This page will be updated further in the days preceding the conference.
Thursday, Aug. 1, 4-9 pm
Registration will be available in the evening on Thursday, as well as check-in for those who preregistered, at the COGS Office: 20 E. Market St, Suite 210, Iowa City, 52245. (We are in the west wing of a former church building, Old Brick, at the corner of Market and Clinton St.)
If you will be staying in a homestay during the conference, please check-in on Thursday.
Friday, Aug. 2
9-9:30 am: Registration, meet’n greet. (Coffee provided.)
9:30-10:15 am: Welcoming remarks and shop reports.
10:30 am-noon: Presentation by Peter Fisher, Research Director, Iowa Policy Project. “Can the Inequality Express be Turned Around? The Role of Unions and the Public Sector”
12-1:30 pm: Lunch on your own. (Some good options in the Food Court below our conference proceedings.)
1:30-2:45 pm: Session 1. Political action and legislative fightback (Leann Dawson, Victoria; Paul Iverson, Iowa Labor Center; Jason Whisler, Iowa)
3-4:15 pm: Session 2. Building coalitions on and off campus (Trish Everett, British Columbia; Danielle Dirocco, Rhode Island; Anna Waltman, UMass-Amherst)
5-7 pm: Session 3. Screening of We are Wisconsin (105 minutes) followed by roundtable discussion moderated by Ed Kroc, British Columbia.
Dinner will be provided following the movie (Oasis Falafel).
Saturday, Aug. 3
9-9:30 am: Arrival, coffee provided.
9:30-10:45 am: Session 1. Organizing in a Right-to-Work State (Josh Pederson, Iowa; Kari Thompson, UE; Dominic Barbato, Michigan)
11-12:15: Presentation: Martin Ritter, Organizer, Chicago Teachers Union.
12:15-1:30 pm: Lunch provided.
1:30-2:45 pm: Session 2. Organizing with the Media, Old and New (Jim McAsey, Michigan; Erin Lewis, Central Michigan; Trish Everett, British Columbia; John Sweeney, Hawaii)
3-4:15 pm: Session 3. Planning for the Future, moderated by Larissa Werhnyak, Iowa.
4:30-5:45 pm: Session 4. Geographical Break-out Session (Canada, US Public/Private).
Evening: Dinner on your own, followed by a social event at location the Clinton Street Social Club at 9:30.
There will be no conference activities planned on Sunday, Aug. 4.
Location:
All conference activities on Friday and Saturday will take place in the “University Capitol Center,” which is the second floor of the Old Capitol Town Center (it’s a mall) on Clinton and Washington Streets. For those not staying at the Iowa House Hotel, parking is available in a ramp that opens onto Clinton St. near Burlington St.
Check out a map of conference related locations here.
COGS extends our thanks to the UI Labor Center for their assistance in securing our conference meeting rooms.