Category Archives: Murphy News

2022 Joseph S. Murphy Scholarship for Diversity in Labor

The Joseph S. Murphy Scholarship for Diversity in Labor program is designed to foster diverse leadership in the labor movement and in the academic discipline of labor studies. Students from underrepresented populations interested in seeking an M.A. in Labor Studies, or a B.A. in Urban and Community studies with a concentration in labor, are encouraged to apply.  Recipients of the award receive up to $30,000 for graduate study, or up to $20,000 for undergraduate study.

Meet our 2022 Recipients

Yadhira Alvarez

Yadhira Alvarez embodies the characteristics and qualities essential for building a strong and dynamic labor movement – from the bottom up! She has experienced first-hand the interconnection between a powerful labor movement and strong communities. Yadhira has made a profound impact on her union, as an organizer and Chief of Staff of the Laundry, Distribution and Food Service Joint Board, Workers United, SEIU.

Her union work has brought her to areas as diverse as homecare, industrial laundries, hospitals, warehouses, and the public sector. As a lead contract negotiator, she has fought to win significant increases in wages and benefits for members, as well as large sums for workers improperly fired after COVID-19 exposures.

At SLU, Yadhira, who will be entering the M.A. in Labor Studies program this coming fall, is interested in exploring new tools and strategies for organizing, to create a much stronger labor movement in New York!  She’s especially interested in discovering tools to combat divisions that employers create at work, based on class, race, ethnicity, or job classifications.


Camilla Chavarria Duarte

Camila Chavarria Duarte spent much of her time at New York University examining how society creates and uses concepts of the “other” to divide, control, and alienate people from themselves and one another, starting from our earliest years and continuing into our lives as working and social adults.

Camila attended NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study with a concentration in Critical Theory and Visual Culture. While at NYU, Camila was selected for the Americas Scholars Program, an honors program that brings together high-achieving students interested in matters related to the Americas.

At SLU, Camila, who will be pursuing her M.A. in Labor Studies, hopes to develop a “thorough understanding of how labor operates in the United States today, how it is shaped and how workers come to exist only as their labor, and not as full beings.”


Rashaun Donovan

Rashaun Donovan is a Credible Messenger on a mission to help realize changes in his community, South Jamaica, Queens. He has completed the CUNY SLU Community Leadership Certificate program, where he learned about community organizing, coalition building, and how to build a 501c3 non-profit organization. Now, with this opportunity to continue toward his B.A. in Urban and Community Studies, Rashaun looks forward to digging deeper into the issues he cares about. He especially wants to see more programs that help the formerly incarcerated return successfully to their communities.

Futher, Rashaun looks forward to doing research on the impact of gun violence on perpetrators and victims. He feels strongly that an education at SLU, combined with his real-world experience in the field, will help him realize a goal: creating and building a Cure Violence Site that would promote public safety and community health in the neighborhood where he grew up.


Hannah Faris

Hannah Faris comes from a rural Wisconsin union family and was deeply influenced by witnessing the state’s attacks on public-sector unions. She is dedicated to using the skills she has developed in the area of media arts and journalism to further investigate and confront the formidable challenges faced by labor and immigrant communities.

Hannah excelled as an undergraduate at Columbia College, Chicago. After graduation, Hannah became deeply involved in community organizing with the Council on American-Islamic Relations. She assisted low-income and predominantly Arab and South Asian immigrant communities on issues such as employment, housing, and mutual aid resources during COVID-19.

At CUNY SLU, as she pursues of her M.A. in Labor Studies, Hannah is excited to expand her knowledge and writing on labor, and is particularly interested in examining the ways that workers are building power and community in non-traditional workplaces and industries, such as agriculture and the gig economy, as well as in right to work states.


Infinite George

Infinite has worked 21 years in construction, 14 as a member of Laborers Local 79, the largest LIUNA local in North America. Prior to joining Local 79, he worked non-union jobs, unsure of what to do about workplace problems he encountered.  “I was a scab laborer being exploited and working in unsafe conditions. Once I got into the union, I learned, I took the organizing and construction education classes offered, and I vowed to help others in that position. I’m a regular at rallies, meetings, and I work to convince fellow members of the importance of participation in the union – and how the lack of participation directly affects their livelihood.”

Infinite plans to continue his work as a union Shop Steward, especially helping workers who are easily taken advantage of and are willing to perform cheap labor in order to survive or stay out of jail. He is confident that the B.A. degree he is pursuing at CUNY SLU, with classes in labor, organizing, and collective bargaining, will strengthen his “tools” as he continues his mission of helping workers, and building the union he is so proud of.


