The New school's vera list center for art
and politics presents bookforum at The New school:
Getting to work—Labor issues in the 21st century

Bookforum, in conjunction with The New School's Vera List Center for Art and Politics, will host a panel discussion regarding the American workforce: how it has changed, how work can be fairly rewarded in a post-industrial economy, and the rights of workers. During earlier economic crises, American labor has risen up to fight for reform. What is the role of organized labor now? Have American workers surrendered their expectations in order to compete within the world market? As American workers come to resemble their counterparts in countries that have become the site of so many offshore jobs, can they ever reunite, or are they doomed to compete in a downward spiral of diminishing rights, including the right to organize themselves? The event is part of a yearlong series organized by the Vera List Center around the theme "Speculating on Change." Each year, the center identifies a topic of urgency and broad resonance, and convenes artists and scholars for a variety of programs.

Chris Lehmann, editor, Bookforum (Moderator)
Kim Bobo, director, Interfaith Worker Justice, and author, Wage Theft in America: Why Millions of Working Americans Are Not Getting Paid—And What We Can Do About It
Thomas Frank, noted essayist; founder and editor of The Baffler; regular columnist, Wall Street Journal; and author, The Wrecking Crew, What’s the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America
Thomas Geoghegan, labor lawyer based in Chicago, and author of See You in Court, Which Side Are You On? and Trying to Be For Labor When It’s Flat On Its Back
Andrew Ross, chair, Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, NYU, and author, Nice Work If You Can Get It: Life and Labor in Precarious Times

Thursday, November 19, 6:30 p.m. Discussion to follow.

The New School, Tishman Auditorium, 66 West 12th Street, New York, NY 10011.

$5 general admission; free admission to all students and New School faculty, staff and alumni with ID through the New School Box Office. Free admission to all teachers, union, and AARP members with ID, as well as Artforum and Bookforum subscribers and contributors through www.bookforum.com/work or 212.475.4000.