Seeking Panelists and Chairperson for US Labor and the World

[mshee...@fordham.edu]

I am seeking panelists and a chairperson for a panel on US labor and the world. My project explores how US business and labor organizations sought to situate themselves in the global economy between 1949 and 1954. In particular, it focuses on the international economic visions of major industries and industrial unions with a stake in international trade and investment. Themes I plan to explore include economic development, the international free trade union movement, and the nature of the "labor-management accord." 

Please let me know if you are interested!

Thanks so much,

Melanie Sheehan

UNC-Chapel Hill

[bzr...@gmail.com]

Dear Melanie,

Your project sounds like it has some potential cross-currents to a project I am currently developing on the transnational connections of American and Scandinavian labor leaders in the 1960s. If you are still  searching for panelists, would you have interest in a paper exploring the introduction and translation of Swedish labor market policies in the US during this period, primarily those promoting wage equality through collective bargaining? It employs the transcripts of meetings of the President's Commission on the Status of Women, where Swedish union and employer leaders were interviewed in 1962, in order to explore how Swedish concepts were adapted to an American political environment and their success, or lack thereof, in translating into federal legislation.

Let me know if you are still seeking panels and if you could fit this with your work.

Byron Rom-Jensen

External Lecturer

Aarhus University

[mshee...@fordham.edu]

Dear Byron,

That sounds like it would be a great fit, and I would be very interested to hear your findings. I have been in touch with a third panelist as well, who is studying US labor politics surrounding free trade in the debates over NAFTA in the 1990s. If this sounds good to you, please email me at melr...@live.unc.edu and we can work on putting a proposal together. Additionally, if you know of anyone who could potentially serve as a chairperson/commentator, please let me know.

Thanks so much,

Melanie