United Association for Labor Education – 2018 Annual Conference
Seattle – April 4-7, 2018
Hosted by the Washington State Labor Education and Research Center at South Seattle College and the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies at the University of Washington. Offered in partnership with the Pacific Northwest Labor History Association.
“The most important word in the language of the working class is ‘solidarity.’”
- Harry Bridges, leader of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and lifelong labor activist (1901-1990)
Shared Struggle, Strategy and Success!
Labor Education Takes on Today’s Challenges
Workers and unions within the U.S. and Canada and across the globe are divided in so many ways: physical geography and the politics of borders; private and public sector workplaces; different laws governing organizing and worker rights; citizenship status and migrant experience; gender, race, class and other identities; political philosophy – and the list goes on.
In the United States we face the likelihood of becoming a ‘Right-to-Work’ (for less) nation within the current presidential term. In both developed and developing countries, workers face poverty, unsafe working conditions, environmental destruction and the undermining of pro-worker policies in the service of global capital.
Labor education and scholarship support learning communities’ efforts to analyze the issues that affect us and the divisions that make it difficult to work in solidarity. Together, we can identify strategies for taking on these challenges.
Join us April 4-7, 2018, in Seattle for the United Association for Labor Education’s annual conference where labor and community educators, scholars and activists will share analyses, best practices and new approaches to responding to crisis and bridging the borders that divide us. Come talk about how worker solidarity wins dignity and a collective voice on the job, decent working conditions, political power and wages that reflect the wealth our labor creates!
| Annual Awards | Conference Schedule | |
| About UALE | Next Year's Conference | Downloads |
Conference App
Have all the conference info at your fingertips with the UALE 2018 Guidebook App. See conference schedule, hotel floor plans, Working Group meetings, speakers, award winners and more.
Download for Apple (iPhone or iPad):
https://itunes.apple.com/us/
Download for Android:
https://play.google.com/store/
Prefer it through the web? Visit:
UALE Annual Awards
The following awards were given at the conference.
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| Barb Thomas receiving Lifetime Achievement Award from President Cheryl Teare and fellow Ontarian Kai Lai |
- Lifetime Achievement Barb Thomas, popular educator and author
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| Hugo Romero with EBoard members Jeannette Huezo and Mary Bellman | Greg Mantsios (center) flanked by Kent Wong and Mary Bellman |
- 2018 Special Award: Dream Resource Center at the UCLA Labor Center. Accepted on behalf of the Center by Hugo Romero
- Outstanding Contribution – Greg Mantsios , Director of the Murphy Institute at CUNY
- Best Book Alexandra Bradbury, Mark Brenner and Jane Slaughter, Secrets of a Successful Organizer (Labor Notes Project, 2016)
- Best Labor Studies Journal Article – Venise Wagner "Living in the Red: Black Steelworkers and the Wealth Gap" Volume 42 (1) – March 2017
- (There was no New Generation Award given, due to insufficient submissions.)
Conference Schedule
(This schedule may be modified a number of times before the conference. Keep checking back for updates.)
| Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
| Tuesday, April 3 |
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| 10:30 - all day | UALE EBoard Meeting | |
| Wednesday, April 4 |
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| 8:30 - noon | UALE EBoard Meeting, | |
| noon- 3:00 PM | Labor History Tour See details here |
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| 2:00 PM |
UW Archive Exhibits
UALE Poster Gisbert - "Cents Not Percents: Bargaining Wage Equity" |
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| 2:00 PM | Conference registration begins | |
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4:00 PM |
Welcome & Conference Orientation (4:00 - 4:30) | |
| MLK Jr. Rememberance (4:30 - 4:45) | ||
| Plenary: Local Labor Movement United: Women's Leadership in the Struggle Against Anti-Union Attacks - Dodson et al (4:45 - 6:15) | ||
| 6:15 - 7:30 PM | Dinner Break on your own | |
| 4 breakout rooms available 6:30 - 11:00 PM | ||
| 7:30 -8:30 PM | Dessert served - UALE Membership Orientation in Crystal A/B | |
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Thursday |
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| 8:30 - noon | Conference registration open | |
| 8:30 - 10:00 AM | Plenary: We Need to Talk: A Candid Conversation About Sexual Harassment on the Job - Avendano/Alemzadeh/Diaz/Seabrook | |
| 10:30 - noon | Concurrent Sessions (Click here for details) | |
| 12:15 - 1:30 PM | Women Workers Caucus Lunch (UALE sponsored lunch) |
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| 1:30 - 3:00 PM | Concurrent Sessions (Click here for details) | |
| 3:30 - 5:00 PM | Concurrent Sessions (Click here for details) | |
| 5:00 -7:00 PM |
Directors Dinners
Immigration and Globalization Working Group (Orcas B) Space available |
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| 7:00 - 9:00 PM |
Working Group Meetings
Labor Film (San Juan) |
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| Friday April 6 |
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| 8:30 - 10 AM | Concurrent Sessions (Click here for details) | |
| 8:30 - 10 AM | Worker Writers Working Group Meeting San Juan |
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| 10:30 - noon | Concurrent Sessions (Click here for details) | |
| 12:15 - 1:30 PM |
Workers of Color Caucus lunch LSJ Board Meeting |
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| 1:30 - 3:00 PM | Concurrent Sessions (Click here for details) | |
| 1:30 - 3:00 PM | Young Worker Working Group Meeting Orcas A |
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| 3 :15 - 4:15 PM |
Regional Meetings
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| 4:30 - 6:00 PM | UALE Membership Meeting Crystal A/B |
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| 6:00 - 7:00 PM | Reception: Welcome New UALE Members, Opening of the PNLHA (Reception is co-sponsored by UALE, the PNLHA and the 9to5 Project) Crystal Foyer & C |
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| 7:00 - 8:30 PM | Our Time Has Come See details here Crystal A/B |
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| Saturday April 7 |
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| 8:30 - 9:45 | PNLHA: Duwamish Tribe greeting (8:30 - 8:45) and Keynote: Bill Fletcher (8:45 - 9:45) - Racial Justice in the Labor Movement Alpine/Horizon |
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| 9:50 - 11:00 | PNLHA panel Honey/Fletcher/Wong/De Jesus - Fifty Years Since King and Our Continuing Fight for Economic Justice | |
| 10:30 - noon | Concurrent Sessions (Click here for details) | |
| 11:00 - | PNLHA Sessions ongoing | |
| 12:15 - 2:30 |
UALE Awards luncheon Seattle Labor Chorus |
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| 2:30 PM | UALE EBoard Meeting |
About UALE
The United Association for Labor Education brings labor educators together to promote education that advances the collective needs and interests of working people. Membership is open to all individuals regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, religious or political beliefs. Labor education programs, unions and other organizations engaged in labor education are eligible for institutional membership. For more information, see www.uale.org/about
Next Year's Conference
Save the dates: April 2-5
Make plans to join us next year at the 2019 annual UALE conference in Philadelphia, PA
Details will be provided later this year
Conference Downloads
2018 UALE Proposal form revised
Community Organization Grant Application English
Community Organization Grant Application Spanish
2018 Research Grant Announcement