Labor lawyer Thomas Geoghegan on the dismal state of the contemporary work place and how it undermines human development and democratic society.
His recent book, "Only One Thing Can Save Us" explores the need for more education on social justice and civic engagement. He offers as an example the School of Social Justice in Chicago's Little Village. He advocates empowering workers through "disruption" tactics, rather than long strikes, and using State Law to require worker presence and participation on corporate governing boards, as is the case in Germany.
Corporate neoliberal management ideology has destroyed the former business model to create fissured work places, not jobs. Previously only unskilled labor was precarious but now many college graduates, with professional training, find only temporary positions, with little possibility for career advancement or professional and personal growth as was formerly the case.
He expects student debt and abusive management practices to radicalized workers across educational and color lines such as we are seeing in the "fight for fifteen" movement and among adjunct university instructors.
Evanston Public Library, Adult Services
National Book Critics Circle Award finalist and labor lawyer Thomas Geoghegan discusses his new book "Only One Things Can Save Us." A "public policy" book that is compulsively readable, Geoghegan's latest argues that even as organized labor seems to be crumbling, a revived--but different--labor movement is more relevant than ever in our increasingly unequal society. With commentary both acerbic and witty, Geoghegan offers insight into the dynamics and human experience of working in the US today.
Geoghegan is the author of several books including "Which Side Are You On?," "See You in Court," and "Were You Born on the Wrong Continent?." His writing has appeared in the NY Times, Harper's, and The Nation, and as a practicing attorney, he has represented the United Mine Workers and Teamsters.
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