Conference looks at work issues in the southern U.S.

By Linda Myers

The history of labor in the U.S. South begins in its cotton fields and mills, with workers laboring under harsh conditions at exploitatively low wages. "What other job? This is the only job," said Sally Field in the title role of the film "Norma Rae," based on a true story about Crystal Lee Sutton, a home-grown union organizer at a J.P. Stevens plant in a small southern mill town in the 1970s.

Today improved working conditions through the growth of such textile workers' unions as UNITE, countered by weakened labor laws, the shift in manufacturing jobs overseas and the growth in the service sector are among the forces shaping labor in the southern United States.

The southern U.S. labor picture, then and now, and related topics will be addressed at Cornell's first Southern Labor Conference Wednesday, April 16, in PepsiCo Auditorium in 305 Ives Hall on campus. The event, which starts at 4:30 p.m., features a keynote talk by Georgia's labor commissioner, panel discussions by faculty from Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR), a student debate and breakout presentations by student groups, as well as a complimentary picnic featuring down-home Southern cooking and a giveaway of more than 50 door prizes. The event is free and open to the public.

Key organizers are the Southern Organization, a Cornell student group interested in culture, social and political issues in the U.S. South, and the ILR School. The event also is supported by the departments of Economics, History and Government, the American Studies Program and a range of student groups.

Here is an overview of the schedule and participants:

Following the invocation by Kenneth Clark, director of Cornell United Religious Work, and opening words by Edward Lawler, dean of the ILR School, the event begins with a panel presentation at 4:45 p.m. on facets of the Southern labor picture. Topics and speakers are: "Rural Southern Labor Markets: Human Resource Issues of Past, Present, and Future," Professor Vernon Briggs Jr.; "Bridging Regionalism: Capital Mobility in a Non-Union South," Assistant Professor Jefferson Cowie; "Freedom of Association: The Evolution of Workers' Rights in the South," senior lecturer Lance Compa; "Cotton, Migration and the Urban Movement: The Legacy of the 1930s and '40s," Professor Nick Salvatore; and "Southern Labor Boards: A Necessary Tool for Conflict Resolution?" Associate Professor Risa Lieberwitz.

At 6 p.m. Michael Thurmond, commissioner of the Department of Labor of the State of Georgia, will deliver the keynote talk. The first black American elected to his current post, Thurmond is viewed by political observers as a potential gubernatorial candidate in Georgia.

At 7:05 p.m. a debate on contemporary U.S. labor issues will take place between students Michael Akavan, president of the Cornell Democrats, and Ryan Horn, president of the Cornell Republicans, moderated by ILR Associate Dean Robert Smith.

Other highlights include a message from Vice Provost Robert Harris at 6:40 p.m.; a picnic dinner featuring Southern culinary specialties, served at 6:50 p.m., hosted by the Southern Organization and open and free to all attendees; and breakout presentations at 7:30 p.m. by these student groups, on their activities: Black Southern Students Alliance (BSSA); La Asociación Latina (LAL); Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MECHA); Industrial and Labor Relations Student Government Association (ILR-SGA); Cornell Organization for Labor Action (COLA); and the Southern Organization at Cornell.