SLU’s public programming brings together scholars, activists, policymakers, and community members to discuss pressing issues in labor, social justice, and urban life. Our video library offers recordings of past events, giving you the opportunity to revisit timely conversations or catch up on programs you may have missed. Explore the collection below to engage with a wide range of voices and ideas that reflect SLU’s commitment to education, equity, and civic engagement.

Select SLU Event Videos 2023-2024

This collection highlights key programs from the 2023–2024 academic year. Each video captures conversations and events that reflect SLU’s mission to advance learning, social justice, and public dialogue.

“Making Big Bosses Bargain: The New Joint Employer Rule”

Session #2 of “Labor Organizing and the National Labor Relations Board: The Impact of Recent NLRB Decisions”

Guest speakers:

Milly Silva – Secretary-Treasurer, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East

Ellen Dichner – Distinguished Lecturer, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies; Former Chief Counsel to the Chair of the NLRB under President Obama

Moderator:

Cameron Black – Assistant Professor, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

“Cemex and New Frameworks for Bargaining”

Session #3 of “Labor Organizing and the National Labor Relations Board: The Impact of Recent NLRB Decisions”

Guest speakers:

Tony Ruiz – International Organizer, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

Raymond Heineman – Labor Attorney & Partner, Kroll Heineman Ptasiewicz & Parsons

Teresa Poor – Regional Director, NLRB Region 29-Brooklyn

Moderator:

Eric Blanc – Assistant Professor of Labor Studies, Rutgers University

“Representation Election Procedures:  Fair, Efficient, and Expeditious?”

Session #1 of “Labor Organizing and the National Labor Relations Board: The Impact of Recent NLRB Decisions”

Guest speakers:

Erin Mahoney – Assistant Director of Organizing, Communications Workers of America

Nick Hanlon – Attorney, Communications Workers of America

Eric Schechter – Assistant to the Regional Director, NLRB Region 22-Newark

Moderator:

Rebecca Givan – Associate Professor, Labor Studies & Employment Relations, Rutgers University

“Social Movement Histories” conference – April 12, 2024

Political Education roundtable and Art roundtable

“Social Movement Histories” conference – April 12, 2024

Oral History roundtable

“LEGACIES OF ORGANIZING AT CUNY: THE POWER OF COLLECTIVE ACTION” – April 10, 2024

SPEAKERS:  Kazembe Balagun; Marisa Holmes; Conor Tomas Reed; James Rodriguez

“MARTIN ESPADA:  Live Poetry Reading & Discussion” – April 1, 2024

SPEAKERS:  Martin Espada; Paula Finn

Building LGBTQIA+ Power & the 2024 Elections – March 13, 2024

SPEAKERS:  Carlo Gomez Arteaga; Elisa Crespo; Tahtianna Fermin; Laura Flanders

2023

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“The Role of Artists in Justice Movements” – December 13, 2023

SPEAKERS:  Pato Hebert; aAliy A. Muhammad; Sarah Watson

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*Practical Radicals* book talk – November 13, 2023

SPEAKERS:  Deepak Bhargava; Stephanie Luce; Cristina Jimenez

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“How UBER Conquered Washington D.C.” – October 13, 2023

SPEAKERS:  Kafui Attoh; Declan Cullen; Katie Wells; Edward Ongweso

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“Militarism, Empire, and Citizenship in Post-9/11 America” – September 28, 2023

SPEAKERS:  Sofya Aptekar; Nadia Abu El-Haj

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“Logistics Workers Rise” – September 22, 2023

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:  Sean O’Brien – General President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters

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MODERATOR:

Samir Sonti

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“Logistics Workers Rise” – September 22, 2023

GUEST SPEAKERS:  Jane McAlevey, Chris Smolinsky, Steve Viscelli

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MODERATED BY:

Samir Sonti

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“Building Labor’s Political Power” – #HowWorkersWin conference – May 5, 2023

GUEST SPEAKERS:

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MODERATOR:

Samir Sonti

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“Building Workplace Power: Bargaining, Contracts, Strikes” – #HowWorkersWin conference – May 5, 2023

GUEST SPEAKERS:

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MODERATED BY:

Stephanie Luce

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“Expanding the Labor Movement – New Organizing” – #HowWorkersWin conference – May 5, 2023

