Category: Higgins Labor Studies

The labor Question Today

“Occasional Musings on Work, the Politics of Work, and the Work of Social Justice,” By Dan Graff, Director of the Higgins Labor Program.

WHAT’S UP WITH WAGES? NOTHING, AND THAT’S A PROBLEM (NOT A PUZZLE)

WHAT’S UP WITH WAGES? NOTHING, AND THAT’S A PROBLEM (NOT A PUZZLE) Submitted by Dan Graff on November 8, 2018 – 3:25pm We like to believe that a rising tide lifts all boats — canoe and cruise ship alike — but most Americans who don’t own a yacht have been drowning due to forty years […]

A TALE OF TWO FUTURES: THE FATE OF THE DOLLAR GENERAL ECONOMY

A TALE OF TWO FUTURES: THE FATE OF THE DOLLAR GENERAL ECONOMY Submitted by Dan Graff on March 16, 2018 – 12:26pm BY DAN GRAFF, DIRECTOR, HIGGINS LABOR PROGRAM Note: This blog post is dedicated to the author’s father, Bill Graff — devoted husband, father, and grandfather; retired union pipe fitter; and worrier over the nation’s future — who turns […]

CROSSOVER APPEAL: ATHLETES, ARTISTS, & ACTIVISTS

CROSSOVER APPEAL: ATHLETES, ARTISTS, & ACTIVISTS Submitted by Dan Graff on October 2, 2017 – 10:15pm BY DAN GRAFF, DIRECTOR, HIGGINS LABOR PROGRAM Usually I fear that the enterprise we call social media presages worldwide doom, but once in a great while I find it promises whimsical delight, as when a Facebook friend recently began posting seemingly […]

IT’S TIME TO FIRE THE “UNION BOSS.” HERE’S WHY.

IT’S TIME TO FIRE THE “UNION BOSS.” HERE’S WHY. Submitted by Dan Graff on September 1, 2017 – 2:03pm BY DAN GRAFF, DIRECTOR, HIGGINS LABOR PROGRAM In case natural disaster, nuclear war, and unpredictable political leaders are not enough to keep us up at night, we remain under threat by an age-old specter: the menace of the […]

FIND AND FOLLOW YOUR NORTH STAR

FIND AND FOLLOW YOUR NORTH STAR Submitted by Dan Graff on April 13, 2017 – 7:30pm BY DAN GRAFF, DIRECTOR, HIGGINS LABOR PROGRAM Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad has now won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for fiction, and it’s a fitting choice for our current political moment. Published in the midst of ongoing […]

CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING: WHY HIDDEN FIGURES FEELS NOT JUST GOOD BUT NECESSARY

CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING: WHY HIDDEN FIGURES FEELS NOT JUST GOOD BUT NECESSARY Submitted by Dan Graff on March 16, 2017 – 1:14pm BY DAN GRAFF, DIRECTOR, HIGGINS LABOR PROGRAM “We shall lie down pleasantly dreaming that the people of Missouri are on the verge of making their State free; and we shall awake to the reality, instead, […]

THE SOUTH HAS RISEN AGAIN

THE SOUTH HAS RISEN AGAIN Submitted by Dan Graff on March 16, 2017 – 1:14pm BY DAN GRAFF, DIRECTOR, HIGGINS LABOR PROGRAM “We shall lie down pleasantly dreaming that the people of Missouri are on the verge of making their State free; and we shall awake to the reality, instead, that the Supreme Court has made Illinois […]

CLASS & POLITICS AT THE DAWN OF THE TRUMP ERA

CLASS & POLITICS AT THE DAWN OF THE TRUMP ERA Submitted by Dan Graff on February 13, 2017 – 10:17am BY DAN GRAFF, DIRECTOR, HIGGINS LABOR PROGRAM ​Introductory note:In October 2016, I launched this blog, “The Labor Question Today,” with the aim of providing biweekly commentary on questions related to work, the politics of work, and […]

THEY LED THE WAY BUT ARE NOW LOCKED OUT: WHAT WE OWE UAW LOCAL 9

THEY LED THE WAY BUT ARE NOW LOCKED OUT: WHAT WE OWE UAW LOCAL 9 Submitted by Dan Graff on October 30, 2016 – 11:21am BY DAN GRAFF, DIRECTOR, HIGGINS LABOR PROGRAM UPDATE: I wrote the post below in late October 2016. In late February 2017 Honeywell submitted a revised contract proposal to its locked-out union workers, who […]

CONFRONTING CHRONIC CRISIS: WORKERS, THE AMERICAN ECONOMY, & THE 2016 ELECTION

CONFRONTING CHRONIC CRISIS: WORKERS, THE AMERICAN ECONOMY, & THE 2016 ELECTION Submitted by Dan Graff on October 10, 2016 – 9:39pm BY DAN GRAFF, DIRECTOR, HIGGINS LABOR PROGRAM Today the American worker confronts uncertainty, insecurity, confusion, and even chaos, an unwelcome environment that can only be described as an economic crisis. The litany of the laborer’s […]