Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

LAWCHA: Labor and Working-Class History Association @lawcha.bsky.social · 8h

Tom Alter joined @maximillianalvarez.bsky.social on the latest episode of Working People to talk about his employment fight at Texas State University. Check out the interview below:
workingpeople.libsyn.com/will-texas-s...

Working People: Will Texas State University fire a tenured professor based on a Nazi apologist’s doctored video?

“In Texas, a socialist professor is now in the fight of his life against MAGA’s New McCarthyism,” scholar and author Bill V. Mullen writes in Jacobin. “Tom Alter, a labor historian and tenured profess...

workingpeople.libsyn.com

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Immigration and Ethnic History Society @iehs.bsky.social · 8h

Be sure to check out this upcoming virtual event featuring a round table with Dr. @emmaamador.bsky.social and her new book, The Politics of Care Work.

@drsarahmac.bsky.social @lawcha.bsky.social

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University of Illinois Press @illinoispress.bsky.social · 8d

The Herbert G. Gutman Prize for Outstanding Dissertation in U.S. Labor and Working-Class History is now open for submissions!

Full details here: go.illinois.edu/UIPGutmanPrize

cc: @laborlawchajournal.bsky.social

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LAWCHA: Labor and Working-Class History Association @lawcha.bsky.social · 11h

"The dates are different, but this isn’t the first time waging a domestic war against immigrants has stained our history," write Robert Bruno in his latest Substack.
bobbruno.substack.com/p/the-immigr...

The Immigrant Has Always Been A Worker

This isn’t the first time waging a domestic war against immigrants has stained our nation's history.

bobbruno.substack.com

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Julie Greene @greeneland.bsky.social · 1d

Rudi Batzell takes on some of the biggest questions in US and British labor history in his new book. Join us Friday for a riveting discussion about his arguments and more!

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Sara Nelson @flyingwithsara.bsky.social · 1d

An optimistic book in a grueling time. @dskamper.bsky.social gives us hope with stories of strategic fights led with the awakening of worker power. Solidarity is essential and so is reading this book. I was honored to write the foreword of Who✊s Got the Power?

Cover of Dave Kamper’s book, “Who’s Got the Power? The Resurgence of American Unions”

Title page with a very kind note from Dave to Sara. Kind note covered by humbled Sara, but Solidarity with Dave’s signature is plain to see.

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LAWCHA: Labor and Working-Class History Association @lawcha.bsky.social · 14h

Don't miss LABOR's Big Book Forum this Friday featuring Rudi Batzell and a panel of expert discussants. Register via the link below.

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Julie Greene @greeneland.bsky.social · 1d

I just learned, Thomas Alter, tenured professor, has been terminated effective immediately. Shame on Texas State! We mst build support for Tom. spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-tex...

Texas State upholds the firing of associate history professor Thomas Alter

Alter’s termination occurred on Sept. 10, stemming from his remarks at the Revolutionary Socialism Conference on Sept. 7.

spectrumlocalnews.com

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Joseph A. McCartin @josephamccartin.bsky.social · 4d

Kent Wong was a unique figure: scholar, organizer, educator, and leader. The entire community of those who care about workers, immigrants, and people struggling for rights is bereft at his loss. May his memory and example long inspire us. @lawcha.bsky.social and its members celebrate Kent's legacy.

UCLA Labor Center @uclalabor.bsky.social · 4d

We invite you all to read the Labor Center's official obituary for Kent Wong, published on our website.

🔗 bit.ly/kentwongobit...

Obituary: Kent Wong, 69, labor and immigrant rights champion and former director of UCLA Labor Center

Kent Wong, former director of the UCLA Labor Center from 1991-2023 and professor of labor studies and Asian American studies, died Oct. 8. He was 69. An esteemed community leader…

bit.ly

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American Historical Association @historians.org · 5d

Join us on October 16 at 1:30 p.m. ET for "History Behind the Headlines: Government Shutdowns & the Federal Budget," to hear leading scholars discuss the history of federal appropriations, why shutdowns have become so common, & their broader historical implications. Register for free at the link. 🗃️

History Behind the Headlines: Government Shutdowns and the Federal Budget – AHA

Threats of a US government shutdown have become a staple of the federal budget process during the past few decades. In this hour-long History Behind the Headlines webinar, hear leading scholars discus...

www.historians.org

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Liz Shuler @lizshuler.bsky.social · 5d

Kent Wong was the best of our movement. He was a trailblazer for labor, immigrant, civil, and human rights everywhere he went – in California, the House of Labor, and all around the world. My heart is with his family and the generations of workers touched by his life and legacy.

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AFL-CIO @aflcio.org · 5d

America’s unions mourn the loss of our brother Kent Wong.

As APALA's founding president & a leader throughout our movement, he relentlessly fought for worker, immigrant, civil & human rights across the country & around the world. He inspired us all.

Rest in power.

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LAWCHA: Labor and Working-Class History Association @lawcha.bsky.social · 5d

David Roediger sat down to discuss his new memoir, "An Ordinary White: My Antiracist Education", available at LaborOnline.
lawcha.org/2025/09/28/d...

