History & Power of Labor

History & Power of Labor

Class | Available

Labor & Employment Relations Building 504 E. Armory Ave. Rm. 35/43 (bottom floor) Champaign, IL 61820 United States
Room 35/43 (bottom floor)
10/18/2025 (one day)
9:00 AM-4:00 PM CDT on Sat
$150.00

History & Power of Labor

Class | Available

October 18, 2025
What does the history of the U.S. look like when viewed from the point of view of those who built the country? The class reviews working-class and labor history since the Civil War, but focuses (with films) on some key labor struggles such as the 1894 Pullman Strike; organizing in the mine and textile industries; the growth of trade unionism; the rise of the CIO and the autoworker sit-down strikes; the impact of McCarthyism on the labor movement; and the expansion of public sector unionization (1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike and the 1970 Postal Workers Strike).

Fortado, Stephanie
Stephanie Fortado

Prof. Fortado is a social and cultural historian of the modern United States, with a focus on African American working class and social movement history. She is especially interested in Civil Rights and Black Power history, and in labor history, especially as it relates to women’s history, environmental history and urban history. She is co-director of the Regina V. Polk Women's Leadership Programs.