Herby Phanord

After obtaining an Associate’s Degree in Fine Arts, Herby decided to put his academic pursuits on hold to dedicate his time and energy to raising a family. More than a decade later, he has reached a point in his life where all of the focus and attention that he put into parenting is finally starting to pay off. He found himself thinking more passionately about returning to school and finally earning his Bachelor’s degree.

Herby Phanord is, as he describes, “a city government employee, a laborer, and the son of immigrants,” who didn’t think he had what it took to be awarded a Joseph S. Murphy Scholarship for Diversity in Labor. He is now part of our 9th cohort of Diversity Scholarship awardees, and will use this award to complete his BA in Urban and Community Studies at CUNY SLU.


Lisa Pinkard-Adams

Lisa Pinkard-Adams has never been shy about volunteering to solve problems she sees. When she noticed that a well-known local politician didn’t have any signs up in her community, she just called him up and jumped in to help!  He appreciated her talents, and soon offered her a job as his Central Islip campaign manager.  Lisa has found great satisfaction through the political process of connecting with members of her community, especially people who have been historically underrepresented and didn’t believe they had the power to effect change.

Lisa’s varied background has prepared her to be the effective leader she is today, representing union members for the Professional Employees Federation (PEF). At Fordham University, she majored in Legal Studies, and earned a Masters in Social Work, concentrating in Policy, Leadership and Not-for-Profit Management.

Lisa, who will in fall 2022 begin SLU’s M.A. in Labor Studies program, firmly believes that building “people” is the biggest part of building “community,” and she is forever committed to educating all those she encounters on the importance of education, civic engagement and the possibilities of collaborative change.

News from the SLU Community September 2020

For the second year in a row, Dean Gregory Mantsios has been named to City & State New York’s annual “Labor Power 100” list, which recognizes the most influential figures—activists, educators, community leaders and elected officials—in New York labor: Dean Mantsios was specifically lauded for having spent decades building programs in labor studies, which culminated in our School! In addition to Dean Mantsios, a number of SLU’s Advisory Board members and other friends of SLU are recognized. Read about all of them here. 
On October 1st, Diana Robinson will be recognized by NSPC Brain & Spine Surgery at a virtual event: “Salute to Labor: Honoring Members of the Labor Community and the Organizations that Support Them.”
Another SLU adjunct faculty member, Patricia Campos-Medina, has been elevated to co-Executive Director of The Worker Institute at Cornell. Here are ILR’s announcement and Patricia’s Facebook post.
Camille Rivera, who taught “Campaigns and Elections” last semester at SLU, has just been named by City & State New York to their list of “100 Power Latinas in New York State (#55). Read about Camille here.
On August 15th, Marie Romani was awarded an Masters of Science in higher education administration by Barry University in Florida. Marie began her program last August, and completed the one-year accelerated online program with a GPA of 3.917. In addition, Marie was inducted into the Tri Sigma Alpha Student Affairs Honor Society during her final semester. She sends special regards to her frequent classmate, Orson Barzola, who is currently in the same program.
Marie is planning to walk in Barry’s commencement in December, and has already bought her cap and gown.Congratulations, Marie!
SLU’s Community and Worker Ownership Project has welcomed a new intern, Lesly Calle. Lesly is a fourth-year Macaulay Honors student at the City College of New York. She is pursuing a major in Economics with a minor in Public Policy and is interested in social justice, economic inequality, and environmental policy. Last fall, Lesly was selected to be part of the inaugural cohort of Climate Policy Fellows at CCNY’s Colin Powell School of Civic and Global Leadership, where she worked with a team to develop a policy brief on single-use plastic mitigation and its effects on climate change. Welcome Lesly!
Rob Callaghan is proud to announce a new arrival! Rob’s wife, the writer Joni Murphy, recently delivered a new novel, Talking Animals (MacMillan 2020). The publisher describes it as “a fable for our times [that] takes place in an all-animal world where creatures rather like us are forced to deal with an all-too-familiar landscape of soul-crushing jobs, polluted oceans, and a creeping sense of doom.” In its write-up Slate calls the book “a scathing allegory about capitalism starring an alpaca.”

New Book on Immigration from Prof. Ruth Milkman

Distinguished Professor Ruth Milkman has just released her 13th book, Immigration Labor and the New Precariat, published by Polity. In it, she suggests that immigration is not the cause of growing inequality, as promoters of the “immigrant threat narrative” claim. Rather, the influx of low-wage immigrants is a consequence of a concerted effort on the part of employers to weaken labor unions, along with neoliberal policies fostering outsourcing and deregulation. Check it out!

