UALE Conference 2016

 Conference Schedule: See below for a draft conference schedule. It will probably go through several changes before the final verison. It is available for download here: document UALE Conference 2016 Overview (2-26 Draft) (24 KB)

Watch this page for more details on conference sessions and related ativities

Download Conference Brochure here:   pdf 2016 Conference Brochure (1.88 MB)

Conference Schedule

 This draft overview is updated as of February 26. Keep checking back for updates. Details of concurrent sessions (also draft as of 2-23-16) can be downloaded from the Conference Quicklinks or from bottom of page.

Conference Overview

back to top

Registration 

*Online registration closes March 25, 2016. After this date, registration will be available at the conference.

Participant and vendor registration questions should be directed to Tony Michael at .
General questions about the conference should go to Tony Michael at http://webmail.umb.edu/m.

RENEW OR BECOME A MEMBER

Register by February 29 and receive your 2016 UALE Membership at the special conference rate of $75! Student, retiree, and low income membership rates are also available

Financial assistance for Community-based organizations UALE has established a grant to help one or more community-based organizations defray the costs of attending the conference.

back to top

Accomodations

Make lodging reservations directly with the hotel.
Kellogg Conference Center Hotel
Gallaudet University
800 Florida Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002
(202) 651-6000

Single/Double $179 + tax, Triple/Quad $199 + tax

Group ID: 23149, Password: 37006994

Identity Affiliation: United Association for Labor Education 2016 Conference

Call for Proposals

The United Association for Labor Education (UALE) invites labor educators, community organizers, organizers based in worker centers, and others committed to worker education to join together in Washington, D.C. for a conference that strives to address the complex challenges facing working people. UALE seeks proposals on how labor education can connect race, labor, and community to promote empowerment through education.

Proposals may draw from all disciplines and take many forms, including strategic or academic reports or posters; qualitative or quantitative analyses; teaching demonstrations; labor history research, curriculum for adults or K-12; union membership training tools; case studies; roundtable discussions; general curriculum design; music, art, including public art, and theater.

Conference Format

Sessions will vary in structure to provide a robust conference experience for presenters and participants.

Plenary Sessions are two hour all-assembly sessions designed to engage conference attendees in important areas of labor education. Plenary sessions are determined by UALE’s Executive Board.

Concurrent Sessions are simultaneous 2 hour sessions. These sessions will offer some combination of the formats below. Note that some sessions are organized by working groups around their specific areas of interest.

Panel Sessions combine a number of presenters who present and discuss their work on a similar topic. Each presenter will have equal time to present their work. After all presenters have presented their work, there will be a joint time for questions and discussion. The idea is that by combining different aspects of a topic, rich discussion among presenters and the audience will ensue. Session chairs will be appointed and time will be available for chairs and panelists to meet prior to the session.

Paper Sessions may be comprised of research papers, case studies, reports related to labor education, etc. These sessions combine presenters who present and discuss their work, generally on a related topic. Each presenter will be provided with equal time to present their work, after which time the session chair will lead discussion. Session chairs will be appointed prior to the conference and time will be available for chairs and panelists to meet prior to the session. While a paper may be accepted based upon its proposal, full-length manuscripts are expected by the time of the conference.

Poster Sessions provide an opportunity to present and discuss a single theme or relevant topic in an informal setting, somewhat like an exhibit hall or information fair. A good poster session centers on one main theme, presents useful information, and stimulates discussion. Presenters prepare a display that captures their topic and ideas in easily understood printed text and graphics on a board no larger than 30”x40.” As conference attendees visit the display, presenters will have the opportunity to discuss their poster topic with them. Presenters should prepare a few remarks that will welcome attendees to their poster. It is helpful to provide handouts for participants with presenters’ contact information to facilitate further discussion. Poster sessions are often an informal blend of presentation and dialogue.

Roundtable Discussions provide an opportunity for participatory discussion of labor education issues, research in progress, or other relevant topics in an informal setting around a table or in a circle of chairs. The convener poses a series of questions to participants and leads a conversation, based on the experience of those in the room.

