Late at night on April 3rd, I found out through a conversation with a friend that the 2014 Labor Notes Conference was starting the following day, April 4-6 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, near Chicago O’Hare. Joe Berry would be leading a session for contingent faculty and labor organizers from 2:00-5:00 pm. My friend said we could go for free as long as we emailed Mr. Berry. As I had just finished reading his book Reclaiming the Ivory Tower: Organizing Adjuncts to Change Higher Education, I felt it was fate itself that had given me the opportunity to hear him speak, and I emailed him to ask if I could attend. Berry wrote back right away and said that he would be expecting me tomorrow at the session.
I arrived late because I was parked in a lot that was very far from the hotel, and another late arriver and I could not figure out how to get over to the actual meeting.
At one point, the man said, “Well, you're a very pessimistic type of person, aren't you?”
And I said, “Well, I'm an adjunct. I've been through a lot recently.”
Anyway, when we got there I couldn't find the workshop, and the people who ran it were not happy I hadn't registered, but one woman in a maroon sweater showed me where the room was. Because I didn't have a program, though, I didn't even know the title of the session. But I knew I was looking for Joe Berry who had changed my life with his book. I told her about it, and that was enough information for her to help me find the room.
