Alexander Colvin, Ph.D. ’99, the Kenneth F. Kahn ’69 Dean and Martin F. Scheinman ’75, M.S. ’76 Professor of Conflict Resolution at the ILR School, talks with Liz Shuler, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, in the latest installment of the ILR podcast, “Work: Exploring the Future of Work, Labor and Employment.”

The special two-part episode to celebrate Labor Day can be found on the ILR School website, as well as on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and other platforms.

Colvin and Shuler cover a wide range of topics, including the surge of strikes nationwide, the increase of worker activism, the Fight for $15 (minimum wage) and the role millennials will play in the future of the union movement.

In 2009, Shuler became the first woman to be elected the federation’s secretary-treasurer. She said the AFL-CIO is working to broaden the movement by engaging young people, and to dispel the idea that it is an “old fashioned” labor movement.

“A lot of people think that the labor movement is your granddaddy’s labor movement,” Shuler said. “That’s not the case. We're the largest organization of working women in the country with 6.5 million women, [and] the largest organization for people of color in the country.”

The episodes are the most recent in the program’s “Labor Leaders” mini-series, which also features Randi Weingarten ’80 from the American Federation of Teachers and JC Tretter ’13 of the NFL Players Association.

– Julie Greco