Teaching Demonstration Sessions engage participants in an interactive manner that simulates a particular workshop or demonstrates a labor education technique, using popular education methodology. The demonstration is typically followed by discussion of the technique(s) demonstrated and the uses to which they might be put. Facilitators should be prepared to offer their design and materials to participants to adapt and use.

UALE encourages, but does not limit, proposals which directly relate to the conference theme.

For detailed information on how to submit proposals, please download the complete "Call for Proposals" here:   document 2016 Call for Proposals (34 KB)

back to top

Proposal Deadlines

December 5: Deadline for proposals for individual, group, panel, and poster presentations. Send proposals to Tony Michael at . (Please note: Those submitting paper proposals, full-length manuscripts are expected by April 1, 2016.)

December 19: Deadline for proposals from Working Groups. (Popular Education, Worker-Writers, K-12 Labor in the Schools, Online-Learning, Immigration/Globalization, Central Labor Councils). Contact information for Working Groups is at www.uale.org. New participants always welcome.

December 21: Deadline for proposals for papers from students for the scholarship competition. Students should send proposals to Sarah Laslett at .

January 1, 2016: Deadline for Best Book, Outstanding Contribution and Lifetime Achievement Award nominations. Send these nominations to Kitty Conlan at . See below for details about awards and the nomination process.

 
back to top

Labor Studies Journal Call for Papers

The Labor Studies Journal invites paper proposals for presentation at the 2016 UALE Conference on “Labor and Racial Justice.” This special issue is co-edited by Robert Bruno, Ph.D., University of Illinois and Alethia Jones, Ph.D. 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. 

In the wake Michael Brown’s killing in Ferguson, MO at the hands of a police officer, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka stated that, “Our brother killed our sister’s son.” Indeed, a white union member slayed the teenage son of an African American union member, embodying labor’s historic role enacting and enforcing racial oppression. But labor also has unique achievements in promoting racial solidarity and justice and the potential to do even more. Like the Occupy movement before it, #BlackLivesMatter has captured the imagination and activism of groups within the labor movement but thus far has had limited impact on labor’s overall strategic direction. The killing of Blacks by police reminds us that white supremacy permeates our society. While the national conversation is defined most consistently by the African American experience, racial oppression in North America always extended itself beyond the Black/White dichotomy as it intersected with the politics of national origin, skin color, gender, class, sexuality, and health to create hierarchies of worth and privilege. Our vigilance against racism must not degenerate into a color-blind anti-racism but must account for the ways in which racism is embodied and opposed. This special issue invites examinations of the intertwined nature of racism and work to illuminate the distortions in worker solidarity as well as reveal bold experiments and approaches to transform the system by wrestling with, rather than avoiding, categories of difference.

You can download the full Call for Papers here:   document LSJ Call for Papers 2016 (24 KB)

 
back to top

Call for Student Papers

UALE seeks to support and encourage emerging scholars and writers in the vibrant fields of labor education and labor studies. To that end, we offer recognition for excellence in this arena each year at the UALE annual conference.

Students, labor educators or scholars new to their fields, or emerging researchers are welcome to submit a paper to the UALE Executive Board for consideration.

Veteran labor educators and scholars: Please help us identify and encourage newer colleagues to submit papers. Actively reach out to anyone you think is a good candidate for this award including students, activist, interns, researchers and staffers.

Authors do not have to be UALE members. Their paper does not have to be written specifically for this competition.

Download the full announcement here:  2016 Student Paper Prizes

2016 Research Grants

UALE is pleased to continue awarding grants to fund research related to workers, unions, and employment policy. Preference will be given to UALE members in determining award recipients. UALE has allocated up to $5,000 for this purpose. We will select a maximum of two award recipients. The total number of awards for 2016 will be determined by the UALE executive board.

Applications for the 2016 grants are due by January 18, 2016. The recipients will be announced by February 5, 2016. UALE requests that successful applicants present the results of their research at a UALE conference within a few years following receipt of a UALE research grant.

