Fordham Urban Law Journal
Cooper-Walsh Colloquium presents

Charting the Future of Labor In Urban Centers:
Legal Innovations and Lessons Learned from Urban Organizing Movements

Friday, October 18, 2024
9:00 - 9:45 a.m. EST | check-in
9:45 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. EST | program

In-person and on Zoom
Fordham Law School
Costantino Room, Second Floor
150 West 62nd Street
New York, NY 10023

About the Program

The urban landscape is witnessing a surge of efforts to empower workers, driven by innovative legal strategies and grassroots advocacy efforts. In this colloquium, we will take a holistic look at the recent movements to empower workers.

Throughout the day, scholars, practitioners, and organizers will participate in panel discussions, providing firsthand insights into the challenges, successes, and aspirations of the organizing movements. They will delve into the challenges faced by workers in urban centers and the legal innovations and strategies employed by unions, legislatures, and grassroots organizers. This will include union efforts such as the Starbucks workers campaign and legislative efforts to enact a minimum wage law for NYC delivery drivers. Additionally, we will explore the role of solidarity economy movements such as worker cooperatives as a model for economic democracy and worker empowerment.

This colloquium aims to chart a path forward for labor advocacy and urban justice, drawing lessons from the frontlines of contemporary organizing movements and exploring the potential for legal and organizational innovation to drive positive social change in our cities.

Confirmed Topics and Speakers

Local Legislation and Worker Empowerment
Prof. Jennifer Gordon, John D. Feerick Chair, Professor of Law, Fordham Law School (Moderator)

Terri Gerstein, Director, NYU Wagner Labor Initiative, NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service

LiJia Gong, Policy and Legal Director, Local Progress

Ligia M. Guallpa, Co-Executive Director, Workers Justice Project

Elizabeth Wagoner, Deputy Commissioner - Office of Labor Policy & Standards, NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection

Andrew Wolf, Assistant Professor of Global Labor & Work (GLW), Cornell University’s School of Industrial & Labor Relations

Recent Union Victories, Legal Hurdles, and Challenges to Come
Prof. James J. Brudney, Joseph Crowley Chair in Labor and Employment Law, Fordham Law School (Moderator)

Zoe Tucker, Staff Attorney, UNITE HERE Local 11

Jeremy Blasi, Lecturer in Law, UCLA School of Law

Susan Cameron, Associate General Counsel, 32BJ SEIU

Wilma B. Liebman, Former Chairman and Member, NLRB; Adjunct Professor, NYU School of Law

Worker Cooperatives: A Path to Economic Democracy 
Prof. Gowri Krishna, Clinical Professor of Law, Fordham Law School (Moderator)

Jessica Gordon-Nembhard, Professor of Community Justice and Social Economic Development - Department of Africana Studies, John Jay College

Julian M. Hill, Assistant Professor of Law at Georgia State University College of Law; Founding Co-Director, Community Development & Entrepreneurship Law Clinic (“CDELC”)

Saduf Syal, Coordinating Director, New York City Network of Worker Cooperatives

Renee Hatcher, Director, Community Enterprise & Solidarity Economy Clinic; Assistant Professor of Law, University of Illinois Chicago Law School

CLE credits are pending in accordance with the requirements of the New York and New Jersey State CLE Boards for a maximum of 4.5 transitional and nontransitional credits.

For Our Profession, Society, and World