The Crisis of Disinvestment Conference planning involved a wide cross section of unions plus community organizations and the Labor Education Service. All of us came together because of our concern with the results of a better than 30 year reign of market fundamentalism that has decimated our domestic industrial base and the good jobs it provided, ripped our communities apart while shrinking needed services, and has failed to adequately address education, health care and other common needs. We have designed this conference to help us come to some mutual understanding of why we got here and the beginning of some broad and long term ideas for how to get out.

The principle organizing entity of the conference is the Labor Education Service (LES) at the University of Minnesota. LES was established in 1951 as the primary educational outreach component of the Land Grant University of Minnesota serving working men and women in their roles as workers. LES is an integral part of the teaching, research and service mission of the University’s Industrial Relations Center.

LES staff teach, develop instructional materials, conduct practical research and uncover new knowledge, create audio-visual and communications resources, and provide educational opportunities for workers throughout the state of Minnesota. The goal of the programs and initiatives of LES is to equip union and non-union workers, worker advocates, union representatives, officers and staff with the knowledge and tools to protect and advance their rights, fulfill their responsibilities and participate fully in the civic and economic life of their communities. These programs change over time in response to constituent needs, new technologies, advancing ideas and the changing global socio-economic environment.

Through these efforts, the Labor Education Service fosters economic vitality, ethical relations, and social justice in the workplace and the community.

Conference Planning Committee
Labor Education Service
Minnesota AFL-CIO
SEIU Local 113
IOE Local 49
AFTRA
MN School Employees Association
MN Nurses Association
HERE Local 21
Minneapolis Building Trades
Saint Paul Building Trades
Saint Paul Trades and Labor
Southeast Area Labor Council
IBEW Local 110
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees
Education Minnesota
Carpenters
Growth and Justice
UFCW Local 789