The Forum hosts a number of lectures, panels  each semester on all facets of labor and employment law.  Please check back often to see our upcoming events.

Labor & Employment Law Forum 2012 Symposium:

April 9, 2012

9:00am – 3:00pm American University Washington College of Law (“WCL”) 4801 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Room 101

Labor Movement 2.0? The Role of Organized Resistance in the 2012 Elections

Presented by the Labor & Employment Law Forum

A timely examination of the fight for workers’ rights and the critical role of political action, through unions and grassroots community organizing. Political action has been used to establish wage floors and hours ceilings, provide for workers’ health, safety, and long-term security. The other side of the coin reveals that it has also been used to limit workers’ abilities to negotiate the terms of their employment. How will political action via unions, PACs and grassroots community organizing impact the current status of the American worker in 2012?

9:00 am-Registration and Coffee

9:30 am-Welcome & Introductory Remarks

Jennifer Brown, Editor-in-Chief of the American University Labor & Employment Law Forum

10:00 am-Opening Keynote: The History of Politics and the Labor Movement Jon Hiatt, Chief of Staff/Executive Assistant to the President of American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)

10:15 am-Organized Labor at a Crossroads: State and Federal Attacks This panel will examine the recent attacks on labor in states like Ohio and Wisconsin and will explore the reasons for labor animosity at both the state and federal levels. Do battles such as these represent death knells in the labor coffin or an opportunity to reinvigorate traditional labor bases and beyond? This panel will also explore the various forms of political action employed by pro and anti labor forces in these battles.

Moderator: Susan Carle, Professor at the American University Washington College of Law

David Madland, Director of the American Worker Project at the Center for American Progress

James Shirk, Senior Policy Analyst at the Heritage Foundation

Mary Joyce Carlson, Of Counsel at Cohen, Milstein, Sellers & Toll, PLLC

Jason Walta, Attorney at the National Education Association

12:00 pm-Lunchtime Keynote: What’s Organizing Got to Do with It?

Richard Kahlenburg, Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation and author of Why Labor Organizing Should Be a Civil Right: Rebuilding a Middle-Class Democracy by Enhancing Worker Voice

1:30 pm-Influences of Populism and Campaign Finance: A Changed Landscape in 2012? This panel will focus on recent political movements, including the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, as well as the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United, as prediction tools for the upcoming election season. The panel will include discussions of whether Labor will play a significant role in this election, and will also discuss the implications of Super-PACs and national protests for the Labor Movement in the long term.

Moderator: Alex Wohl, Fellow at the American University Washington College of Law

Darren Hutchinson, Professor at the American University Washington College of Law

Angelia Wade, Associate General Counsel at AFL-CIO

Mark Schneider, Associate General Counsel at Service Employees International Union (SEIU)

Michael Trister, Trister, Ross, Schadler and Gold

Up to four and a half (4.5) CLE hours will be applied for as requested to different states, for a charge of $220.00.

Please register here and choose the event from the drop down menu

For further information, contact: Office of Special Events & Continuing Legal Education, 202.274.4075 or secle@wcl.american.edu or visit the Labor & Employment Law Forum’s website at http://www.aulaborforum.org.