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Welcome from the Chair.
Dear Colleagues,
As we mark Labor Day 2020, it has never been more clear why we need a Labor and Labor Movement Section in the American Sociological Association.
This year Labor Day was not much of a holiday for most American workers. Unemployment hasn’t been this high since the Great Depression and the protections for workers that came out of the New Deal already deeply eroded have all but disappeared in a Trump administration that has underfunded OSHA, politicized the NLRB, and failed to protect essential workers in the wake of Covid 19.
Yet at the same time, we have witnessed so many acts of courage and solidarity. And here I am not talking about abstract notions of heroism – the fodder of political conventions and campaigns advertisements. No, what I am recognizing is how in these incredibly fierce economic times workers have stood their ground, saying no – no to unsafe job conditions in warehouses and meat packing plants, no to returning to schools that have not taken proper precautions, and no to concessions that aim to tear the heart out of their union contracts.
And, in the midst of all of this, they have also said yes – yes to new union organizing and new activism. Workers in so many communities organized, and jumped into protests and activism against racial injustice that arose after the killing of George Floyd and way too many other people of color. We have all seen the depth and width of these new social movements across wide swaths of the U.S. and far beyond.
So, for those of us who study, analyze, and are activists in a wide variety of labor movements, we have our work cut out for us. There is so much to research, document, and in some cases midwife using a wide variety of sociological tools and approaches. While we have our own research projects and teams, I am hoping that the Labor and Labor Movement section can also be a place for us to convene as we do this work. Contribute to our newsletter, our listserv, or submit a paper for our paper sessions. or the mini-conference we will be holding prior to the start of the ASA meeting in Chicago. Ask your colleagues and graduate students to join us. And let me know about other ideas you might have about how we can work together.
Regards and Solidarity
Tom Juravich
Professor of Labor Studies and Sociology
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Chair, Labor and Labor Movements Section
American Sociological Association
As we mark Labor Day 2020, it has never been more clear why we need a Labor and Labor Movement Section in the American Sociological Association.
This year Labor Day was not much of a holiday for most American workers. Unemployment hasn’t been this high since the Great Depression and the protections for workers that came out of the New Deal already deeply eroded have all but disappeared in a Trump administration that has underfunded OSHA, politicized the NLRB, and failed to protect essential workers in the wake of Covid 19.
Yet at the same time, we have witnessed so many acts of courage and solidarity. And here I am not talking about abstract notions of heroism – the fodder of political conventions and campaigns advertisements. No, what I am recognizing is how in these incredibly fierce economic times workers have stood their ground, saying no – no to unsafe job conditions in warehouses and meat packing plants, no to returning to schools that have not taken proper precautions, and no to concessions that aim to tear the heart out of their union contracts.
And, in the midst of all of this, they have also said yes – yes to new union organizing and new activism. Workers in so many communities organized, and jumped into protests and activism against racial injustice that arose after the killing of George Floyd and way too many other people of color. We have all seen the depth and width of these new social movements across wide swaths of the U.S. and far beyond.
So, for those of us who study, analyze, and are activists in a wide variety of labor movements, we have our work cut out for us. There is so much to research, document, and in some cases midwife using a wide variety of sociological tools and approaches. While we have our own research projects and teams, I am hoping that the Labor and Labor Movement section can also be a place for us to convene as we do this work. Contribute to our newsletter, our listserv, or submit a paper for our paper sessions. or the mini-conference we will be holding prior to the start of the ASA meeting in Chicago. Ask your colleagues and graduate students to join us. And let me know about other ideas you might have about how we can work together.
Regards and Solidarity
Tom Juravich
Professor of Labor Studies and Sociology
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Chair, Labor and Labor Movements Section
American Sociological Association
