EUGENE–The University of Oregon’s Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics is hosting a conference to explore the challenges globalization poses for working people in the context of history, politics and local impacts.

The conference, "Labor in a Global Economy," will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 10, in the Fir Room of the Erb Memorial Union, 1222 E. 13th Ave. The event is free and open to the public.

The conference will feature presentations by labor historian Dana Frank, the holder of the 2001 Wayne Morse Chair of Law and Politics; David Gutierrez, a prominent Chicano historian known for his studies of Chicana/Chicano history and immigration in the American West; and Roy Adams, a Canadian scholar specializing in the social dimensions of globalization.

The conference is the culmination of the Morse center’s year-long examination of the theme "Labor in a Global Economy," which included numerous research projects, speakers, events and classes.

Lynn-Marie Crider and Alice Gates of the Oregon AFL-CIO will present a summary of their research reviewing data on immigrant worker participation in Oregon’s workforce. UO sociology professor Michael Dreiling and doctoral student Brian Wolf will discuss their research exploring how political alliances use the power of consumers to combat sweat shops.

Lynn Stephen, a UO professor of anthropology, also will summarize her research tracing the journey of strawberries from the fields of the Willamette Valley through food processing plants, brokers and food distributors to their final destination, a UO cafeteria.

"This will be an exciting conference, featuring respected academics and Oregon researchers and students. It fits well with the UO emphasis on international human and worker rights," says Margaret Hallock, faculty director of the Wayne Morse center. "We invite students, faculty and the public to join in this culmination of the center’s work on labor in a global economy," she adds.

More information on the conference speakers can be found on the Web at <http://www.morsechair.uoregon.edu/Confer.html> or call the Morse Center, (541) 346-3700.

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