Immigrant Labor and the New Precariat
Ruth Milkman
Polity Book, 2020

Immigration has been a contentious issue for decades, but in the twenty-first century it has moved to center stage, propelled by an immigrant threat narrative that blames foreign-born workers, and especially the undocumented, for the collapsing living standards of American workers.  According to that narrative, if immigration were summarily curtailed, border security established, and “”illegal aliens”” removed, the American Dream would be restored.

In this book, Ruth Milkman demonstrates that immigration is not the cause of economic precarity and growing inequality, as Trump and other promoters of the immigrant threat narrative claim. Rather, the influx of low-wage immigrants since the 1970s was a consequence of concerted employer efforts to weaken labor unions, along with neoliberal policies fostering outsourcing, deregulation, and skyrocketing inequality. 

These dynamics have remained largely invisible to the public. The justifiable anger of US-born workers whose jobs have been eliminated or degraded has been tragically misdirected, with even some liberal voices recently advocating immigration restriction. This provocative book argues that progressives should instead challenge right-wing populism, redirecting workers’ anger toward employers and political elites, demanding upgraded jobs for foreign-born and US-born workers alike, along with public policies to reduce inequality.

New Publications from SLU Faculty and Staff

Stephanie Luce has two new articles out: one in LaborNotes on workers and housing, and another in Portside on how unions are organizing for racial justice.
Gladys Palma de Shrynemakers is co-hosting Next Gen Assessment: A Series for Educators Transitioning Online for the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU). This is an ongoing series of blog posts complemented by brief video discussions designed to help educators exchange information about assessment challenges and emerging best practices in digital delivery.
Incoming Assistant Professor of Labor Studies Joel Suarez discusses two recent books about anti-immigrant sentiment in an article entitled “The Nativist Tradition” in Dissent magazine.
David Unger has authored a piece on police unions and the Black Lives Matter movement for the fall issue of New Labor Forum, which has been released early due to its timeliness. Read it here.

Update on Fall 2020 Semester

SLU will begin the Fall 2020 semester in distance learning and remote work modality. The University will continue to employ distance learning for most classes throughout the semester, until it’s safe for students and staff to return to the physical campuses.
In preparation for distance learning this fall, SLU’s faculty are currently engaged in intensive remote education professional development. A student survey has gone out to identify their needs, and a new student portal is being created to ensure that new and continuing students have the training, resources, and academic support that they need.
With regard to reopening CUNY’s campuses, the Board of Trustees has given the colleges flexibility to make plans to suit their specific needs, subject to approval by the Central administration.
Read the most recent messages from the Chancellor and the Dean.

Profile in Determination: Diaraye Bah, College Prep Student

No one is more determined to succeed than Diaraye Bah.

Born in Guinea, Diaraye majored in biology at the Universite Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry (UGANC) before emigrating to the United States in 2012. She currently works as a Patient Care Associate at Metropolitan Hospital, taking vital signs, executing EKGs and collecting specimens from patients. Drawing blood is what she likes most. “That’s my favorite thing to do,” Diaraye chuckles. “People think I was a vampire in another life. But I’m good at it. I’m very gentle.” But even Diaraye was daunted when the coronavirus struck. “Work became very demanding and very dangerous. The stress is high and as part of the floating staff pool, I work in different areas of the hospital. But it is worth the effort.”

Diaraye also believes higher education is worth the effort. Determined to become a nurse, the DC37 member saw a notice about SLU’s College Prep Program on the union’s website. Then she met Becky Firesheets at a CUNY Day info session. Becky helped her complete her application for nursing school, and encouraged her to attend College Prep to improve her proficiency in reading, writing, and elementary algebra. Diaraye’s kids, her cousin Fatima, and her colleagues all urged her to do so as well. And so Diaraye enrolled — in both courses. Continue reading Profile in Determination: Diaraye Bah, College Prep Student

SLU Alum Nastaran Mohit in Teen Vogue

To get more people organizing labor, more people need to know what organizers actually do. Which is why we were thrilled to see Teen Vogue feature a day in the life of Nastaran Mohit: labor champion, current organizing director of the NewsGuild of New York — and SLU alum. From the article:

It’s a tough time to be in journalism. Revenue sources are dwindling and new layoffs seem to be announced every day — and the COVID-19 pandemic sent another shockwave through the industry. That’s where Nastaran Mohit comes in. As organizing director of the NewsGuild of New York, Mohit works to unionize the staff at newspapers, magazines and online publications, so that reporters, editors and social media staff have access to the benefits and protections they so sorely need. The NewsGuild, a sector of the Communications Workers of America, represents more than 24,000 journalists and other media workers across the U.S. and Canada. Mohit has led successful campaigns to unionize publications including The New Yorker, the Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine and BuzzFeed. Here’s a window into the life of a busy union organizer.

Read about a day in the life of Nastaran here.