LABOR UNDER ATTACK: Learning from the Past and Preparing for the Future

The hear 2013 marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, whose organizing in the northwest resulted in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia being one of the most strongly unionized regions of the US and Canada by the end of World War II.

How will we preserve the gains of the CIO era, and build a new labor movement? What are the connections between the CIO and progressive political movements, and our own unions and popular movements like Occupy? This year’s 45th PNLHA Conference in Portland gives workers, unionists, scholars and community activists an opportunity to reflect on some of these themes and examine the prospects for a revitalized labor movement in our time.

We invite proposals for presentation, panels, workshops and papers related to this theme. The Pacific Northwest Labor History Association strongly encourages participatory methods for program presentations, including popular education exercises, oral history, and the arts, as well as traditional scholarly presentations. Proposals dealing with Canadian themes are strongly encouraged.

For the 2013 conference we are casting a broad net for proposals. Some topics of particular interest include:

•The CIO in British Columbia, Washington and Oregon
•The Left-led Unions in the Pacific Northwest
•Workers Art, Song and Culture
•Immigrant Workers in the PNW—Then and Now
•Independent Political Movements in the PNW: The Commonwealth Federations
•Labor and the Occupy Movement
•Union Insurgent Movements
•Labor and the New Left
•The History of Public Employee Unions and the Current Assault on Bargaining Rights

Proposals for workshops and panels should include a 1-2 page summary, a list of presenters and/or papers to be delivered, a short biography or vitae for each participant, and any av needs. Individual paper proposals are also welcome.

The deadline for proposals is January 15, 2013. Submitters will be notified on the status of their proposals by February 15, 2013.