GUEST SPEAKERS:

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MODERATOR:

Ruth Milkman

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Keynote Address – #HowWorkersWin conference – May 5, 2023

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Jennifer Abruzzo – General Counsel, NLRB

MODERATED BY:

Ellen Dichner

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“Still Broke: Walmart’s Remarkable Transformation & the Limits of Socially Conscious Capitalism” – January 18, 2023

GUEST SPEAKER:

Rick Wartzman

MODERATOR:

Ruth Milkman

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“EVERYTHING FOR EVERYONE” – January 11, 2023

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Eman Abdelhadi

M.E. O’Brien

MODERATED BY:

Rebecca Lurie

2022

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“Fifty Years of Defending & Chronicling America’s Workers” – December 9, 2022

GUEST SPEAKER:

Juan González

MODERATOR:

Alexandra Lescaze

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“ELECTION AFTERMATH: The Impact on the Working Class” – November 17, 2022

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Rozina Ali – Contributing Writer, New York Times magazine

Gabrielle Gurley – Senior Editor, The American Prospect

Kim Kelly – Author, FIGHT LIKE HELL: The Untold History of American Labor

MODERATED BY:

Laura Flanders – Host and Executive Producer, The Laura Flanders Show

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“A WORKING CLASS RESURGENCE? RECKONING WITH LABOR’S PAST TO FORECAST ITS FUTURE” – October 21, 2022

GUEST SPEAKERS:

J. Phillip Thompson, Stephen Lerner, and Ruth Milkman, Ligia Guallpa, Andrew Ross, and Maritza Silva-Farrell

 

MODERATED BY:

Paula Finn and Samir Sonti – CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

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“THE WORKER-LED UPSURGE: Amazon and Starbucks” – September 23, 2022

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Chris Smalls – Amazon Labor Union

Michelle Eisen – Starbucks Workers United

MODERATED BY:

Heather McGhee – CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies

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“PRIVATIZING PUBLIC HOUSING IN NEW YORK CITY” – October 11, 2022

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Aixa Torres; Marquis Jenkins; Joshua Barnett

 

MODERATED BY:

James Rodriguez – CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

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“WHO PAYS FOR INFLATION?  Big Finance, Price-Gouging, and Worker Power” – September 14, 2022

GUEST SPEAKERS:

J.W. Mason – John Jay College, CUNY

 

MODERATED BY:

Samir Sonti – CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

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“SUNBELT BLUES” – June 9, 2022

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Andrew Ross – Author, SUNBELT BLUES

 

MODERATED BY:

James Rodriguez – CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

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“The Future We Need” – May 5, 2022

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Erica Smiley – Jobs With Justice

Sarita Gupta – The Ford Foundation

MODERATED BY:

Laura Flanders – City Works and The Laura Flanders Show

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“A PEOPLE’S GUIDE TO NYC” – April 12, 2022

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Penny Lewis; Carolina Bank Munoz; Emily Tumpson Molina

MODERATED BY:

Stephen Brier – Professor Emeritus, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

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“FUELING FINANCIALIZATION” – April 7, 2022

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Benjamin Braun

MODERATED BY:

Samir Sonti – Assistant Professor, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

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“ANTS AMONG ELEPHANTS” – March 24, 2022

GUEST SPEAKER:

Sujatha Gidla – Author, Ants Among Elephants: An Unotuchable Family and the Making of Modern India

MODERATED BY:

Kafui Attoh – Associate Professor, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

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“NO BOSSES, NO BORDERS” – March 4, 2022

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Ashley Bohrer / Justin Akers-Chacon / Aly Wane

MODERATED BY:

Sofya Aptekar – Associate Professor, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

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“REIMAGINING ELDER CARE” – February 24, 2022

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Ai-jen Poo – Co-Director, Caring Across Generations

Phil Thompson – Professor of Political Science and Urban Planning, MIT

MODERATED BY:

Laura Flanders – Host, City Works and The Laura Flanders Show

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“THE SUM OF US” – February 3, 2022

GUEST SPEAKER:

Heather McGhee – Author, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together

MODERATED BY:

Deepak Bhargava – CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

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“NYC Labor & the New Mayor” – January 27, 2022

