Labor Studies Division Summer 2022 Newsletter Todd Vachon, Chair Emily Yen, Vice Chair Mel Borstad, Newsletter Editor A WORD FROM THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR Hello, fellow labor scholars! Hard to believe it is already July and that the annual meeting is just around the corner – August 5-7. From #Striketober to the #HotLaborSummer, it has been a very exciting time to be a labor studies scholar and we have a lot of exciting sessions on labor and work-related topics at this year’s conference (more details below). We are eager to explore how our research can impact on-the-ground organizing at our own workplaces and will be having a thematic panel on organizing in academia. We hope you will attend the meeting and visit as many of our sessions as possible to show your support for colleagues and engage in critical dialogue on some of the most pressing issues of the day. Additionally, to foster continued engagement and mutual support among Labor Studies Division members beyond the conference, we encourage you to share your research, ideas, and other news on the SSSP Labor Studies Division Facebook group, which can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sssplaborstudies/ Finally, earlier this month we had a very successful and well-attended division business meeting where we brainstormed session ideas for the 2023 meeting. We will be discussing these further in Los Angeles and coordinating with other divisions to partner on several sessions. We wish everyone a happy and healthy remainder of the summer and look forward to seeing many of you in Los Angeles. Sincerely, Todd E. Vachon – Chair Emily Yen – Vice Chair 2022 ANNUAL CONFERENCE LABOR STUDIES DIVISION-SPONSORED SESSIONS Los Angeles Solo-Sponsored Sessions Organizing Academic Labor in the Post-Pandemic University Organized by Emily Yen, Friday, August 5, 4:30 PM - 6:10 PM Nonstandard, Contingent Employment Organized by Jackie Zalewski, Sunday, August 7, 12:30 PM - 2:10 PM Work and the Global Economy Organized by Anthony Huaqui and Salvador Rangel, Saturday, August 6, 12:30 PM - 2:10 Co-Sponsored Sessions Institutional Ethnographic Explorations of the Meaning of Work Co-sponsored with the Institutional Ethnography Division Organized by Sue Sherifali, Friday, August 5, 2:30 PM - 4:10 PM The Future of Work & Workers Co-sponsored with the Environment and Technology Division Organized by Todd Vachon and Alexis Econie, Saturday, August 6, 2:30 PM - 4:10 PM Sexualities and Work Co-sponsored with the Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities Division Organized by Janelle Pham Pathways to Re-entry: Employment Co-sponsored with the Crime and Juvenile Delinquency Division Organized by Michelle Estes The Health of the Healthcare Workforce Co-sponsored with Health, Health Policy, and Health Services Division Organized by Lilla Pivnick and Tania Jenkins Gender & Work Co-sponsored with the Gender Division Organized by Tracy Vargas and Kyla Walters Disability and Work Co-sponsored with the Disability Division Organized by Fitore Hyseni New Publications: Kahn, Seth, and Amy Lynch-Biniek. 2022. “From Activism to Organizing, From Caring to Care Work.” Labor Studies Journal. doi:10.1177/0160449X221112060 Vachon, Todd E. 2022. “Fancy Funeral or Radical Rebirth? Just Transition and the Future of Work(ers) in the U.S.” In The Green New Deal and the Future of Work in America by Craig Calhoun and Ben Fong (Eds). Vachon, Todd E. 2022. “Skin in the Game: The Struggle over Climate Protection within the U.S. Labor Movement.” Pp. 105-126 in Handbook of Anti-Environmentalism by David Tindall, Mark Stoddart, and Riley Dunlap (Editors). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Zalewski, Jacqueline M., and Susan Brudvig. 2022. “Encouraging Productive Behavior in Student Teams with Interventions.” Teaching Sociology. doi:10.1177/0092055X221108105 Awards: Corey Dolgan is the recipient of the 2022 SSSP Lee Founders Award. Established in 1981, this award is made in recognition of significant lifetime achievements demonstrating a devotion to the ideals of the founders of the Society and especially to the humanist tradition of Alfred McClung Lee and Elizabeth Briant Lee. Gretchen Purser and Brian Hennigan are the recipients of the Working Class Studies Association’s 2022 John Russo and Sherry Linkon Award for Best Published Article for their 2021 article: “Both Sides of the Paycheck: Recommending Thrift to the Poor in Job-Readiness Programs” published in Critical Sociology (47: 389-406). Other News: Corey Dolgan has continued to deliver his singing lectures on Folksongs and Social Movements at institutions around the world, including Marshall University, Ohio University-Chillicothe, Otterbein University, and the Soli Cafe, Salzburg, Austria. Calls for Papers Essentiality of Work - CfP Call for Papers to be published in Research in the Sociology of Work Rick Delbridge, Markus Helfen, Andi Pekarek and Gretchen Purser, editors The Covid pandemic has had a variety of significant consequences for work, workers and workplaces, the lasting effects of which are still to be determined. One of the more interesting and complex of these has been the invocation of notions of essentiality. For example, policymakers and the media have made wide reference to ‘essential work’ and ‘essential workers’, shaping the ways in which governments have sought to respond to the crisis. Whether work is essential or not has been (re-)discovered as an important question