Basil Smikle Jr. has been an Adjunct Professor at the Murphy Institute for over six years, teaching classes under the umbrella of Urban Studies in the Public Administration Certificate in Policy Analysis and Government, Politics and the Policy-Making Process.
This weekend, he appeared on MSNBC to discuss the Democratic party and the 2016 Presidential Election.
Photo shows Master’s degree alum Bill Cali marching with the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU.
By Stephanie Luce
Murphy faculty, staff and students were among the over-310,000 people who participated in the People’s Climate March on September 21. Labor unions first gathered for a rally at 57th Street and Broadway before the march began, and union leaders and members spoke about the importance of the march and the issue of climate change.
Many union members were impacted directly or indirectly by Superstorm Sandy, and they are eager for the city to make necessary changes to prevent future storms from having a catastrophic impact. Continue reading Labor and the People’s Climate March
By Stephanie Luce
Ai-jen Poo, the Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and Co-Director of Caring Across Generations, was selected for the prestigious 2014 Macarthur “Genius” Fellowship. The Murphy Institute has been a long-time admirer of Ai-jen’s work, including her efforts to help win the passage of the New York State Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights in 2010. Last year, Ai-jen was one of six recipients of the Murphy Institute’s Emerging Leaders Award. Ai-jen also serves on the advisory board of the New Labor Forum, and she is the author of the New Labor Forum article, “A Twenty-First Century Organizing Model: Lessons from the New York Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Campaign,” which appeared in February 2011. We are thrilled that the Macarthur committee recognized Ai-jen’s brilliance and the importance of her work. Continue reading Congratulations to Ai-jen Poo!
By Joshua Freeman
Two organizations that come from different eras and different universes have joined forces to register voters and promote political involvement among New Yorkers. On Monday, the Amalgamated Bank and Rock the Vote announced a partnership to register voters for the November election. The bank will distribute voter registration forms in its twenty New York branches, sponsor an advertising campaign promoting registration, and join Rock the Vote in a national coalition to counter voter suppression.
Both organizations are in the process of reinventing themselves. Continue reading Votes, Banks, and Rock and Roll
By Joshua Freeman
This election season has seen an unusually open battle regarding political strategy among New York unionists and progressives. At stake is a crucial issue: how to balance the demands of building a movement that can fundamentally change a political and economic system that fails to serve most Americans against the existing political arrangements that benefit particular groups of workers. This was the key issue at the Working Families Party convention last May.
In 2010, the WFP backed Cuomo even as he attacked public sector unions and ran as a pro-business centrist. Once in office, he forced state workers to accept repugnant give-back contracts under the threat of mass layoffs, fought to lower taxes at the expense of services, and blocked various progressive initiatives.
This year, many WFP activists vowed not to go down the same road again. Continue reading Teachout’s Teach Out
As the latest group of Murphy MA candidates prepared to graduate, a small group of alumni and alumni-to-be met to form a network. This first Murphy alumni meeting took place on May 19th at the Murphy Institute.
With the help of Murphy staff members, the group of MA program and Union Semester students discussed the prospects and possibilities for continuing alumni involvement in the labor studies arena at CUNY SPS. Continue reading Graduated, But Not Gone: Murphy Institute Alumni Network Meets
