The program is free, and the public is welcome.
The 2024 NWA Teach-In will highlight the ways that labor unions and collective action can lessen the most pressing problems facing working people in the Ozarks and across the nation: low wages and the persistence of poverty, especially among children; economic inequality; privatization and outsourcing; and the growing marginalization of working people in public life.
Topics on the schedule include “Labor Struggles throughout the Nation,” “Fighting for Arkansas Workers” and “Worker Rights at the University of Arkansas.”
Speakers include:
- Joe Cornelius, Division 569 of SMART, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers
- Walter Hinojosa, president of NWA Central Labor Council
- Kevin Huddleston, Region 8, United Auto Workers
- Jessica Akers Hughes, president of the state’s largest labor federation, Arkansas AFL-CIO
- Michael Pierce, Local 965 board member
- Ben Pollock, Local 965 vice president
- April Reisma, president of the state’s largest union, Arkansas Education Association
“The goal is to bring together working people who want to make their jobs better — to put them in touch with like-minded people, to provide them with tools and access to resources, to hear about successes, and to provide a sense of belonging,” said Michael Pierce, a conference organizer and an associate professor of history at UA.