Joe asked his class what workers want from their local unions. This is a compilation of the list the students put up on the board after group discussions. One list was written in English, the others translated by Vinh. Much to note on this list. First, how similar it is to a list a laborContinue reading “Joe at desk in our office; List”
Monthly Archives: August 2015
On the Ground 10
Just out our studio door, on the far side of the fence that bounds the TDTU campus, is a four-lane divided boulevard recently planted and staked with small trees. It leads west. From the 10th floor of Building C, where the faculty lunchroom is located, we looked down and saw that this boulevard leads toward a river. BetweenContinue reading “On the Ground 10”
On the Ground 9
Merle Ratner sent me a link to a song that I might learn to sing, so that I will have “a talent.” She wrote:”One folk song that is easy to sing is called Qua Cầu Gió Bay. Here is a youtube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwbLO59ConU (It is a traditional dating song). Here are the words: Yêu nhauContinue reading “On the Ground 9”
On the Ground 8
On the Ground 8 August 24, Joe’s birthday. Lots of good wishes. His second class went fine. He spent a lot of time explaining our research project, which I will do in my class on Wednesday. I hope we can use the Frank Bardacke article on organizing in strawberries from the Stansbury Forum for thisContinue reading “On the Ground 8”
Frank Bardacke’s article on organizing in the strawberry fields
Here is a really good, really well-written, clear article about why you really have to understand the people, the social relationships among them, and what their work is actually like, if you’re going to try to organize, or help organize them: http://stansburyforum.com/strawberry-jam/#comment-142690 This is a model of what you have to look at. We’ll seeContinue reading “Frank Bardacke’s article on organizing in the strawberry fields”
On the Ground 7
On the Ground 7 On the topic of leadership, compare these: First, the Peter Northouse book, which I am using as a text and which takes as its first line, “Leadership is a highly sought-after and highly valued commodity.” He marches through ten or twelve theories or approaches to leadership. We learn about “transactional”, “authentic”,Continue reading “On the Ground 7”
On the Ground 6
On the Ground 6 I posted this blog on the United Association for Labor Education list serve and Fred Lonidier, the photographer, replied with a link to his photos which are on the Civil Rights and Labor History Photo and Document archives at the University of Washington – it’s part of the Harry Bridges Center.Continue reading “On the Ground 6”
On the Ground 5
On the Ground 5 Between now and May 2016, there are 30 new courses that have to be prepared. Dean Hoa, with whom we had dinner the other night at a Japanese restaurant (best fish I ever ate – grilled mackerel) says that they have the textbooks. They just now came into the library. NowContinue reading “On the Ground 5”
On the Ground 4
On the Ground 4 Things are happenings so fast that I may not be able to keep up, even though today is supposed to be an off-day. Thursday. A day when young women wear the ao dai. Many women faculty (called lecturers; here, “faculty” means department) do also, and the variations on it, mostly handContinue reading “On the Ground 4”
A Contribution from Merle Ratner
A Contribution from Merle Ratner I have comrades in the US, part of my very geographically spread-out network, some known to me only through email or meetings, who are reading this blog and have agreed to contribute. Here is Merle Ratner, a long time Vietnam activist and the Co-Coordinator of the Vietnam Agent Orange ReliefContinue reading “A Contribution from Merle Ratner”
How's that Working Out For You? 