Striketober to Strikevember: The John Deere Strike, Labor Activism, and What it Means for the Future

On October 14th, thousands of John Deere workers across 14 plants went on strike after rejecting a contract negotiated between their union and the company. And they are not the only workers who have had enough. It’s been a year of labor activism, with workers striking across a broad range of industries – from manufacturing and coal mining, to health care and higher education, and even bourbon production.

Join the Center on Education & Labor on November 2 from 3-4 pm ET for a lively discussion featuring journalists and labor researchers. We’ll talk about why we are seeing so many strikes, what feels different about them, particularly with regard to media coverage and public opinion, and what history can tell us about how the labor movement can build on this moment.

Follow the conversation online using #Striketober and following @NewAmericaEd.

Panelists

Maximillian Alvarez, @maximillian_alv, Editor-in-Chief, The Real News Network

Toni Gilpin, PhD @ToniGilpin Labor historian, writer, and activist Author of The Long Deep Grudge: A Story of Big Capital, Radical Labor, and Class War in the American Heartland

Chris Martin, PhD @chrismartin100 Professor of Digital Journalism, University of Northern Iowa Author of No Longer Newsworthy: How the Mainstream Media Abandoned the Working Class

Moderator: Mary Alice McCarthy, @McCarthyEdWork Director, Center on Education & Labor at New America