SLU served as a vital academic hub and practical “laboratory” for scholars and students to engage in critical teaching and research over the past year. The School’s curriculum comprehensively explored urban issues, including the contest between democratization and authoritarianism; escalating socioeconomic inequality; vulnerabilities in worker and human security, and the global threat of conflict.
The year at SLU was anchored by several dynamic and engaging curricular and co-curricular programs designed to build worker power, advocate for immigrant rights, advance social justice, and challenge economic inequality through community action and inclusive leadership development. Key academic debates kicked off early in the year.
The Murphy Institute’s first public engagement event in January 2025 posed a challenging question: “Are working-class voters done with Democrats?” This was counterbalanced later in the year by New Labor Forum’s third triannual issue, which explored the future of “conservative leftism.” The School used these investigations to drive a deeper examination of contemporary political and social dynamics through various programs.
A major highlight in May was SLU’s two-day annual faculty conference, “Labor and the Crisis of Democracy: Working Class Politics in an Age of Authoritarianism.” SLU welcomed expert panelists Bhairavi Desai, Robin D.G. Kelley, and SungHee Oh, who led discussions on critical themes such as organizing within repressive regimes, strike actions, comparative populist movements, and using intersectional approaches for democratic organizing.
Expanding its curriculum and reach, the Leadership for Democracy and Social Justice (LDSJ) program, a collaboration with the Colin Powell School at City College, welcomed fellows from across the nation. These individuals participated in intensive training focused on developing long-term organizing strategies for social change. A core component of their studies was the “Power and Strategy” course, which used the text “Practical Radicals: Seven Strategies to Change the World,” written by SLU Prof. Stephanie Luce and Deepak Bhargava.
Further cementing its commitment to actionable economics, SLU’s Community and Worker Ownership Project (CWOP) promoted worker-owned cooperatives and economic democracy to foster a robust “solidarity economy.” A blog post published by the program analyzed how a recent political victory might impact this movement, asking, “Will Mamdani’s Victory Advance a Solidarity Economy in New York City?”
During the primary season in May, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani attended a mayoral candidate forum on immigration hosted by SLU. His campaign pledges — such as minimum wage increases, enhanced worker protections, improved public transport, universal childcare, and immigration protections — informed dynamic classroom discussions across SLU’s many courses throughout the year.
The school also adopted a necessary global perspective on labor and democratic struggles. In March, the forum “Global Perspectives on Labor’s Fight Against Authoritarianism” featured international labor activists Chantal Ide from Canada, Valentina Orazzini from Italy, and Frédéric Touboul from France. They addressed how global challenges such as geopolitical shifts, persistent inequality, the AI revolution, and the climate crisis shape local organizing efforts.
Capping the year’s international programming this December, the SLU initiative Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) published a significant working paper by director Sean Sweeney, “Towards an Energy New International Order.” Sweeney issued a powerful appeal for Global South governments to spearhead a new global policy architecture. The proposed New International Energy Order advocates for an international collective commitment to reclaim energy resources through de-marketization, decommodification, and renationalization.
This group of SLU initiatives represents just a snapshot of a fully engaged year, where scholarship and activism converge to inform a rich tapestry of learning, research, and community action centered on strategic labor power and urban innovation.