MODERATED BY:

Joshua Freeman – CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

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“Winter After the Storm” – January 11, 2022

GUEST SPEAKER:

Gregory Pardlo – Pulitzer Prize Winner and author of TOTEM, DIGEST, and Air Traffic

MODERATED BY:

Paula Finn – Editor-in-Chief, New Labor Foruma

2021

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“Black Liberation & Worker Cooperatives” – December 9, 2021

GUEST SPEAKER:

Kali Akuno – Co-founder & co-director, Cooperation Jackson

MODERATED BY:

Rebecca Lurie – CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

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“Porn Work” – December 2, 2021

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Heather Berg — Professor, Washington University;  Author, Porn Work

MODERATED BY:

Whitney Strub – Contributor, New Labor Forum;  Professor, Rutgers University

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“Bridging the Divide” – November 16, 2021

GUEST SPEAKER:

Jack Metzgar – Author, Bridging the Divide

MODERATED BY:

Joshua Freeman – CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

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“Challenging Monopoly” – November 4, 2021

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Zephyr Teachout — Professor, Fordham School of Law;  Author, Break ‘Em Up!

MODERATED BY:

Samir Sonti – CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

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“Labor in the Age of Finance” – October 7, 2021

GUEST SPEAKER:

Sanford Jacoby – Author, Labor in the Age of Finance

MODERATED BY:

Samir Sonti – CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

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“A ‘Tale of Two Cities’ Revisited” – September 30, 2021

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Leonie Haimson; Jullian Harris-Calvin; Jose Ortiz; James Rodriguez

MODERATED BY:

John Mollenkopf – CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

“Carry It On” – November 19, 2021

GUEST SPEAKER:

Cornel West – Keynote Address

SPONSORED BY:

CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

“Carry It On” – November 19, 2021

GUEST SPEAKER:

Full day conference video.  Please visit slu.cuny.edu/conferences for program info.

MODERATED BY:

CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

“Occupy Wall Street’s Legacy 10 Years Later” September 17, 2021

GUEST SPEAKER:

Michelle Crentsil – Political Director of the New York State Nurses Association

Lisa Fithian – Activist and the author of Shut it Down: Stories from a Fierce, Loving Resistance (2019)

Sandy Nurse – Democratic Nominee of 37th District of the New York City Council and co-founder of Mayday Space and BK Rot

Jonathon Smucker – Co-founder of Pennsylvania Stands Up, Beyond the Choir, and Common Defense, and the author of Hegemony How-to: A Roadmap for Radicals (2017)

MODERATED BY:

Stephanie Luce– Professor of Labor Studies, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

“Storytelling for City Making” June 2, 2021

GUEST SPEAKER:

Cassim Shepard – Principal/Founder, S/Q Projects

MODERATED BY:

Deepak Bhargava– Distinguished Professor of Urban Studies, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

“THE RISE OF RACIST NATIONALISM IN NORTH AMERICA” March 25, 2021

GUEST SPEAKER:

Harsha Walia – Chair of Labor Studies, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

MODERATED BY:

Sofya Aptekar – Associate Professor of Urban Studies, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

Locked up & Locked Down: COVID 19, Decarceration, & Defunding the Police, March 16, 2021

GUEST SPEAKER:

Jane-Roberte Sampeur – Staff Attorney, Decarceration Project, Legal Aid Society

MODERATED BY:

Ellen Dichner– Distinguished Lecturer of Labor Studies, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

“Work Won’t Love You Back,” March 9, 2021

GUEST SPEAKER:

Sarah Jaffe – Contributor for New Labor Forum

MODERATED BY:

Ruth Milkman – Distinguished Lecturer of Labor Studies, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

“THE FIRST 100 DAYS”, January 21, 2021

GUEST SPEAKERS: Judith Browne Dianis – Executive Director, The Advancement Project
Dorian Warren – President, Community Change
Felicia Wong – CEO, Roosevelt Institute
Ellen Dichner – Distinguished Lecturer in Labor Studies, CUNY SLU

MODERATED BY:  Deepak Bhargava – Distinguished Lecturer in Urban Studies, CUNY SLU

“Progressive Fractures on Land Use & Housing: Lessons from the Left Coast” September 9, 2021

