Partners and Initiatives

The Graduate Center for Worker Education serves two functions.

On the one hand, the facility—by virtue of its location—is a resource to the broader Brooklyn College community. At the same time, the center stays focused on its traditional mission: to serve the working people of New York City. In furtherance of this goal, the center pursues its own research and community engagement, while also hosting a number of partners with specific interests in, concern for, or participation in labor, civic engagement, and human rights.

Labor Arts

Labor Arts was founded in 2000 by the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation, the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives/Tamiment Library at NYU, and Bread and Roses, the cultural arm of the hospital workers union 1199/SEIU.

The organization uses visual images to encourage exposure to, as well as understanding and appreciation of, the overlooked contributions working people make to our society. Primarily an online museum, it features exhibits on topics ranging from art in W.E.B. DuBois’ The Crisis magazine to “Defending the Social Safety Net.”

The site’s searchable collections include images of posters, buttons, banners, flyers, paintings, sculptures, and photographs—art and artifacts by and about working people.

Outreach efforts include the Clara Lemlich Awards for social activism honoring unsung heroines (held at the Museum of the City of New York) and the Making Work Visible contest, targeting undergraduate students in the CUNY system. We welcome collaboration opportunities with all educators—especially those who share with us the great adventure of teaching and learning.

For more information, visit the Labor Arts website.

Journal of Labor and Society

Established in 1997, the Journal of Labor and Society, formerly Working USA: the Journal of Labor and Society, is a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal published by Brill. It offers a broad exploration of the economic, political, and social dimensions of work and labor throughout the world. The journal publishes articles directed to an open and critical analysis of the global and U.S. labor movements, organizations, and the working class.

The journal endeavors to promote thoughtful and penetrating analysis of the historical, contemporary, and future prospects of workers that advance beyond the narrow goals of individuals. To this end, it focuses on the current context and shape of capitalist social relations, business and corporations, labor relations, the working class, and labor unions. The journal editors see a strong and robust labor movement as a force that is central to the immediate and long-term social, economic, and political interests of the working class.

The Graduate Center for Worker Education hosts the editorial offices of the journal and its editor-in-chief, Professor Immanuel Ness.

Additional information about the journal can be found on the journal’s website.

For submissions and inquiries, e-mail the journal.

Brooklyn. All in.