Whose Movement Is It? Strategic Philanthropy and Worker Centers

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 645-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney Frantz ◽  
Sujatha Fernandes
Keyword(s):  
Workforce Development ◽  
Work Conditions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Contentious Politics ◽  
Worker Centers ◽  
Financial Investment ◽  
Alternative Funding ◽  
Strategic Philanthropy ◽  
National Organizations ◽  
Worker Center

The nonprofit worker center model has been heralded as a promising development, given union decline and the rise of low-wage service jobs in the United States. Yet rather than challenging exploitative work conditions, some of the national organizations developed by worker centers have embraced neoliberal rationalities through projects such as workforce development, employer alliances, and entrepreneurial ventures. In the same period, strategic funding, which applies the logic and techniques of financial investment to grantmaking, has become standard practice for American foundations. As national worker center grantees adopt neoliberal rationalities through their interactions with funders, we argue that these grantees become less inclined to engage in contentious politics. We analyze the projects of two national worker center organizations, contrasting these groups with three local centers that still organize confrontational campaigns. We suggest that by emphasizing worker leadership, involving members in decision-making, and finding alternative funding sources, they have been able to maintain their confrontational politics.

scholarly journals Improving Undergraduate Life Science Education for the Biosciences Workforce: Overcoming the Disconnect between Educators and Industry

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. es12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Thompson ◽  
Joseph Sanchez ◽  
Michael Smith ◽  
Judy Costello ◽  
Amrita Madabushi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Workforce Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
University Graduates ◽  
Washington Dc ◽  
College And University ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Undergraduate Institutions ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Undergraduate Programs

The BioHealth Capital Region (Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC; BHCR) is flush with colleges and universities training students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines and has one of the most highly educated workforces in the United States. However, current educational approaches and business recruitment tactics are not drawing sufficient talent to sustain the bioscience workforce pipeline. Surveys conducted by the Mid-Atlantic Biology Research and Career Network identified a disconnect between stakeholders who are key to educating, training, and hiring college and university graduates, resulting in several impediments to workforce development in the BHCR: 1) students are underinformed or unaware of bioscience opportunities before entering college and remain so at graduation; 2) students are not job ready at the time of graduation; 3) students are mentored to pursue education beyond what is needed and are therefore overqualified (by degree) for most of the available jobs in the region; 4) undergraduate programs generally lack any focus on workforce development; and 5) few industry–academic partnerships with undergraduate institutions exist in the region. The reality is that these issues are neither surprising nor restricted to the BHCR. Recommendations are presented to facilitate improvement in the preparation of graduates for today’s bioscience industries throughout the United States.

How Worker Centers Organize Low-Wage Workers: An Exploration of Targets and Strategies

2021 ◽  
pp. 0160449X2198942
Author(s):  
Jessica Garrick
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Progressive Era ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Worker Centers ◽  
Center Staff ◽  
Community Based Organizations ◽  
Worker Center

In response to the growing absence of unions from the private sector, community-based organizations known as worker centers have emerged as a new front in protecting and organizing workers. Scholars generally argue that worker centers have converged on a model of combining service provision with organizing and advocacy, supported primarily by funding from foundations and government agencies. I draw on interviews conducted with worker center staff, a dataset compiled from their public materials, and secondary research to add to the existing literature and to argue that a clear categorization of worker centers can be derived by attention to their primary workplace strategies. First, worker centers can be meaningfully distinguished by whether they attempt to raise standards in specific industries versus responding to problems in individual workplaces. But they can also be distinguished based on the extent to which they view public policy or winning agreements with employers as the primary route to systemic improvements. These divergences in strategy echo Progressive-era debates about the role for the state in redressing workplace ills. Similar to that era, strategic differences among today’s worker centers are driven less by ideology and more by the distinct structural challenges facing workers in particular political and economic contexts.

A Short History of the Origins of the European Society of Veterinary Pathology in the Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Veterinärpathologen

2021 ◽  
pp. 030098582110021
Author(s):  
Andreas Pospischil ◽  
Walter Hermanns
Keyword(s):  
European Society ◽  
The United States ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Short History ◽  
Parent Organization ◽  
National Organizations ◽  
Veterinary Pathology ◽  
History Of ◽  
European College ◽  
Pathologische Anatomie

