March Luncheon

Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Woman’s National Democratic Club

with
Philip Dine
Journalist and author of
State of the Unions: How Labor Can Strengthen the Middle Class,
Improve Our Economy, and Regain Political Influence

Note: We had originally scheduled Philip Dine to speak on January 28. Unfortunately, weather forced us to cancel that luncheon program. We are extremely pleased to announce that Phil has agreed to talk to us about his diagnoses and remedies for organized labor on Wednesday, March 25.

You may have seen or heard Philip Dine recently on CBS News, CNN, or NPR discussing his book, which delves into the decline of American labor unions, explores how their troubles have had a powerful effect on our way of life and our political landscape, and suggests how Labor could revitalize itself.

The relevance of his book is two-fold: it looks at what Labor typically does – and what it should do – during elections and it examines how Labor can appeal to working-class voters who once again were swing voters in key states. Their role is all the more important given the work cut out for incoming President Barack Obama and his need to continue to appeal to the values of these pivotal voters. He will address some of the issues that Labor needs to address to make itself more relevant to the public and communicate better about the value that unions can bring to America’s workers.

Dine is a Washington-based journalist who writes one of the country’s only weekly labor columns, which appears in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He was the 2008 winner of the prestigious Lewis Award for Exemplary Journalism.   Click here for a program flyer in Word to post or hand out to others.  Click here for a pdf version of the program flyer to post or hand out to others.