GUEST SPEAKER:

Miriam Greenberg – Professor of Sociology, University of California Santa Cruz

MODERATED BY:

Kafui Attoh – Associate Professor of Urban Studies, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

“THE NEXT SHIFT: The Fall of Industry & the Rise of Health Care in Rust Belt America” April 14, 2021

GUEST SPEAKER:

Gabriel Winant – Professor of History, University of Chicago

MODERATED BY:

Samir Sonti – Professor of Labor and Urban Studies, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

“IMMIGRANT LABOR & THE NEW PRECARIAT” March 23, 2021

GUEST SPEAKER:

Ruth Milkman – Chair of Labor Studies, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

MODERATED BY:

Samir Sonti – Associate Professor of Labor and Urban Studies, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

Advancing Black Leadership: Building Worker Power in the Southern States, March 11, 2021

GUEST SPEAKER:

Erica Smiley – Executive Director, Jobs With Justice

MODERATED BY:

Stephanie Luce – Professor of Labor Studies, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

Black Led Antiracist Unionism: The Legacy of Ben Fletcher & I.W.W., February 4, 2021

GUEST SPEAKER:

Peter Cole – Author, Ben Fletcher: The Life and Times of a Black Wobbly; Professor of History, Western Illinois University

MODERATED BY:

Kafui Attoh – Professor of Urban Studies, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

Seismic Shifts: Organized Labor & Covid’s Impact on the Economy, January 28, 2021

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Heidi Shierholz – Director of Policy, Economic Policy Institute
Mark Levinson – Chief Economist, SEIU

MODERATED BY:

Joshua Freeman – Professor Emeritus, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies

Fall 2020

“MAKING SENSE OF #ELECTION 2020: A REPORTERS’ ROUNDTABLE”

GUEST SPEAKERS:  Juan Manuel Benitez; Michelle Chen; Jeet Heer; Harold Meyerson

MODERATED BY:  Laura Flanders – Host, The Laura Flanders Show (PBS) & City Works (SLU)

“THE PANDEMIC ECONOMY & THE FUTURE OF WORK”

GUEST SPEAKER:  Aaron Benanav – Author, Automation and the Future of Work (Verso 2020)

MODERATED BY:  Joel Suarez – Assistant Professor of Labor Studies, CUNY SLU

“ECONOMIC, RACIAL & IMMIGRANT JUSTICE: A PROGRESSIVE CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA FOR 2021”

GUEST SPEAKER:  Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal

MODERATED BY:  Deepak Bhargava – Distinguished Lecturer of Urban Studies, SLU

“THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE COVID PANDEMIC”

GUEST SPEAKER:  Leo Panitch – Professor at York University & Editor of The Socialist Register

MODERATED BY:  Samir Sonti – Professor of Labor Studies, SLU

“PUBLIC HEALTH, PRIVATE EQUITY, & THE PANDEMIC”

GUEST SPEAKER:  Max Fraser – Professor of History, University of Miami

MODERATED BY:  Samir Sonti – Professor of Labor and Urban Studies, SLU

“CONFRONTING COVID: WORKERS & UNIONS ON THE FRONTLINE”

GUEST SPEAKER:  Sara Nelson – President, Association of Flight Attendants

MODERATED BY:  Ruth Milkman – Professor of Labor Studies, SLU

“COVID, CLIMATE CRISIS & THE NEED FOR A RESILIENCE WORKFORCE”

GUEST SPEAKER:  Saket Soni – Executive Director, Resilience Force

MODERATED BY:  Sean Sweeney – Coordinator, Trade Unions for Energy Democracy

Summer 2020

“Black Workers and the Triple Pandemic”, June 25, 2020

Guest Speakers: Michelle Crentsil Political Director, New York State Nurses Association, Courtney Sebring Creative Communications Director, BYP 100 April Sims Secretary-Treasurer, Washington State Labor Council Clarence Taylor Professor Emeritus, Department of History, Baruch College Maurice BP-Weeks Co-Executive Director, Action Center on Race and the Economy
Moderated by: Diana Robinson New York Union Semester Coordinator, The CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies

“Fighting for CUNY, Rebuilding NYC”, June 11, 2020

Guest Speakers:

Spring 2020

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Fall 2019

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