U.VA. PROFESSORS HAVE IMPORTANT ROLE IN NATIONAL
"TEACH-IN" TO HELP BOOST AMERICAN LABOR MOVEMENT 

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Sept. 12 -- Two University of Virginia
humanities scholars are playing key roles in what will be an
historic event in New York in October designed to help bring about a
deep change in the nation's mood and direction.
	The occasion will be a national "teach-in" Oct. 3-4 at
Columbia University at which leading American thinkers and writers
will join top trade-union officials to help strengthen the growing
bonds between the labor movement, the academic community and a new
generation of students and young people.
	U.Va. humanities professor Richard Rorty, one of America's
best known philosophers, will share the podium with AFL-CIO
president John Sweeney, feminist author Betty Friedan, Harvard
theologian Cornell West, Columbia historian Eric Foner and Columbia
law professor Patricia Williams at the convocation's opening
session. U.Va. history professor Nelson Lichtenstein, a noted labor
historian, is co-chair and has been a chief organizer of the event,
expected to draw participants from all over the country.
	"The Fight for America's Future: A Teach-In With the Labor
Movement" will address critical questions of economic, racial and
gender inequality and "the political powerlessness that troubles
millions of Americans," Lichtenstein said. "We have had a tremendous
amount of enthusiasm about this program. We hope to make a positive
statement about where America could be headed."
	A healthy, democratic labor movement in America has
traditionally worked in the best
interests of the entire county by promoting general economic
fairness and well-being, Lichtenstein said. And the U.S. labor
movement is revitalizing itself and attempting to organize many of
the lowest-paid, least powerful American workers. To help bring
about a fundamental shift in the nation's priorities, the organizers
of the 1960s-style teach-in hope to further an alliance between the
newly vigorous labor movement and the academic and intellectual
communities. A main aim is to introduce a new generation of students
to the labor movement and to help rejuvenate the labor movement with
the new perspectives of young people. 
	The teach-in is historic for two reasons, Lichtenstein said.
It marks the first time since the 1930s that labor unions and
intellectuals have worked together as allies and the first time
since before the Vietnam War-era that American labor has welcomed
student involvement in organizing workers and generating ideas. The
teach-in has been endorsed by numerous eminent scholars and writers
from around the country. 
	The two-day program will feature workshops on such subjects
as globalization and the American standard of living; race and
wages; the political future of labor; immigration and labor; student
involvement; struggling families; and class politics, among other
topics. Each panel will have a labor representative as well as
academic experts and is designed to represent diverse groups and
points of view. 
	The New York teach-in is open to all with no registration or
fee required. Regional teach ins are also planned for the fall
around the country.
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September 11, 1996
	Nelson Lichtenstein may be reached at (804) 924-6408
(office) or (804) 295-6769 (home).