This summer, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) both went on strike, something that hadn’t happened since 1960. These strikes brought Hollywood to a standstill for months and ultimately forced the studios to make major concessions. In September, the United Automobile Workers (UAW) union went on strike against the major automakers GM, Ford, and Stellantis. For the first time ever, a sitting president visited a picket line in support of the autoworkers. 75,000 workers from the Kaiser Permanente health care system went on strike in October, the largest health care worker strike in U.S. history. With all these strikes happening, are we in the middle of a labor union renaissance?

Join us for this Obermann Conversation with University of Iowa faculty and local labor leaders to discuss the history of labor in the U.S. and in Iowa, and to imagine what the future of organized labor could be.

Speakers
• Jesse Case (Secretary-Treasurer, Teamsters Local 238)
• Paul Iverson, Labor Educator at the University of Iowa Labor Center
• Abigail Scheppmann (Leader, Iowa City Starbucks Union)
• H. Shelton Stromquist, Professor Emeritus, History

Obermann Conversations is an informal speaker series that pairs University of Iowa faculty with community members in conversation.

This program is cosponsored by the Iowa City Public Library and the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies.