October, 2007 Member news As skilled-worker shortage looms, Sue William Silverman’s memoir, Love Sick (W. W. Norton), has gone into production for a Lifetime Television is U.S. tuned into wrong program? Original Movie, starring Sally Pressman such careers as law and finance and too and David James Elliott. Also, the paper- Future is ‘Star Trek,’ not few are going into engineering, Gordon back edition is due out soon. In addition, ‘L.A. Law,’ author says said. Sue has signed a con- "We are acting as if the future is tract with the BY THOMAS FRISBIE ’Dallas’ and ’L.A. Law,’ but the future is University of Georgia merica faces a shortage of skilled ’Star Trek’ and ’Star Wars,’ " Gordon said. Press to publish a book workers, but isn’t focusing on the A third scheduled member of the for women writing Abig picture, Society of Midland panel, Swiss Business Hub Minister & memoirs, and her Authors members were told Oct. 9. Director Martin von Walterskirchen, was essay, "The Pat Boone SMA member Edward Gordon, author detained in Washington and was unable to Fan Club," has been of The 2010 Meltdown: Solving the take part in the program at the Cliff selected to appear in Impending Jobs Crisis, and Peggy Luce, Dwellers Club, 200 S. Michigan, Chicago. Sue William The Touchstone vice president of the Chicagoland Cham- Luce said Ford Motor Co. has told the Silverman Anthology of ber of Commerce, said a large number of Chamber of Commerce that the shortage Contemporary technical and crafts workers will be need- of skilled workers in the Chicago area is Nonfiction: Work From 1970 to the ed after 2010, and that the city and nation putting the future of its south suburban Present, to be published this December need to act quickly to train those workers. by Simon and Schuster. More details at Now, too many students are going into Turn to Page 2 www.suewilliamsilverman.com. ... Quraysh Ali Lansana will be among the authors reading from their works at 6 November 13 program p.m. Oct. 24, Fullerton Hall, Art Institute of Chicago. ... Kevin Coval is one of the David Mendell, author of Obama: compelling look at a man of idealism poets who will be included in I Speak of From Promise to Power (August, and ambition intent on making history." the City: Poems of New York, called one 2007, Amistad), will be the speaker at Mendell, a native of Cincinnati, of the most extensive anthologies of the SMA’s began writing poems ever assembled about New York November pro- about urban issues Nov. 13, 2007, program City. Coval, who has read his works at gram. Mendell and politics for SMA programs, is the author of Sling- has covered Cliff Dwellers the Chicago shots (A Hip-Hop Poetica). ... Evelyn Obama since the 200 S. Michigan Avenue Tribune in 1998. beginning of his During his eight Johnson recently signed Barns of Old 22nd floor Mission Peninsula and Their Stories in campaign for the years at the Kentwood, Mich., and has more signings Senate and has 6 p.m. - Social Hour Tribune, Mendell scheduled for Oct. 27 at the Grand far-reaching 7:00 p.m. - Program has also covered Rapids (Mich.) Rivertown Crossing access to the sen- such breaking ator — both his Free - members, teachers, students national news as Barnes & Noble and Schulers Books in $5.00 - general public Grand Rapids from 11-1 on Nov. 17. ... professional and the Columbine Achy Obejas (see New Books) was a personal life. He High School speaker as part of Illinois State uses this to paint shootings and the University’s Latino History Month a very intimate portrait of Obama and Seattle riots spurred by meetings of events, which kicked off Sept. 15. ... his life pre- and post-Senate. the World Trade Organization. He Arnie Bernstein spoke at the Carter Booklist calls the book "a nuanced, lives in Oak Park, Ill. Turn to Page 2 1 October program report other nations who have streamed to the Gordon said. United States will start returning to their "The largest small manufacturing cen- Continued from Page 1 home countries as opportunities and ter in the United States is here in this auto assembly plants in doubt. wages in those countries increase, he said. city," Gordon said. "Many of them are "If we don’t do better with the work That’s why it’s important that the small family businesses. What will hap- force supply, they are not going to be able United States get job training into high pen to most of the businesses when they to operate those plants," Luce said. "The gear so that hospitals, businesses and cannot replace skilled technical people — problem they have is excellence in educa- other employers of skill