For details, download the full announcement here:  2016 Research Grants Announcement

 back to top

Annual UALE Achievement Awards

To be presented at the 2016 UALE conference April 13-16, 2016 in Washington, DC.

The Executive Board of the UALE has established five awards for outstanding contributions and achievement in the field of labor education.  These awards will be presented at the closing luncheon of the 2016 UALE Conference in Washington DC in April.  The UALE Board hopes to generate interest and active participation on the part of UALE members in recognizing the best practices and products coming out of our field of labor education.  As established, the participation of UALE members in the nominating and selection process is vital.
 
The award categories are:

1. Outstanding contribution to the field of Labor Education in 2015
2. Best book published in 2014-2015 related to labor education
3. Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding contributions in the field.
4. New Generation Award for the best first paper presentation (This award is for a student or labor educator who is presenting for the first time at a UALE conference and is new to labor education.)
5. Best article in LSJ published in 2014-2015.

What you (UALE members) Need to Do:
Please help us by sending in your nominations for the following three categories.
Please send your nominations with the subject line “nomination” by January 1, 2016.

For your convenience, a nomination form has been attached:    document 2016 Nomination Form (28 KB)
Each nomination should be accompanied by a short (150 word) description of why this nominee should receive the award.

1. Outstanding Contribution to the field of Labor education in 2015
This award recognizes an outstanding example of the connection between labor education and activism: a new curriculum, a documentary or social media project, a living history/labor theater initiative, an outstanding campaign on an issue, or an exemplary effort to use labor education to strengthen the labor movement.   The contribution can involve a formal institution of labor education—university, union, or community-based; it can represent an independent effort outside an institutional labor education program; it can be an ongoing program, multi-year effort, or one that has ended. Some aspect of the program must have occurred within the calendar year 2014.   An individual, group, program, or project can be nominated.

After the close of nominations on January 1, 2016, the UALE Board will send out a list of nominees and the membership will determine the winner.

2. Best Published Book 2014-2015 related to Labor Education
This award is for a book that has been especially valuable in labor education.  It should be a book that represents responsible scholarship, new ideas, creative thinking, an intellectual contribution to the labor movement, the broader workers’ movement, labor economics or politics, culture, or any other topic related to work or labor.  It should be a book that can be or is used in an educational setting.  It may help if you think about the books you have read and used and appreciated as a labor educator in the past two years.

After the close of nominations on January 1, 2016, the UALE Board will send out a list of all nominated books, and the membership will determine the winner.

3. Lifetime Achievement Award
This award recognizes an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of labor education over the course of his or her lifetime.

After the close of nominations on January 1, 2016, the UALE Executive Board will determine the winner.

These two additional awards are determined by selected panels:

4. New Generation Award (best student paper presentation)
This award will be given for the best paper presentation at the 2015 UALE conference by a new or aspiring student, labor educator or researcher.

Please submit your paper by December 21, 2015. You should plan to attend the UALE conference in April. A selection committee appointed by the Board will choose the four best submissions. Those selected will be scheduled together for a panel session at the conference, billed as the New Generation panel.  Participants’ conference fees and a hotel subsidy will be provided.  The selection committee will attend that session and choose the winner of the award based on the quality of the submitted paper as well as the presentation of the ideas on the panel.

Please send submissions and inquiries to Sarah Laslett at

Please encourage students and new colleagues to participate in UALE. Veteran labor educators, both university and union-based:
Please help us to identify and encourage newer colleagues to submit papers.  Please follow up with anyone you think is a good candidate for this award, including students, activists, interns, and staffers. The nominee does not have to be a UALE member.  The paper does not have to be written specifically for this competition.
 
5. Best article in Labor Studies Journal
The recipient of this award will be determined by the LSJ editorial board. 

 back to top

Conference Downloads

 2016 Conference Brochure

 2016 Call for Proposals

 2016 Nomination Form

 2016 Research Grants Announcement

 2016 Student Paper Prizes

 LSJ Call for Papers 2016

 UALE Conference 2016 Overview (2-26 Draft)

 UALE Conference 2016 Concurrent Sessions (2-26 Draft)

 back to top