The first continental European association for veterinary pathologists was founded in 1951 as the Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Veterinärpathologen (AG-Vetpath), bringing together veterinary pathologists from Germany, several European countries, and the United States. Yearly meetings were held in conjunction with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Pathologie (DGP). Although the majority of DGP members were human pathologists, veterinary pathologists had been using the DGP as a forum for scientific exchange since the early 20th century. Renamed in 1969 as the Europäische Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Veterinärpathologen, and in 1974 as the Europäische Gesellschaft für Veterinärpathologie, the AG-Vetpath finally received its present name, the European Society for Veterinary Pathology (ESVP) in 1994. In parallel, national organizations for veterinary pathologists in European countries have also evolved over the years, the earliest being in Germany with the Fachgruppe Allgemeine Pathologie und pathologische Anatomie of the Deutsche Veterinärmedizinische Gesellschaft (DVG). AG-Vetpath represents the parent organization for further specialty organizations like the Gesellschaft für Toxikologische Pathologie (GTP) or the Arbeitskreis Diagnostische Veterinärpathologie (AKDV). Even the European College of Veterinary Pathologists (ECVP) was founded by members of ESVP.

Ethnographic Approaches to Contentious Politics: The What, How, and Why

2021 ◽  
pp. 001041402110255
Author(s):  
Diana Fu ◽  
Erica S. Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Politics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Contentious Politics ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Ethnographic Methods ◽  
Political Ethnography ◽  
Units Of Analysis ◽  
Social Meanings ◽  
Methodological Tool ◽  
Why Questions

How should we study contentious politics in an era rife with new forms of contention, both in the United States and abroad? The introduction to this special issue draws attention to one particularly crucial methodological tool in the study of contention: political ethnography. It showcases the ways in which ethnographic approaches can contribute to the study of contentious politics. Specifically, it argues that “what,” “how,” and “why” questions are central to the study of contention and that ethnographic methods are particularly well-suited to answering them. It also demonstrates how ethnographic methods push scholars to both expand the objects of inquiry and rethink what the relevant units of analysis might be. By uncovering hidden processes, exploring social meanings, and giving voice to unheard stories, ethnography and “ethnography-plus” approaches contribute to the study of contention and to comparative politics, writ large.

Deportations and development: Responding to El Salvador’s new migration crisis

2020 ◽  
pp. 026909422098105
Author(s):  
Nik Theodore
Keyword(s):  
El Salvador ◽  
Workforce Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
The Us ◽  
Housing Shortages ◽  
Migration Crisis ◽  
Us Cities ◽  
Economic Development Strategies

For decades El Salvador has been reliant on migration, mainly to the US, to provide remittances and an outlet for widespread underemployment. The deportation of tens of thousands of migrants annually by the United States, however, threatens to exacerbate problems of joblessness, poverty, and informality in local economies, calling into question the suitability of prevailing economic development strategies. This study proposes an alternative approach—labor force-based development—that was initially proposed to assist US cities confronting widespread job losses following deindustrialization. Through a survey of 198 Salvadorans who were apprehended by US immigration authorities and deported, this article documents deportees’ employment experiences in El Salvador and the US, tenure in their primary occupation, education and training obtained, and the localities to which they will return. It also provides recommendations for improving the employment outcomes of deportees. Given that a substantial proportion of deportees have worked in the construction industry, opportunities exist for designing workforce development programs that meet the needs of jobseekers as well as local communities facing housing shortages.

scholarly journals Public Health and Epidemiology Informatics: Recent Research and Trends in the United States

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (01) ◽  
pp. 199-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. E. Dixon ◽  
H. Kharrazi ◽  
H. P. Lehmann
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Workforce Development ◽  
Health Informatics ◽  
English Language ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Public Health Practice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Health Workforce ◽  
Public Health Informatics ◽  
Essential Services

Summary Objectives: To survey advances in public health and epidemiology informatics over the past three years. Methods: We conducted a review of English-language research works conducted in the domain of public health informatics (PHI), and published in MEDLINE between January 2012 and December 2014, where information and communication technology (ICT) was a primary subject, or a main component of the study methodology. Selected articles were synthesized using a thematic analysis using the Essential Services of Public Health as a typology. Results: Based on themes that emerged, we organized the advances into a model where applications that support the Essential Services are, in turn, supported by a socio-technical infrastructure that relies on government policies and ethical principles. That infrastructure, in turn, depends upon education and training of the public health workforce, development that creates novel or adapts existing infrastructure, and research that evaluates the success of the infrastructure. Finally, the persistence and growth of infrastructure depends on financial sustainability. Conclusions: Public health informatics is a field that is growing in breadth, depth, and complexity. Several Essential Services have benefited from informatics, notably, “Monitor Health,” “Diagnose & Investigate,” and “Evaluate.” Yet many Essential Services still have not yet benefited from advances such as maturing electronic health record systems, interoperability amongst health information systems, analytics for population health management, use of social media among consumers, and educational certification in clinical informatics. There is much work to be done to further advance the science of PHI as well as its impact on public health practice.

