Borders: Walls, Bridges, and Doors

2010 Conference

Conference program available for download here

The experience of work today is shaped by shifting forces that are at once geographic, economic, political and national. This is a conference for labor educators and labor movement activists who want to learn and share their efforts to act effectively in this rapidly changing arena.

With globalization, capital crosses borders freely, with little regulation and very few hindrances. The opposite is true for people seeking work -- this in spite of the fact that millions of people, displaced by wars, climate change, neoliberal policies and repression, have lost all economic opportunities at home and must leave or die.

Union contracts and structures are rooted in a past that is quickly disappearing. How should unions  rethink membership, accountability and structure? Can unions integrate and promote the needs of non-members as well as members? Do unions need to broaden policy concerns to address housing, transportation, and public education as well as health care?

Please note: Information on this page is preliminary. The page will be updated as more details become available.

Schedule:

• Pre-conference Maquiladora Tour to Tijuana: 10:00 am -3:30 pm Wednesday, March 24.
  Click here for flyer, including travel information and registration instructions.
• Welcome reception for new members: 7:00 pm Wednesday evening, March 24
• Opening plenary: 10 am Thursday  March 25
• Reception:  7:00 pm Thursday evening March 25
• Plenary: 10:00 am - 12:00 noon Friday March 26
• Membership meeting and elections: 4:00 – 6:00 pm Friday March 26
• Special Cultural Event: Contra-Tiempo, urban Latin dance theatre 8:30 – 10:00 pm Friday March 26
  Free for conference attendees; $25 for others. Click here to see more about Contra-tiempo, and here to buy tickets for anyone who is not coming to the conference.
• Awards luncheon: 12:00 – 2:00 Saturday March 27

To see the full conference program, click here.

To Register

To register, mail in a registration form with a check or purchase order attached, or register online and pay with a credit card via PayPal.

• To download a registration form, click here.
• To register online, click here.

For any registration questions contact UALE Treasurer Robert Ginsburg at rginsburg@igc.org

Register by February 28, 2010 to get advance registration rate

                                                ADVANCE (Until February 28)                    REGULAR
Member………………………………………………           $250 ___                                    $300 ___
Nonmember………………………………………            $350 ___                                    $400 ___
One Day Registration…………………………           $100 ___                                    $150 ___
Student, retired or unemployed…………            $30 ___                                      $50 ___

To get the membership rate, become a member. For information on joining UALE, including dues rates and online form, click on the "Join Us!" link on the menu.

Language & Special Accomodation Needs

• If you have language translation needs, call or email Deborah Rosenstein at 612-626-2034, dgr@umn.edu
• If you will require special accommodation, send a message to us via the "Email us" link at the very bottom of the page, and a UALE officer will contact you.

Hotel information
Island Palms Hotel and Marina
2051 Shelter Island Drive
San Diego, CA 92106

To reserve rooms at the Island Palms Hotel at the conference rate ($169 per night for single or double) go to the Island Palms website (www.islandpalms.com).

Click on the "reservations" link at the top of their web page and then click on "Group Reservations". 

Then enter "01G" in Attendee Code box to get to the conference registration page. 

You can also call the hotel (619-222-0561) and identify yourself as part of United Association for Labor Education- UALE 2010 conference to be eligible for conference rate.

UALE Conference rate guaranteed through March 9, 2010.

 

Call for Proposals

Deadline for Proposals: Nov. 30

In 2006 and 2007 the UALE annual conferences focused on structural issues for the labor movement and labor education.  In 2008 we moved the topic to examine workers’ rights as human rights. In 2009, anticipating that important changes would be taking place in our social and political environment, we asked our presenters to focus on alternatives for labor. In 2010 we are looking at borders broadly defined: edges where the differences between countries, cultures, social classes and political entities are sharpest, and the means by which those differences are bridged, crossed or penetrated.

We welcome proposals that challenge the very assumptions and directions of labor education and the labor movement, as well as those that imagine the future of labor education and/or the labor movement differently.  

One of the major purposes of the UALE Conference is to provide an informal setting for union-based, community-organization based and university labor educators to meet and discuss the strategies they use to help build the labor movement.

Therefore we encourage union-based and community organization-based labor educators, as well as academic labor educators, to submit proposals for workshops, panels and papers. Special attention will be given to proposals that offer demonstrations of educational tools and strategies that might be adapted by fellow educators.  How do these tools differ from past practices?  How might they help us confront new challenges?  How can we learn to implement them?

For full Call, click here.

Note: Labor Studies Journal will be sponsoring 1 or more special sessions on "Labor and the Environment". Download the Call (above) for more information on the LSJ session and how to submit a paper for it.

How to Submit a Proposal

1.  Create a title page for your submission.  The title page should include:

a. title of the submission
b. topic area of the submission 
c. presentation format (choose from list below)
d. name(s) of the author(s)
e. department(s) and affiliation(s)
f.  mailing address(es)
g. e-mail address(es)
h. phone number(s)
i.  fax number(s)
j.  corresponding author if different than lead author

2.  Email your abstract and/or a summary of your paper, no more than 750 words long, along with a title page to UALE Conference Review Committee, care of Helena Worthen at hworthen@illinois.edu. Receipt of submissions will be acknowledged via email within 1 week.

3.  Presentation Formats

• Paper sessions will consist of three to five presentations in a 120 minute session.  The session will be divided equally between the presenters.  A session moderator will time each presentation and introduce the session.
  
  
• Workshop presentations will be given a full 120 minute session.  Workshops are interactive sessions that involve participants.
  
  
• Panel sessions will provide an opportunity for three or more presenters to speak in a more open and conversational setting with conference attendees.  Submissions for these 120  minute sessions should include the name, department, affiliation, and email address of each panelist in addition to a description of the presentation and the title page.

Deadline for proposals is Monday, November 30, 2009.  Please send them by e-mail to hworthen@illinois.edu or UALE-2010@illinois.edu

For further details, download the full Call.

Labor Studies Journal Special Sessions

The Labor Studies Journal invites submission of papers on the theme of "Labor and the Environment". Best papers will be selected for presentation at the 2010 UALE Conference and afterwards will undergo the peer-review process for possible publication in the Labor Studies Journal Special Issue.

More information on the LSJ Special Sessions, including how to submit a paper proposal, can be found in the Call for Proposals, 2010. 

UALE Achievement Awards, 2010

At the conference, UALE will be giving out achievement awards in the following categories:

1. Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Labor Studies
2. Best Labor Studies Journal Article published in 2007-2009
3. Best Book related to the field of Labor Studies published in 2007-2009
4. Lifetime Achievement
5. New Generation Scholarships (at least 6)
6. New Generation Award for best paper (chosen at the conference from among scholarship winners)

 We invite nominations for the awards for Outstanding Contribution, Lifetime Achievement and Best Book. The award for Best book will then be voted on by the UALE membership from those nominated. THE UALE Executive Board will choose the winners of the other two from among the nominees. The Labor Studies Journal Editorial Board will choose the winner of the best LSJ Article.

Students and first-time presenters are encouraged to apply for the New Generation Scholarships and the New Generation best paper award.

For more information on the Awards and how to nominate candidates, see the Call for Proposals.