Dr. Leon Fink, Professor of Labor History at the University of Chicago, delivers a presentation entitled, Cooperation and cash: global seafarers and the ‘Race to the bottom’ in the Twenty-First Century, at the Michigan State University Museum. Fink discusses the history of the merchant seamen from 1812 to the present and describes how merchant marine employment functioned in the past and after union concentration in the post-WWII era. He also describes dramatic changes in the global shipping industry and the effect it has had on seaman's unions, the development of maritime labor law, and international treaties. He closes by outlining the efforts of the International Trade Federation to champion a global collective bargaining system for seafarers and takes questions from the audience. Fink is introduced by Professor John P. Beck, Associate Director, Michigan State University School of Human Resources and Labor Relations. Part of the "Our Daily Work/Our Daily Lives" Brown Bag series sponsored by the MSU School of Human Resources and Labor Relations and the MSU Museum.
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