UA-Fayetteville Education Association/Local 965 and the Northwest Arkansas Central Labor Council will host the second annual Northwest Arkansas Labor Spring Teach-In in the Ziegler Room of Fayetteville Public Library from 1-4 p.m. on Saturday, April 20, 2024. The program is free, and the public is welcome.
The Fayetteville Public Library says its gradual reopening after a recent fire will be complete enough for us to use its Ziegler Room and adjacent facilities. We are on!
“Fire Prompts Library’s Closure” with alternate link
The 2024 NWA Labor Spring will highlight the ways that labor unions and collective action can lessen the most pressing problems facing working people in the Ozarks and across the nation: low wages and the persistence of poverty, especially among children; economic inequality; privatization and outsourcing; and the growing marginalization of working people in public life.
The schedule’s topic titles include “Labor Struggles throughout the Nation,” “Fighting for Arkansas Workers” and “Worker Rights at the University of Arkansas.” Speakers include:
- Walter Hinojosa, president of NWA Central Labor Council
- Added! Rene Lara, Director of State and Local Legislative Issues for the AFL-CIO
- Jessica Akers Hughes, president of the state’s largest labor federation, Arkansas AFL-CIO
- Michael Pierce, Local 965 board member
- Ben Pollock, Local 965 vice president
- April Reisma, president of the state’s largest union, Arkansas Education Association
“The goal is to bring together working people who want to make their jobs better — to put them in touch with like-minded people, to provide them with tools and access to resources, to hear about successes, and to provide a sense of belonging,” said Michael Pierce, a conference organizer and an associate professor of history at UA.
The Northwest Arkansas Labor Spring is part of a series of similar events being held on or near college and university campuses throughout the nation. Dubbed Labor Spring, these events are organized with the help of the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University and the Labor and Working-Class History Association.
In 2023, #LaborSpring comprised more than 80 events in 32 states, including NWA. It “is a diverse, nationwide movement unifying workers, educators, environmentalists, activists, elected leaders, community members and more in a multiracial effort to demand justice on the job, racial equity and maintain the public good,” according to the initiative.
A teach-in is an informal forum developed in the mid-1960s to educate on a complex contemporary topic.
For more information, contact Pierce at mpierce@uark.edu. Updates will be posted on its Facebook event page.
Fayetteville #LaborSpring Schedule
Ziegler Reception Room, Fayetteville Public Library, 401 W. Mountain St.
1-4 p.m. Saturday, April 20, 2024
1-1:10 p.m. — Welcome and introductions
- Ben Pollock, Vice President of UA-Fayetteville Education Association/Local 965
- Walter Hinojosa, President of NWA Central Labor Council, and the afternoon’s emcee
1:10-1:40 — Topic: Rise and Fall of Labor Liberalism in Arkansas, 1941-1992
- Michael Pierce — At-large Board Member of Local 965
1:40-1:50 — Break
1:50-2:40 — Topic: Fighting for Arkansas Workers
- April Reisma—President of Arkansas Education Association
- Jessica Hughes — President of Arkansas AFL-CIO
2:40-2:50 — Break
2:50-3:40 — Topic: Worker Rights at the University of Arkansas
- An employee of UA food services, a division of Chartwells Higher Ed, in conversation with Michael Pierce of Local 965
- Ben Pollock of Local 965
3:40-4 — Topic: The National Battle
- Rene Lara, Director of State and Local Legislative Issues for the AFL-CIO
Scheduled speaker Kevin Huddleston of Region 8, United Auto Workers cannot be at the NWA Labor Spring due to a family matter. Speaker Joe Cornelius, general chairperson of GCA 569 of SMART, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, has canceled due to a family matter.
UA-Fayetteville Education Association 