Too much to tell all
20/Feb/2007 19:21
It's over; I
am back at home.
Reading all the postings below, I am struck by what a small fraction of the program I've reported on through this blog. I knew from the outset it would be impossible to comment on everything. After all, the course is made up of more than one hundred separate sessions covering about 85 topics. We read more than ten books and many kilos (pounds) of articles; I know because I had to pack and ship them home. And then there were the countless hours of informal discussions evenings and weekends.
Reading all the postings below, I am struck by what a small fraction of the program I've reported on through this blog. I knew from the outset it would be impossible to comment on everything. After all, the course is made up of more than one hundred separate sessions covering about 85 topics. We read more than ten books and many kilos (pounds) of articles; I know because I had to pack and ship them home. And then there were the countless hours of informal discussions evenings and weekends.
I have enough
material for at least thirty more web site postings.
I would like to tell you about Tom Juravich’s excellent presentation on stress in the workplace and the research he is doing about working conditions at a Verizons call centre and other sectors of the "new" economy. Instead you will have to read his soon-to-be-published book on the subject.
Steve Early (CWA) and Robert Schwartz (author and attorney) led a good discussion about strikes and why their are so few these days, particularly in the US. In 1952, 3 million US workers engaged in major strikes (those involving 1,000 or more union members). In 2004, the number of strikers was down to 316,000. This session on strikes came to mind when I heard on the news this morning that the Canadian federal government will be legislating back to work the strikers at CN rail after being on the picket line for 12 days.
Jack Trumbour, Research Director for Harvard’s Labor and Worklife Program, gave a talk on Labour in film (along with a good listing of what is available), and he showed us a segment of Salt of the Earth. It has been years since I watched this classic last and, like all previous times, I was in tears within minutes. (By the way, a re-mastered DVD version of the film, with a cleaned up soundtrack so that you can actually make out the dialogue, is available from www.amazon.com.)
I learned so much about so many things.
I heard a different perspective on the NAFTA side agreement on labour rights. Like many other Canadian trade unionists, I have written it off as useless. But Tamara Kay (Sociology, Harvard University) told us about her research that demonstrates its positive impact on union solidarity. The side deal, administered through the Commission on Labour Cooperation, permits unions to complain about violations of labour rights but they have to file their complaints in one (or both) of the other NAFTA countries. This process has encouraged labour unions in Canada, the US and Mexico NAFTA countries to cooperate and work together, just as they did during the free trade negotiations.
I learned about liberal democracy in the US. Did you know that the right of citizens to vote is not guaranteed in the US constitution? Furthermore, a proposal to make it so (sponsored by Jesse Jackson) has the support of only 60 members of Congress, and no US senators or Republicans? In his lecture on the topic, Alex Keyssar (Kennedy School of Government) argued that securing this right would go some way to enfranchising the millions of working class US citizens who can’t vote for a myriad of reasons.
We heard all the arguments against merit pay and useful information on performance evaluation; we talked about pensions and old age security; we received an excellent update on the various US campaigns to win living wage ordinances; we were enthralled (I kid you not) by Barry Bluestone’s lectures on the economy; and we were taken on a trip through time by Labour historian James Green (who has written an excellent book describing major turning points in US labour history).
As I’ve already reported, David Weil gave us tools to assess and build union strength. Finally, and perhaps most important of all, Elaine Bernard did an amazing job of weaving together all the different pieces and connecting them to the organizational and leadership challenges facing our unions today.
The Harvard Trade Union Program gave me six weeks to think, talk and read about trade union organizational and leadership development without distractions from all my regular routines. It isn’t often that any of us in the labour movement get such an opportunity. A big thank you to my union, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, for making it possible.
I am looking into a number of different union leadership programs during my sabbatical leave from CUPE. I search web sites, collect documentation, and by interviewing speak to program conveners and participants. I am fortunate to have been able to get first-hand information about the Harvard Trade Union Program as a participant and to share some of the content with others through this blog.
