Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

The politics of the working class and union movement in the context of neoliberal economic and public policy, recurring economic crises, the changing nature of work, and declining membership. Central to the course will be the question of electoral politics and organized labour's relationship to political parties.

COURSE DETAILS:

Income inequality, the minimum wage far below the living wage, unaffordable housing and increasing poverty are critical problems that working people face.   And so far, the 21st century has been a time of crisis in BC's public sector labour relations. The BC government's neoliberal approach is partly responsible for manufacturing this conflict.    But what is this neoliberalism? Where has it come from ideologically and how does it work in practice? How has it affected BC's public services, particularly its healthcare and education systems and the public sector labour structure? And how can the labour movement be a part of a progressive social movement to push back against neoliberalism?   In Labour Studies 310, we will trace the roots of BC's neoliberalism by examining some simple economic history, and how globalization amplifies neoliberalism. Then, with an intersectionality lens, we will explore healthcare and education in BC in particular, examining how neoliberalism has aggravated class issues, especially for support workers in those sectors. Finally, we will focus on how the labour movement can evolve into a more constructive part of a progressive social movement that can address the damage of neoliberalism.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

1.      The growing state of income inequality and worker precarity,
2.      BC government's neoliberalism, as well as its roots and effects on public services,
3.      Attacks on working people including health and education support workers, and how that has aggravated the effects of the economic crises of this short century so far,
4.      The condition of public sector labour relations in BC and precarious work,
5.      Using the intersectionality lens, exploring how different people are made more vulnerable in different ways,
6.      How unions can be an effective participant in progressive social change and electoral politics.  

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING: