Wednesday miscellany⁓what I'm #reading…#ccourses #NassuaAFA #adjunct #labor #moocs & more

…yesterday was to have been a post day but turned into Disconnectivity Day for area telephones and internet via their fiberoptic cables. I would have missed #AdjunctChat but with the experimental all day "facilitated by us" format, I was able to make part of it and brought up +Laura Gibbs' idea about an instructor Learning Commons hub that she introduced on #ccourses. It keeps growing too.

As for blogging, today it is then ⁓ and a jumble at that. With the draft pile is growing, I should finish off a few before starting another post (potential draft for the pile). Meh. I'm still in recovery mode from yesterday's stress and in the meantime...

I've been reading...

Community Unionism—an #organizing idea for #adjunct fac to think about?

…A new organizing model that gives non-union workers a chance to engage and organize…by Roxanne DuBois in Canadian Dimension

At Unifor’s founding BC regional Council, a speaker stood up at the mic and shared an idea. As a member of the Vancouver-based Local 3000, representing workers at various White Spot locations and elsewhere in the service industry, the speaker shared thoughts about how to reach out to non-union restaurant workers and to engage them with the union, its services, and its knowledge. Restaurant workers exemplify what precarious work is all about: many of them are young, but not exclusively; they work irregular shifts, have dodgy contracts at best, and certainly don’t have any backup if they have problems getting paid or issues with their boss.

Support Walmart Workers on Black Friday

…#walmartstrikers share many issues w/ #adjuncts & the academic #precariat…plus setting an example of how to organize mass action…and the courage to do it. I was going to add updates this morning but there are so many ~ better to save them for a separate post or Storify and send you straight on to this basic primer from adjunct comadre Rowan's blog /online journal, which I've been following longer than I've been doing #newfac. It's on our blogroll too. 

by Dan Wasserman, from occasional links & commentary

Uncommon Thought Editor's Note: Walmart is a reflection of capitalistic abuse on every continent where its heel rests. To say that Walmart is a "bad neighbor" would be an understatement. It controls entire markets, including price setting and wages. It ruins small businesses and communities. It abuses its workers in a hundred different ways. Please go to Making Change at WalMart to find out how you can support WalMart workers.

The following is from the Making Change site:

October was a banner month for Walmart workers nationwide.  Each week saw more Walmart workers speaking up and going on strike, to protest Walmart's attempts to silence workers and retaliate against them. The strikes culminated in an announcement at Walmart's Arkansas headquarters that if the retaliation does not cease, workers will make Black Friday a "memorable" day for the company. 

To make Black Friday a success, Walmart workers need the support of community members like you. Our website now features a number of ways to get involved and support Walmart strikers on Black Friday.

add amazin' Amazon to no-shop list

I've been thinking about developing a "no shop" list with, wherever possible, realistic alternatives for precarious academic workers ~ curating a worst workplaces list instead of leaving them scattered them across posts and mailing lists. There arealso "ethical shopping" and "consumer ethics" websites, but this would  focus on contingent labor employment and workplace practices. As one article about warehousing pointed out, employees are not paid well enough to shop ethically outside this system. The same is true for many adjuncts, which makes calling for a boycott unrealistic (even if we were well enough organized to do it). Instead, start with raising awareness and recommending. Training wheels for the real thing someday. 

We talk about asking education consumers (parents, students) and involved agencies/ institutions (funding, accrediting, regulating, evaluating, overseeing) to make contingent faculty policies and numbers factors in making decisions. Let's consider practicing what we preach. To second Amazon's nomination to our "no shop" list, here's Paul Haeder's report from the Amazon shareholders meeting in Seattle

Joe Berry's COCAL Updates 10April12

Follow COCAL International on Facebook.  Email joeberry@igc.org, to subscribe to regular updates in brief and links by email. More about Joe Berry.   Updates are also archived at chicagococal.org

Updates in brief and links

Global Labor

Current issue of World Wide Work, Matt Witt's compilation of good labor related literature, music, film etc. Published by the American Labor Center, an independent nonprofit founded in 1979. Subscribe to receive copies by email.




For anyone who has ever taught a subcontracted class, see new global union principles on temp agencies: Global Union Principles on Temporary Work

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