CFP: PNLHA Labor History

FORWARDED BY:
J. B. "Jack" Owens
Professor of History
Idaho State University
Pocatello, ID 83209 USA
E-mail:  owenjack@isu.edu
WWW:  http://www.isu.edu/~owenjack
Tel:  (208) 236-2379
FAX:  (208) 236-4267

Forwarded from the list H-LatAm:

> From: H-NET Announcements Editor <announce@H-NET.MSU.EDU>
>
> The Pacific Northwest Labor History Association will hold its Year 2000
> conference on May 19, 20 and 21 in Tacoma Washington.
>
> We call for proposals around the theme:
> From Artisanship to the Information Age: Lessons in Labor's struggle.
>
> *Who wins and who loses when changes in the nature of work produce
> new kinds of jobs?  While creating immense profits, mechanization and
> cybernation have often meant deskilling, loss of jobs, and the destruction
> of unions.
>
> *How have changes in technology and the means of communication affected
> working people?
>
> *How have workers and their communities struggled to obtain a fair share
> of the wealth they produce?
>
> *How can we apply what we know of that history to struggles for economic
> justice today?
>
> These are among the questions to be addressed at the year 2000
> PNLHA conference. Here are some suggested areas of focus, covered through
> a single presentation or through a panel.
>
>  1. ORGANIZING IN THE INFORMATION ECONOMY
>
> *Where is the new organizing going on among doctors, faculty, graduate
>  students, media, health care, academic, and service workers, and
>  production workers in places like Intel and Microsoft?
> *What is the history of such organizing, and what are the major issues
> today?
>
> 2) TECHNOLOGIES OF RESISTANCE AND CONTROL
>
> *That technology can undermine workers control on the shop floor is widely
> recognized:  Remote surveillance by management, expert systems and mass
> production displace of craft, skill and professional knowledge.  Still,
> new technologies offer different opportunities for labor to resist and to
> make their voices  heard.
> *How has labor used technology to its advantage?
>
> 3. RACE, POVERTY AND GENDER IN THE INFORMATION AGE
>
> *The transition from industry to the information age has been accompanied
> by the loss of millions of jobs, the shredding of unions, and increasing
> economic inequality, with disastrous impacts on less educated workers,
> many women, and communities of color.
> *How have people of color  and women been marginalized by recent economic
> changes.  How can they obtain economic justice?
>
>  4) COMMUNITIES OF SKILL, PAST AND PRESENT
>
> * Workers identities and their communities are often lodged in what they
> do.  Yet with each workplace innovation skill is redefined.
> * How has skill united or divided workers?  As we approach move towards
> becoming an information economy, what can we learn from the past?
>
> 5) ORGANIZING BY TRADE OR INDUSTRY--WHAT'S AT STAKE?
>
> *Labor unions may be organized by craft, profession, occupation,
> workplace or industry.  Each type of organization creates its own
> imperatives.  A key assumption of the information age is that knowledge
> is more important than ever.
> *If so, how does this affect the choice of an organizing unit, and does
> the past give us any help in understanding this issue?
>
> 6) SCHOOLS, LABOR AND KNOWLEDGE WORK.
>
> *Education is increasingly the dividing line between economic haves and
> have nots.  Organized labor is concerned with schools as agents of
> citizenship, trainers, and cultural awareness.
> *When and how has labor effectively worked with educators to advance its
> goals?
>
> We invite you to submit proposals for papers or entire panels on these or
> related topics.  PNLHA is a local society comprised of trade unionists,
> local historians, and academics. Proposals should include a one page
> synopsis and a brief bio of the presenter(s).  Papers and talks are not
> restricted to regional inquires.  Send inquiries to:
> jacoby@u.washington.edu
>
> or
>
> Daniel Jacoby,
> University of Washington,Bothel11 26th AVE SE, Bothell, WA 98021.
>
> Please send proposals by Dec. 1, 1999.
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