in public and academic debate during periods of societal disruption, in this case caused by Covid, but also important during earlier periods of crisis. The full call for papers appears here: https://books.emeraldinsight.com/page/series-detail/Research-inthe-Sociology-of-Work/ Submissions may be made at any time up until September 1st, 2022. EMPLOYABILITY - CfP Call for Papers to be published in Research in the Sociology of Work Rick Delbridge, Markus Helfen, Andi Pekarek, and Gretchen Purser, editors Employability has become an increasingly widespread concept both in management and policy, reflecting significant transformations in the world of work. Employability refers to a broad and amorphous collection of personal characteristics that purportedly make someone more able to gain and maintain employment. It points beyond hard skills to things like attitude, flexibility, emotional intelligence, resilience, initiative, and character. Framed as an attribute of a person, individuals are thus lauded as “employable” or dismissed as “unemployable.” This rhetoric of employability is intensely individualizing, shifting attention away from labor market structures and dynamics and towards one’s self and personal capabilities and shortcomings. Rarely asking the question of what “employability” may mean for employing organizations, employability works hand in hand with the neoliberal doctrine on individual responsibility and commodification, legitimating unemployment and labor market marginalization. Thus responsibility – for skills development and employment opportunities – falls to individuals not employers and the state. The full call for papers appears here: https://books.emeraldinsight.com/page/series-detail/Research-inthe-Sociology-of-Work/ Submissions may be made at any time up until January 1, 2023. Job Opportunities Syracuse University - Sociology, Assistant Professor, Social Stratification/Inequality and Quantitative Methods. The Department of Sociology at Syracuse University invites applications for a position at the rank of assistant professor in the areas of social stratification/inequality and quantitative methods. We seek a scholar with expertise in the theories, concepts, and statistical methods for sociological research on social stratification/inequality related to social class or other dimensions of socioeconomic status. Specific topics of interest could include but are not limited to recent patterns and trends in inequality; causes and consequences of inequality; the impact of institutions, culture, power, politics, and globalization on inequality; and/or intersections related to social class and other axes of inequality. Learn more and apply here: https://www.sujobopps.com/postings/94393 ILR School, Cornell University, Labor Leading on Climate Associate - Senior Extension Associate / Extension Associate (2 positions) The successful candidates will help recruit unions to participate in Labor Leading on Climate’s “climate jobs” research, policy and educational work as well as maintain and deepen existing relationships with unions, environmental and environmental justice organizations, legislators, and others. As skilled labor educators, these positions will design educational convenings and training programs for labor leaders and members, including the development of a new online climate jobs certificate program. The successful candidates will have a deep familiarity with union organizing, collective bargaining, strategic campaigns and union apprentice and pre-apprentice training programs in order to contribute to the development of pro-union, equity-centered climate policy and programming. Knowledge of or the ability to quickly learn the science, politics and legislative landscape around climate change and clean energy issues is essential. These positions will collaborate with the rest of the Labor Leading on Climate team on the design and implementation of studies on working conditions in the clean energy industry, identify strategies to create high-quality union jobs and an equitable and inclusive clean energy economy, and effectively translate this information to national, state and city elected union leaders and other partners, through educational convenings, briefings, public policy reports, and other written products. Learn more and apply here: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/Cornell/Worker%20Institute ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM SSSP SSSP Executive Director Search The Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) is seeking applicants for the position of Executive Officer, to begin at the conclusion of the Society’s August 2022 Annual Meeting. We would appreciate your assistance in identifying qualified candidates. Here is a link to the posting: https://www.sssp1.org/file/Announcement_for_the_Next_SSSP_Executive_Officer.pdf. If you have any questions about the position, please feel free to contact Dr. Gillian Niebrugge-Brantley, Chair, Permanent Organization and Strategic Planning Committee, niebran@attglobal.net, and/or Michele Koontz, mkoontz3@utk.edu. As a social justice organization, the SSSP seeks a diverse applicant pool for the position. An applicant must be a current member of the Society. Thank you for your assistance in this search. We hope you will consider applying for this position or encourage qualified applicants to apply. PLEASE SEND US YOUR UPDATES FOR THE NEXT NEWSLETTER. WE LOVE RECOGNIZING OUR MEMBERS’ ACHIEVEMENTS!! 1