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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!

Call for Proposals

UALE seeks proposals for conference sessions on our theme of “Shared Struggle, Strategy and Success.” UALE encourages multi-disciplinary work and hands-on educational tools from labor educators and scholars in higher education, union, and community organizations.

Proposal submission instructions

The UALE conference planning committee welcomes proposals in the following categories: Demonstration of Curriculum and/or Teaching Technique; Panel Session; Paper Presentation; Performance Arts; Plenary; Posters/Displays/Visual Arts; Roundtable Discussion; and Video Showing. Brief definitions of the session types are on the proposal submission form.

To submit a proposal:

1. Download the "2018 UALE proposal form" to your computer and complete it electronically. You will need the basic version of Adobe Acrobat (available for free on the Internet if you do not have it).
   pdf 2018 UALE proposal form (136 KB)
2. Save the document with the name of your session as the title. Include the last name of the primary submitter in the document title.
3. E-mail the completed form to with “2018 UALE conference submission” in the subject line.

For assistance in downloading or completing the form, e-mail

Only proposals submitted using this form will be considered.

Deadline for submission is November 30, 2017.

Conference proposals will be accepted based upon:

1. Relevance of the proposal to the conference theme;
2. The depth of development of the proposed session and the experience of the presenters/proposers;
3. Contributing to a balance of academic, union, and community presenters;
4. Demographic inclusivity of topic and presenters (race, gender, region, age, etc.).

Although UALE membership is not a requirement to submit a proposal, it is strongly encouraged. UALE is only as strong as its membership base.

 Deadline for individual submissions: November 30, 2017

UALE Working Group proposal submissions

UALE’s eight Working Groups help develop the conference program. Proposals relevant to a Working Groups’ area of focus are referred to that group; submissions that are supported by a Working Group are more likely to be accepted. UALE members are also encouraged join Working Groups which typically solicit group-member input to develop conference proposals. Working Groups have an extended deadline both to review and recommend individual proposals that fall within their area of interest, and to develop their own proposals.

Deadline for UALE Working Group submissions: January 15, 2018  

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New Generation Award submissions

 With the New Generation Award, UALE seeks to encourage emerging labor scholars, teachers, students, researchers, and multi-media producers. A selection committee appointed by the UALE Board will choose the four best submissions. Finalist submissions will then be presented as a session at the 2018 UALE conference in Seattle. Each submission will be presented by its author(s). The selection committee chooses the winner of the award based on the quality of the submission as well as the presentation during the session. The winner will be honored at the closing banquet of the conference.Those chosen to present will receive free registration to the conference and some lodging subsidy. Travel will be paid by the author.

For information on New Generation award submissions, download "New Generation Award 2018" at bottom of page.

Deadline for New Generation Award submissions: December 15, 2017

Labor Studies Journal call for papers

Labor Studies Journal has issued a call for papers for a special Issue, in conjunction with the 2018 UALE Annual Conference. This call for papers seeks manuscripts examining the relationship between socialism and labor in various theoretical and practical contexts.

Interested authors should submit an abstract of 500 words, along with full contact information to Professor Robert Bruno at . Any questions about the submission should be directed to . Abstracts will be reviewed by the editor. Acceptance of proposals is conditional upon authors presenting their papers at the 2018 UALE Conference. Only papers accepted for presentation at the 2018 Conference will be eligible to be submitted to a peer reviewed process for possible publication in a LSJ-UALE-Special Conference Issue.  

Download "LSJ Call for Papers 2018" at bottom of page

 Deadline for LSJ submissions: October 31, 2017 

Grants Available for Community Organizations

UALE offers a small number of grants for community groups involved in labor education to attend the annual conference. Download the grant application form in English or Spanish on this website, or contact Jeanette Huezo at . Successful grant recipients are encouraged to submit proposals for a conference session by the November 30th deadline.

Applications (in English and in Spanish) for Community Organization Grants can be downloaded at bottom of this page.

Deadline for community grant applications: October 16, 2017

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UALE Annual Awards

The following awards will be given at the conference awards banquet on Saturday, December 8th:

• Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Labor Education in 2017 (winner selected by UALE members)
• Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding contributions in labor education (winner selected by the UALE Executive Board)
• Best Book published in the two years prior to the 2018 conference related to labor education (winner selected by UALE members)
• Best Article published in the Labor Studies Journal in 2017 (chosen by the LSJ Editorial Board)
• The New Generation Award: Eligible applicants include students enrolled in any academic program, community-based scholars, writers, or multi-media producers, or any union, academic, or community-based researchers who are within the first five years of their labor education careers. Finalists will present at the conference and the winner will be chosen after the presentations. This award provides free conference registration and lodging subsidy. Download information about applying for the 2018 New Generation Award here.

Deadline for New Generation Award submissions: December 15, 2017

Deadline for Outstanding Contribution, Lifetime Achievement, and Best Book nominations: January 5, 2018

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Registration

You will be able to register for the conference on this website. Registration also will be available at the conference. Registration information coming soon.

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Conference Location and Hotel Accommodations

All sessions will be held at the Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center adjacent to SeaTac Airport. Please make reservations directly with the hotel on-line using this link: https://aws.passkey.com/go/UALE18 or call 206-244-4800. If you call, make sure to say that you are reserving a room in the UALE conference block to get the special rate.

The hotel is located at 17620 International Blvd, Seattle, Washington, 98188-4001, adjacent to Seattle-Tacoma Airport and there is a shuttle.

Rate: $149 per night single or double occupancy

Reservations must be made before March 13th, 2018 for the guaranteed conference rate as long as rooms in the reserved block remain available. If you want to spend additional time in Seattle either before or after the conference you can get the conference rate for 3 days before and 3 days after the conference, subject to availability.

Questions about the conference? E-mail

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

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Conference Downloads

pdf 2018 UALE proposal form (136 KB)

New Generation Award 2018

document LSJ Call for Papers 2018 (16 KB)

Community Organization Grant Application English

document Community Organization Grant Application Spanish (50 KB)