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

MODERATOR:

Samir Sonti

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“Logistics Workers Rise” – September 22, 2023

GUEST SPEAKERS:  Jane McAlevey, Chris Smolinsky, Steve Viscelli

MODERATED BY:

Samir Sonti

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

GUEST SPEAKERS:

MODERATOR:

Samir Sonti

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

GUEST SPEAKERS:

MODERATED BY:

Stephanie Luce

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

GUEST SPEAKERS:

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

“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

“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:

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