workers don’t just whether they are engineers, two-year tion. We have got people, but shut down, Gordon said. degrees or different types of apprentice- they missed out on that excel- "The British threw away ships? They will disappear. lence in education." their industrial leadership by "If this were just the United States, A look at the numbers not having a proper pipeline probably this would not be a crisis," shows why there will be a [bringing in new trained work- Gordon said. "But from a globalization worker shortage, Gordon said. ers]," he said. standpoint, the problem is Europe will "In 2000, about 22 percent The SMA program followed have even more retirements than the of the U.S. work force was an earlier panel on the same United States. And because many coun- working in the area of tech and topic with Gordon, Luce and tries of Europe are not at a replacement skilled craft," he said. "By others at the Federal Reserve birth rate, they will see their work force 2010, we hope to have 29 per- Ed Gordon Bank on La Salle Street that shrink. Japan right is now is about 1.4 cent. By 2020, we are talking was sponsored by the govern- people per couple in terms of replace- about 43 million people. Many of these ment of Switzerland. ment. They, too, are set to have their pop- individuals [in those jobs now] are Baby A similar program will be conducted ulation and work force shrink. What this Boomers, and they will retire." next year, when the International means is that the United States will not be From a globalization standpoint, Manufacturing Show will be in Chicago able to rely on those countries for tech- Europe will have even more retirements with 150,000 people in September, one of nology workers as we did after the than the United States, and workers from the largest shows that comes to the city, Second World War and since then." Member news Association’s fall conference Nov. 3 at the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, Springfield. Former SMA president Continued from Page 1 Ill. ... Alex Kotlowitz was among the gets Hall of Fame vote Woodson Library as part of the Chicago writer friends who did David Book Fair on Oct. 13. On Oct. 14, he was Halberstam’s book tour for him for The Arthur Weinberg, a past president of one of the featured readers of the Alumni Coldest Winter: America and the Korean the Society of Midland Authors, a promi- Reading as part of Columbia College’s War six months after Halberstam’s death nent author and a journalist covering con- Creative NonFiction Week. ... Frank in a car accident. The tour ended Oct. 15. sumer electronics for Fairchild Publica- Joseph is coming to the Chicago area for ... Janis F. Kearney is leaving the tions from 1946 until his death in 1989, two weeks of appearances and novel Midland states to become a visiting schol- has been named to the Consumer Elec- research in November. His novel, To Love ar at Arkansas State University. ... tronics Industry Hall of Fame. His widow, Mercy, a coming-of-age tale set in Jonathan Eig discussed and signed his Lila Weinberg, also a past president of Chicago in 1948, has won six awards and new book Opening Day: the Story of the Society, will attend the Oct. 16 awards gone into a second printing since publica- Jackie Robinson’s First Season Oct. 6 at dinner in San Diego. tion in April, 2006 by Mid-Atlantic the Chicago Public Library Woodson In 1987, Mr. Weinberg received the Highlands (www.tolovemercy.com). Frank Regional Library. ...On Oct. 3 at the Niles Midland Authors’ award for a distin- has appearances scheduled at Barnes & Public Library, Richard Lindberg dis- guished body of work. Noble-Village Crossing in Skokie (Nov. cussed the 1955 murder of three He was a 1988-89 Lloyd Lewis Fellow 7, 7 p.m.), Schaumburg Central Library Northwest Side boys that shocked the in American History at the Newberry (Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m.), The Book Cellar- city. His 2006 book on the case is titled Library, where he spent years as a Lincoln Square (Nov. 9, 7 p.m.), Shattered Sense of Innocence. Lindberg researcher and scholar. Homewood Library (Nov. 10, 2 p.m.), also will be at the Chicago Public He wrote seven books, and his biogra- Barnes & Noble-Hawthorne Mall Vernon Library’s Budlong Woods Branch on Oct. phy of Clarence Darrow, Attorney for the Hills (Nov. 11, 2 p.m.), Skokie Public 16, 5630 N. Lincoln Ave. ... Signings for Damned, was on the New York Times Library (Nov. 13, 7:30 p.m.) and Further Persons Imperfect will be held best-seller list for 19 weeks in 1957. Arlington Heights Memorial Library Nov.