in the community? -Is our current educational system an institution designed to maintain the status quo of social inequality? -Is education neutral?

The Meaning of May 1st

This resource was originally posted on Fri, 11/14/2008 - 5:48pm
 The following can be used to stir discussions in the classrooms about the meaning of May 1, International Labor Day.

DHLI Launches New Web Page!

Published on Friday, 14th November, 2008 at 5:40PM
Starting December 2008, DHLI officially launches its new web page, located at www.dhli.org.  The web page will be going through a series of transformations as new features are added and revised.  We will expand our Resources section and add a social networking component for those interested in connecting and networking with others in the field of labor studies.  Please come back regularly to keep up with our development.

Screening of The New Los Angeles

Published on Friday, 14th November, 2008 at 4:55PM
11/20/2008 - 12:00pm
11/20/2008 - 1:30pm
 
Come to East LA College on Thursday November  20, 2008 at 12pm to 1:30pm in F7-101 to see a screening of The New Los Angeles and hear director Lyn Goldfarb discuss and answer questions about her film.
 
From California and the Dream website (www.http://www.californiadreamseries.org/nla.htm)
 
"This engaging documentary explores the complexities of inclusion in Los Angeles -- the nation's largest "majority-minority" city and the city with the nation's largest divide between rich and poor. The film provides a riveting portrait of a city in often turbulent transition, beginning in 1973 with the election of Mayor Tom Bradley -- the first African-American mayor of a major city without a black majority -- and concluding with the political empowerment of Latinos and the election of Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles's first Latino mayor in more than 130 years.