Month: July 2016

Online lecture on the Marine Cooks and Stewards Union now available

A 90-minute illustrated lecture by Allan Berube on the history of the Marine Cooks and Stewards Union – a multi-racial, left-wing, gay-friendly labor union of the 30s and 40s –  is now accessible online.  According to OutHistory.org, “No Red-Baiting, Race-Baiting, or Queen-Baiting!: An MCSU History” “tells the surprising and inspiring story of how ship stewards and other workers on luxury cruise liners banded together and overcame racial, sexual, and other divisions to create a militant union in the 1930s.”

WCSA Election Results

 

Thanks to all those who voted in this year’s election, and a special thanks to Maria Dokes for tabulating both electronic and paper ballots.

~ The 2015-16 Elections Committee (Cherie Rankin, Lisa Kirby, and Jack Metzgar)

Here’s our line-up of officers for 2016-17:

Steering Committee

President: Michele Fazio, University of North Carolina at Pembroke

Past President: Tim Strangleman, University of Kent, UK

President-Elect: Terry Easton, University of North Georgia

Secretary: Courtney Maloney, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design

Treasurer: Ken Estey, Brooklyn College

Working-Class Academics Chair: Allison Hurst, Oregon State University

At-large members:  

Sara Appel, Independent Scholar

Scott Henkel, University of Wyoming

Katherine Kidd, University of Pittsburgh

Colby King, Bridgewater State University

Elections Committee:  Jackie Gabriel, Western State Colorado University; Lisa Kirby, Collin College; Jack Metzgar, Roosevelt U.

Working-Class Academics Chair-Elect: Mara Fridell, University of Manitoba

 

 

 

Electoral Politics & Working-Class Literature

Sherry Linkon’s essay, “To Really Understand Working-Class Voters, Read These Books,” was published by Moyers & Company.  She argues contemporary working-class writers such as Tawni O’Dell, Philipp Meyer, Stewart O’Nan, and Grady Hendrix delve into aspects of working-class life that are often misunderstood by political pundits and scholars.

James Green

We are saddened to learn about the passing of labor historian James Green.  LAWCHA, the Labor and Working-Class History Association, has placed this call: “If you would like to share your remembrance of the late James Green to be posted on our remembrance page in celebration of his life, please send them to Ryan.Poe@Duke.edu.”

Below are links honoring his work as a scholar and activist:

James N. Gregory, “James Green, 1944-2016,” LAWCHA

David Frank, “James Green (1944-2016): Labour History and Public History,” Acadiensis

Bryan Marquard, “James Green, 71, UMass Boston labor historian and writer,” The Boston Globe

Sam Roberts, “James Green, Author and Human Rights Activist, Dies at 71,” The New York Times

 

 

East Side Freedom Library celebrates second year

Click here to read more about the second year anniversary of St. Paul’s East Side Freedom Library established by Beth Cleary and Peter Rachleff.