David Roediger on his new book, An Ordinary White | LAWCHA

In his new memoir, An Ordinary White: My Antiracist Education (2025), David Roediger provides a moving account of his lifetime of scholarship and

lawcha.org

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Eladio Bobadilla @eladiobobadilla.com · 5d

Coming soon to a bookstore near you :-)

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Jonathan S. Jones @jonathansjones.bsky.social · 6d

Look what came in the mail today, @uncpress.bsky.social @simpsonvos.bsky.social @profsommerville.bsky.social! 🗃️

Printed copy of Opium Slavery: Civil War Veterans and America’s First Opioid Crisis held by the author in the background

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Randi Weingarten 🖇️📚✊🇺🇸 @rweingarten.bsky.social · 6d

Kent Wong was a fighter, a thinker, an educator whose compassion and sense of justice was always a beacon of light. We are deeply saddened to share this news and extend our love and condolences to Kent’s family, colleagues and students.
Rest in power Kent.

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UC Berkeley Labor Center @ucblaborcenter.bsky.social · 6d

The UC Berkeley Labor Center mourns Kent Wong, our longtime colleague and friend. A passionate champion for workers—especially immigrants—and students, Kent dedicated his life to justice. Our hearts are with our colleagues at the UCLA Labor Center.

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profpetercole.bsky.social @profpetercole.bsky.social · 7d

A historian I know and respect was illegally fired after being targeted by right-wing groups policing free speech. Please sign this urgent petition calling for Tom Alter's full reinstatement sponsored by the Committee to Defend Tom Alter @lawcha.bsky.social docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Statement by the Committee to Defend Tom Alter

Statement by the Committee to Defend Tom Alter On September 10th, 2025, Dr. Tom Alter, a respected and tenured professor of history at Texas State University, was fired for remarks he made at a social...

docs.google.com

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LAWCHA: Labor and Working-Class History Association @lawcha.bsky.social · 7d

Visit Labor Online to read Bob Cherny's discussion with Harvey Schwartz on his recent book, "The Coit Tower Murals: New Deal Art and Political Controversy in San Francisco."
lawcha.org/2025/10/05/r...

Robert Cherny on the Coit Tower Murals | LAWCHA

Thanks to Professor Rosemary Feurer and the LaborOnline team for another opportunity to interview Robert W. Cherny, this time about his 2024 book, The

lawcha.org

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Will Jones @willpjones.bsky.social · 8d

“Off the air, she was an advocate for racial visibility and opportunity. She was the national equal employment opportunities chair for AFTRA, the broadcast union now known as SAG-AFTRA.” @lawcha.bsky.social

Rachel Maddow @maddow.msnbc.com · 8d

"In 1964, while reporting from the Republican National Convention just south of San Francisco, Ms. Davis and a Black male reporter were hounded from the hall by fans of the nominee, Barry Goldwater. The crowd snarled racial epithets and tossed garbage at them..."

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/04/b...

Belva Davis, West Coast Trailblazer in TV News, Dies at 92

www.nytimes.com

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Scholars for a New Deal for Higher Ed @sfndhe.bsky.social · 8d

As states like Florida and Texas gut tenure protections for university faculty, many assume the greatest loss is to academic freedom. But tenure is not just about academic freedom. It also is, and has always been, about labor protection.
@aaup.org @afthighered.bsky.social @lawcha.bsky.social

The Real History of Tenure

If academics want to protect the idea of tenure, they need to understand how and why it became the norm.

time.com

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John Fabian Witt @johnfabianwitt.bsky.social · 8d

My new essay describes the CIO, the UAW, and the industrial union as building American democracy out of the ashes 100 yrs ago. Where are the parallels today? @uawarchivist.bsky.social @uaw.org @lizshuler.bsky.social @aflcio.org @seiu.org @lawcha.bsky.social @aft.org www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/o...

Opinion | How to Save the American Experiment

www.nytimes.com

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LAWCHA: Labor and Working-Class History Association @lawcha.bsky.social · 13d

Kornel Chang joined the HistoryExtra Podcast to discuss his recent publication, A Fractured Liberation: Korea under US Occupation. Check out the interview via the link below.
www.historyextra.com/period/cold-...

America in Korea: a failed occupation?

Professor Kornel Chang revisits the three-year US occupation of the southern half of Korea that followed the Second World War, to see if opportunities were missed to prevent the bloodshed and division...

www.historyextra.com

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LAWCHA: Labor and Working-Class History Association @lawcha.bsky.social · 13d

The AFL-CIO will be offering a free virtual training at noon this Friday, "Leadership and Labor History." Click on the link below to register for the event.
www.mobilize.us/aflciotraini...

Leadership and Labor History · AFL-CIO Training

Join on a computer as we will be discussing moments in labor history and connecting them to our current leadership opportunities. This is an interactive session and not easily accessed via phone zoom.

www.mobilize.us

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Nathan Ellstrand @nellstra.bsky.social · 14d

New from @illinoispress.bsky.social:

Migration Stories: Connecting Activism, Policy, and Scholarship edited by Benjamin Gatling

www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=c0...

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