Contributors Penny Lewis, Miriam Greenberg, Stephanie Luce, Shannon Gleason and Melissa Checker discussed today’s urban-based struggles for change, asking: what are the new kinds of organizing that we’re seeing emerging in cities today? What challenges do they face, what potential do they have?
Friday, November 17th, 2017
9am-4pm Murphy Institute 25 W. 43rd St., 18th Floor, New York, NY REGISTER HERE
Join union leaders, scholars and activists during this one-day conference to discuss the implications of the Janus v. AFSCMEcase for workers and organized labor, possible immediate outcomes, and strategic options for combatting the attack on public sector unionism.
Speakers include:
Janella Hinds, Secretary-Treasurer of the NYC Central Labor Council
City Council Member I. Daneek Miller, Chair of the Committee on Civil Service and Labor
Tony Utano, President of Transport Workers Union Local 100
Barbara Terrelonge, Director of Organizing at DC37, AFSCME
2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the Public Employees Fair Employment Act, commonly known as the Taylor Law. This New York law was one of the first state laws to grant public workers the right to unionize, to require public employers and unions to bargain in good faith over working conditions, and to mandate conciliation of bargaining impasses.
Yesterday, the Murphy Institute, in conjunction with Hunter’s National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Roosevelt House, sponsored a series of panels and conversations examining the Taylor Law in historical context, and exploring the future of public sector unionization and collective bargaining.
On Friday, September 15th, members of the Murphy Institute community gathered for a discussion about gerrymandering. In light of the Supreme Court’s decision to hear Gill v. Whitford, a case that deals with the legality of partisan gerrymandering, this panel explored the history of gerrymandering and the effects of recent changes in technology, data mining, and dark money.
Missed the event or want to see it again? You can watch it here:
Speakers
David Daley, author, Ratf**ked: The True Story Behind the Secret Plan to Steal America’s Democracy and former Editor in chief of Salon.com
Lauren Jones, National Civil Rights Counsel, Anti-Defamation League
Michael Li, Senior Counsel for the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program
Deuel Ross, Assistant Counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund
Jerry G. Vattamala, Director, Democracy Program, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)
Moderator:John Mollenkopf, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, CUNY Graduate School and consortial faculty, Murphy Institute
In light of the Supreme Court’s decision to hear Gill v. Whitford, this panel will explore the history of gerrymandering and the effects of recent changes in technology, data mining, and dark money, to understand the implications of potential Supreme Court decisions. Before this case made it to the Supreme Court, what work had been taking place on the ground to address the effects of gerrymandering? How has the US Census influenced redistricting? What can we expect from the Supreme Court and how will this impact the future of electoral politics?
Speakers
David Daley, author, Ratf**ked: The True Story Behind the Secret Plan to Steal America’s Democracy and former Editor in chief of Salon.com
Lauren Jones, National Civil Rights Counsel, Anti-Defamation League
Michael Li, Senior Counsel for the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program
Deuel Ross, Assistant Counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund
Jerry G. Vattamala, Director, Democracy Program, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)
Moderator:John Mollenkopf, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, CUNY Graduate School and consortial faculty, Murphy Institute
“This notion of generational warfare is a red herring,” Eric Kingson, a professor of social work at Syracuse University’s Aging Studies Institute, told the crowd of about 100 gathered at the Murphy Institute’s offices on the 18th floor of a midtown New York City building. Kingson, the co-author of “Social Security Works!,” a book extolling the value of Social Security, argued that political leaders, particularly conservative ones, often use generational differences to drive people apart and keep them from demanding what they’re entitled to from their government.
Kingson had a foolproof test. He asked participants to raise their hands if they had grandparents or grandchildren and then asked if they hated their grandparents or grandkids to prove that the two groups really do have each other’s concerns at heart. “I don’t accept this notion of young versus old as a real issue. I view it as something that was created and is used as a wedge to try and drive people apart,” Kingson told MarketWatch. “The reality is it hasn’t worked very well, even though there’s a lot of talk about it.”Continue reading Millennials and Boomers Explore Shared Challenges→
A conversation about workers, communities and social justice
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