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I can tell you that many states in the U.S. have general right-to-work laws prohibiting closed shops. That's true here in Texas. For K-12 teachers, labor organizing carries the risk of decertification. The trade associations and unions in education, with a few exceptions in larger school districts where locals have a little sway, are pretty toothless. You send in dues and get a newsletter, maybe a voting guide now and then. I believe this is true for higher ed associations here, too. For American education workers living in right-to-work states, I'd suggest joining the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.). It's a small group, but it has a history of organizing without the help or approval of the state. -R. On Thu, Dec 01, 2016 at 03:08:23PM +0000, Judith Watson wrote: > Yes it is. > > I hope people won't mind me saying again that probably the most important ways in which we can defend our academic freedom is through our trade unions. I found http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/14/opinion/sunday/the-decline-of-unions-and-the-rise-of-trump.html this discussion of the Trump rise to be interesting but tending to see white working class men as research subjects rather than fellow citizens. I understand from American friends that at the moment there seems to be nothing that you can wholeheartedly join. AFL-CIO may not have got over its shameful past - couldn't that be rectified though? The Association of American University Professors is more of a professional organisation than a trade union, and its usefulness might be confined to tenured professors. But we have also heard of pop-up unions of casualised staff, showing that there is still a need for organised solidarity. > > I would be very interested in hearing from anyone on this list who isn't a member of any such organisation at all and would like to explain why. > > Regards > > Judith > > > ________________________________ > From: A forum for critical and radical geographers [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Andrew Kythreotis [[log in to unmask]] > Sent: 01 December 2016 14:21 > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Our post-truth world or the first step to McCarthyism? > > Now this is something worth discussing… > > http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/30/opinion/i-am-a-dangerous-professor.html?smid=fb-share&_r=1<redir.aspx?REF=A_3EEIXZC86py8H2u2xaZVtWfljlaxgqkzP4QqUJ1j6qrNvQ-BnUCAFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lm55dGltZXMuY29tLzIwMTYvMTEvMzAvb3Bpbmlvbi9pLWFtLWEtZGFuZ2Vyb3VzLXByb2Zlc3Nvci5odG1sP3NtaWQ9ZmItc2hhcmUmX3I9MQ..> > > > Dr Andrew P. Kythreotis > > Lecturer/Cardiff Fellow > Postgraduate Research Admissions Tutor > ESRC Wales DTP Environmental Planning Pathway Leader > Research Fellow Affiliate, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research: http://www.tyndall.ac.uk/people/andrew-kythreotis<redir.aspx?REF=wg4lZTEu0MfSCEZ__ESjQvR6JQQXGyvbxhRXfdTkC0aqrNvQ-BnUCAFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnR5bmRhbGwuYWMudWsvcGVvcGxlL2FuZHJldy1reXRocmVvdGlz> > > Room 2.51 > Cardiff School of Geography and Planning > Cardiff University > Glamorgan Building > King Edward VII Avenue > Cardiff CF10 3WA > Wales, UK > > Tel: +44(0)29 208 76063 > Fax: +44 (0)29 208 74845 > [log in to unmask] > http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/geography-planning<redir.aspx?REF=y2pYqUenmIJd8PDhqOvGgZMaQxRAx4MO12pW1iQBDVqqrNvQ-BnUCAFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmNhcmRpZmYuYWMudWsvZ2VvZ3JhcGh5LXBsYW5uaW5n> > Twitter (personal): @SBPCardiff > Twitter (school): @CUGeogPlan > > Associate Editor, Regional Studies, Regional Science. See: www.tandfonline.com/rsrs<redir.aspx?REF=AC7CBkgm3DiSUbBsq4bDL7p6hBoIbE07WRn6F3mG5rWqrNvQ-BnUCAFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnRhbmRmb25saW5lLmNvbS9yc3Jz> > > Ysgol Daearyddiaeth a Chynllunio > Prifysgol Caerdydd > Adeilad Morgannwg > Rhodfa Brenin Edward VII > Caerdydd CF10 3WA > Cymru, Y Deyrnas Gyfunol > Ffon +44(0)29 208 76063 > > Recent publications > Flynn, A, Kythreotis, AP & Netherwood, A (forthcoming) Climate Change Adaptation in Wales: Much Ado About Nothing? The Environmental Scientist. > > Mercer, TG, Kythreotis, AP et al. (forthcoming) The use of educational games to influence sustainable behaviour. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. > > Kythreotis, AP & Bristow, GI (2016) The ‘resilience trap’? Exploring the utility of resilience for climate change adaptation in UK city-regions. Regional Studies. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00343404.2016.1200719<redir.aspx?REF=EhG0arQkKTo2GzEG_2epl2EKJ2I_7vHBeBdMxT08ZPyqrNvQ-BnUCAFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnRhbmRmb25saW5lLmNvbS9kb2kvZnVsbC8xMC4xMDgwLzAwMzQzNDA0LjIwMTYuMTIwMDcxOQ..> > > Lawrence, N et al. (2016) The Evidence Information Service as a new platform for supporting evidence-based policy: A consultation of UK parliamentarians. Evidence & Policy. Open Access at: > http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/tpp/ep/pre-prints/content-PP_EVIDPOL-D-15-00038R2<redir.aspx?REF=_vK7WCIfb1sjq4q5HKPKO6w1RiriE3eVF9_Rw1viv46qrNvQ-BnUCAFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmluZ2VudGFjb25uZWN0LmNvbS9jb250ZW50L3RwcC9lcC9wcmUtcHJpbnRzL2NvbnRlbnQtUFBfRVZJRFBPTC1ELTE1LTAwMDM4UjI.> > > > > > > ___________________________________________________________ > This email has been scanned by MessageLabs' Email Security System > on behalf of the University of Brighton. For more information see: > https://staff.brighton.ac.uk/is/computing/Pages/Email/spam.aspx > > ___________________________________________________________ > This email has been scanned by MessageLabs' Email Security System > on behalf of the University of Brighton. For more information see: > https://staff.brighton.ac.uk/is/computing/Pages/Email/spam.aspx