Throughout the HTUP project (and my postings) I have tried not to comment on my fellow student out of respect for their privacy and that of the group. What I will say about them now is that they are articulate, thoughtful, very experienced, incredibly bright, full of good humour, and extremely committed to the education process as well as to the trade union movement. It was a privilege to get to know them and I am indebted to them for most of my learning these past six weeks.
I will give the last words to them in my next and last posting. Please stay tuned to hear my concluding podcast. And, please comment on any or all of the postings by clicking on the comment button at the end of each one.
I would like to tell you about Tom Juravich’s excellent presentation on stress in the workplace and the research he is doing about working conditions at a Verizons call centre and other sectors of the "new" economy. Instead you will have to read his soon-to-be-published book on the subject.
Steve Early (CWA) and Robert Schwartz (author and attorney) led a good discussion about strikes and why their are so few these days, particularly in the US. In 1952, 3 million US workers engaged in major strikes (those involving 1,000 or more union members). In 2004, the number of strikers was down to 316,000. This session on strikes came to mind when I heard on the news this morning that the Canadian federal government will be legislating back to work the strikers at CN rail after being on the picket line for 12 days.
Jack Trumbour, Research Director for Harvard’s Labor and Worklife Program, gave a talk on Labour in film (along with a good listing of what is available), and he showed us a segment of Salt of the Earth. It has been years since I watched this classic last and, like all previous times, I was in tears within minutes. (By the way, a re-mastered DVD version of the film, with a cleaned up soundtrack so that you can actually make out the dialogue, is available from www.amazon.com.)
I learned so much about so many things.
I heard a different perspective on the NAFTA side agreement on labour rights. Like many other Canadian trade unionists, I have written it off as useless. But Tamara Kay (Sociology, Harvard University) told us about her research that demonstrates its positive impact on union solidarity. The side deal, administered through the Commission on Labour Cooperation, permits unions to complain about violations of labour rights but they have to file their complaints in one (or both) of the other NAFTA countries. This process has encouraged labour unions in Canada, the US and Mexico NAFTA countries to cooperate and work together, just as they did during the free trade negotiations.
I learned about liberal democracy in the US. Did you know that the right of citizens to vote is not guaranteed in the US constitution? Furthermore, a proposal to make it so (sponsored by Jesse Jackson) has the support of only 60 members of Congress, and no US senators or Republicans? In his lecture on the topic, Alex Keyssar (Kennedy School of Government) argued that securing this right would go some way to enfranchising the millions of working class US citizens who can’t vote for a myriad of reasons.
We heard all the arguments against merit pay and useful information on performance evaluation; we talked about pensions and old age security; we received an excellent update on the various US campaigns to win living wage ordinances; we were enthralled (I kid you not) by Barry Bluestone’s lectures on the economy; and we were taken on a trip through time by Labour historian James Green (who has written an excellent book describing major turning points in US labour history).
As I’ve already reported, David Weil gave us tools to assess and build union strength. Finally, and perhaps most important of all, Elaine Bernard did an amazing job of weaving together all the different pieces and connecting them to the organizational and leadership challenges facing our unions today.
The Harvard Trade Union Program gave me six weeks to think, talk and read about trade union organizational and leadership development without distractions from all my regular routines. It isn’t often that any of us in the labour movement get such an opportunity. A big thank you to my union, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, for making it possible.
I am looking into a number of different union leadership programs during my sabbatical leave from CUPE. I search web sites, collect documentation, and by interviewing speak to program conveners and participants. I am fortunate to have been able to get first-hand information about the Harvard Trade Union Program as a participant and to share some of the content with others through this blog.
Throughout the HTUP project (and my postings) I have tried not to comment on my fellow student out of respect for their privacy and that of the group. What I will say about them now is that they are articulate, thoughtful, very experienced, incredibly bright, full of good humour, and extremely committed to the education process as well as to the trade union movement. It was a privilege to get to know them and I am indebted to them for most of my learning these past six weeks.
I will give the last words to them in my next and last posting. Please stay tuned to hear my concluding podcast. And, please comment on any or all of the postings by clicking on the comment button at the end of each one.
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