scholarly journals Adolescent Health: Think, Act, Grow (TAG)—A Strengths-Based Approach to Promoting Health in Youth

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 97-110
Author(s):  
Emily R. Novick ◽  
Jamie I. Kim ◽  
Yasmin Mazloomdoost ◽  
Courtney Barthle ◽  
Lonna Hays
Keyword(s):  
Youth Development ◽  
Adolescent Health ◽  
Workforce Development ◽  
Public Health Education ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Preliminary Evaluation ◽  
Collective Wisdom ◽  
Ongoing Work ◽  
National Organizations ◽  
State And Local

Adolescent Health: Think, Act, Grow® (TAG) is a national call to action to promote adolescent health and healthy development. Led by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Adolescent Health and developed with the input of national organizations, it builds on the collective wisdom of youth-serving professionals and seeks to raise the profile of adolescent health in the national discourse. Using TAG, the Office of Adolescent Health conducts outreach and delivers tools and information that support the integration of positive youth development precepts into the ongoing work of federal, state, and local public agencies; youth-serving health, public health, education, and social service professionals and organizations; faith- and community-based organizations; workforce development organizations and employers; and other stakeholders. TAG does not provide a formulaic blueprint for action, but instead encourages youth-serving organizations to use approaches that are consistent with their mission, objectives, priorities, and tactics. Preliminary evaluation findings indicate interest in the overall concept and resources of TAG, with partners citing the sharing of resources as a primary engagement strategy.

Inventing the Expert Technological Literacy as Social Currency

1990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Marvin
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
The United States ◽  
Classical Education ◽  
Professional Societies ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
Electrical Engineers ◽  
National Organizations ◽  
Distribution Of Power ◽  
American Society

Electrical professionals were the ambitious catalysts of an industrial shift from steam to electricity taking place in the United States and Western Europe at the end of the nineteenth century. According to Thomas P. Hughes, Alfred Chandler, and others, that shift was made possible by key inventions in power, transportation, and communication, and by managerial innovations based on them that helped rescale traditional systems of production and distribution. The retooling of American industry fostered a new class of managers of machines and techniques; prominent among them were electrical professionals. The transformation in which these professionals participated was no class revolution, as David Noble has pointed out. Their job was to engineer, promote, improve, maintain, and repair the emerging technical infrastructure in the image of an existing distribution of power. Their ranks included scientists, whose attention was directed to increasingly esoteric phenomena requiring ever more specialized intellectual tools and formal training, electrical engineers, and other “electricians” forging their own new identity from an older one of practical tinkerer and craft worker. Servingmaid to both groups were cadres of operatives from machine tenders to telegraph operators, striving to attach themselves as firmly as possible to this new and highly visible priesthood. Electrical experts before 1900 were acutely conscious of their lack of status in American society relative to other professional groups. The American Institute for Electrical Engineers (AIEE), founded early in 1884, was the last of the major engineering societies to be organized in the nineteenth century. Professional societies had already been organized by civil engineers in 1852, mining engineers in 1871, and mechanical engineers in 1880. The prestige of other groups in the engineering fraternity, especially civil and mechanical engineers, came less from membership in professional societies, however, than from other circumstances. Their practitioners hailed from the upper and middle strata of society, were often products of classical education, and had developed distinctive professional cultures of their own well before the formation of their national organizations. This gave them an established and even aristocratic niche in society.

Local Initiatives to Fund Services for Older Americans: Community Recognition of the Importance of Social Care

2020 ◽  
pp. 073346482094432
Author(s):  
Athena Koumoutzis ◽  
Sara E. Stemen ◽  
Renusha Maharjan ◽  
Jennifer Heston-Mullins ◽  
Pamela S. Mayberry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
The United States ◽  
State Funding ◽  
Eligibility Criterion ◽  
Supportive Services ◽  
Older Americans ◽  
Alternative Funding ◽  
Funding Sources ◽  
Aging Services ◽  
Tax Levies

Despite the growing proportion of older adults in the United States, federal and state funding for nonmedical supportive services remains limited. To meet increasing demand, some communities across the nation are exploring alternative funding sources for aging services. Although no systematic database exists to track such local programs, through an array of data sources including a national survey, telephone contacts, and a web review, we identified 15 states that are using local funding to support aging services. Communities are using a variety of local revenue streams, such as property tax levies, payroll, and sales taxes to provide services for older adults and/or their family or friend caregivers. There are considerable differences in community approaches including the following: amount of revenue generated, service eligibility criterion, type of services covered, and management infrastructure. Critical policy questions surrounding equity issues within and across states are raised as communities create these alternative funding mechanisms.

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