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Solidarity Unionism: Rebuilding the Labor Movement from Below

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Solidarity Unionism: Rebuilding the Labor Movement from Below Presented by the Chicago-Kent Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild Solidarity Unionism: Rebuilding the Labor Movement from Below Chicago-Kent College of Law | Monday, April 11, 2011 Reception 5 p.m. | Discussion 5:30 - 7:30pm (room C50) What is Solidarity Unionism? Under Solidarity Unionism, workers organize & control the union from the bottom up and facilitate change within the workplace themselves as opposed to relying on union leadership. Speakers Daniel Gross – Founder & Executive Director of Brandworkers International Mr. Gross is the founding director of Brandworkers International, a non-profit organization protecting and advancing the rights of retail and food employees. Additionally, he co-founded the Starbucks Workers Union. Along with legendary legal scholar, employment attorney, and activist Staughton Lynd, Mr. Gross co-authored two important books on Solidarity Unionism, both published by PM Press. Mr. Gross also serves on the steering committee of the National Lawyers Guild Labor & Employment Committee. Laurie Burgess – Labor Attorney As a leading labor attorney in Chicago, Ms. Burgess is engaged in a dynamic collaboration with workers, worker centers and labor leaders to grow an inclusive, democratic union movement. She was an attorney for the workers of Republic Windows & Doors during the historic sit-down strike of ’08. Ms. Burgess currently serves as Union Chair of the ABA’s Labor and Employment Subcommittee on Immigration, and is an Executive Committee member of the National Lawyers Guild Labor & Employment Committee. Cindy Marble – Warehouse Workers for Justice A former warehouse worker, Ms. Marble is now an organizer and leader with Warehouse Workers for Justice. Warehouse Workers for Justice is an independent workers center founded by the United Electrical Workers (UE) after the successful plant occupation at Republic Windows & Doors in December, 2008. WWJ provides workshops to educate and unite warehouse workers to help gain workplace rights, and fights for policy changes to improve the lives of warehouse workers and their communities. Adam Kader – Worker Center Director of Arise Chicago Mr. Kader is the Director of the Worker Center at Arise Chicago, an organization involved in labor organizing campaigns, building worker leaders, policy initiatives, worker education, and inter-faith solidarity campaigns. Having Studied in Latin America and worked with immigrant families in Chicago, he is a bilingual communicator and brings a necessary internationalist perspective to the Worker Center. Matt Zito – Industrial Workers of the World Representative – “One Big Union” The Mr. Zito works the night shift at a printing plant, and is active in his Teamsters local as well as organizing with the IWW’s headquarters. Growing up in the industrial suburb of Addison, IL, Mr. Zito witnessed his parents work overtime, swing shifts, and weekends. After his aunt and great grandmother both passed away from mesothelioma, a lung cancer they contracted at work, he began devoting his energies to the cause of labor. Chicago-Kent is at 565 West Adams Street, Chicago (1 block W. of Union Station’s Clinton St. Exit).
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