Report to the United Association for Labor Education On Its Delegation to Study the Copper Strike in Cananea, Sonora, Mexico May 15-19, 2010. Includes 2 discussion curricula on "Saving Jobs: A Global Challenge"

A 32 minute documentary about the strike, produced in connection with the UALE delegation, can be seen here.

Rather than show a 60 to 90-minute film and then have a discussion, we have used short (up to 10-minute) clips as a way of teaching content interactively. For example, in our workshops about economic inequality, we want participants to come away with an understanding that in order to change the rules that concentrate wealth and power at the top, we need to rebuild the power of workers, and solidarity across race lines is essential to do this. Those on top are always using wedges to divide us and we have to be clear who are our allies and who are not. A scene in Matewan, the film of a coal miners' struggle in West Virgina in the 1920s, makes this point beautifully. The scene is a late night strategy meeting of miners & a couple of supporters, including a union organizer (Chris Cooper), that's interrupted by a Black miner brought in by the bosses to be a replacement worker.

Here are the instructions for the activity:

1. Set the stage for the film clip with a brief recap of the story up to the point of the scene you will show. Let participants know that you will be asking the 4 questions below after screening the 5-minute clip.

2. Screen the clip.

3. Ask "What did you see?"  This is an observational activity to make sure that the participants agree on who was in the scene, what they said and/or did, and any other descriptive information that's important. Don't let folks get into the analysis of why. That's another question. We just want everyone to have a common understanding of what they watched so the analysis can be done from a shared perspective. This is harder than you think! (5 minutes).

4. Ask "How did it make you feel?"  This question gets at the range of emotions the viewers of the clip felt as they watched. Anger, pride, concern, hope -- these are emotions that generate energy which can impede our thinking or can be harnessed to inspire us to action.

5. Ask "Why did this happen?"  This question analyzes the scene and can get at the roots of the problems and solutions. In this scene, here is where the notions of racism and xenophobia versus solidarity, scapegoating & fear versus risk-taking perseverence, etc., can be explored.

6. Ask "What would you do differently (or similarly) when this happens in your situation?"  This is a chance to apply the lesson of the clip to our own circumstances. What's different now? What other wedges are used? How do we combat them? etc.

7. Sum up the lesson(s) learned.

An annotated list of independent & Hollywood feature films (not documentaries) that have labor themes. Scenes from several of these movies have been used for small and large group discussions in United for a Fair Economy's popular economics education workshops (see additional resource posting for description of how we use film clips in workshops or presentations).

Workshop outline and materials, including Power Point presentation, Labor Council resolution, handouts on NAFTA and on Who Immigrants are, and "debate cheat sheets" on 4 controversial issues.

19 slides. Focus on California, but works for other states as well.

Packet includes lesson strategy, exercises and some readings presented at UALE April 2009. Feedback requested, this is a tough and controversial topic related to immigration, economic development and globalization topics.

This powerpoint covers the following:

1.  Is there an immigration crisis? - demographics for state of Missouri,  Some history and current expressions of xenophobia. 

2.  Why do they come?

3.  Do immigrants ruin jobs?

4.  The new labor system and what we can do about it.

5.  Addendum on the basics of immigration law.

This article was originally published in New Labor Forum in spring 2008, as part of a debate on open borders.

This full-day training is intended to open an honest dialogue across diverse communities. It links immigrant rights to broader racial and economic justice issues and electoral participation. It was developed by the Western Region Multi-Caucus of SEIU in collaboration with CTWO, NNIRR, NOA, NCJIS, rank and file and staff of SEIU.

The materials are in English and Spanish. This workshop is designed for immigrant and non-immigrant workers together.