[act-ma] (Wed, ) 2/11 Randy Albelda and Joey Mokos on "Social Immobility and Democracy" at Cambridge Forum

[director at cambridgeforum.org]

CAMBRIDGE FORUM
3 Church Street ● Cambridge, MA 02138
617-495-2727
email: director at cambridgeforum.org
www.cambridgeforum.org

/RELEASE       /                                                                                 
FEBRUARY 2, 2015

SOCIAL IMMOBILITY AND CIVIC PARTICIPATION: THE HEALTH OF DEMOCRACY

On WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015  AT 7:00 P.M. Cambridge Forum hosts
economist RANDY ALBELDA in talking with labor organizer JOEY MOKOS about
the impact of increased social immobility in the United States on the
health of democracy.  Americans have long resisted the notion that class
plays a role in our society, but current research undercuts that idea.  Do
we still believe that any child in America could grow up to be President of
the United States?  Polls show that Americans no longer regularly expect
to do better than their parents' generation.  Albelda examines the role
that contemporary labor conditions have played in limiting Americans’
expectations, while Mokos outlines some of the ways that the modern labor
movement is responding to changes in working conditions, with a particular
focus on healthcare.  What role does social mobility play in a healthy
democracy?  What role does organizing play in creating social mobility?

RANDY ALBELDA is professor of economics and senior research fellow at the
Center for Social Policy at University of Massachusetts Boston.  She has
worked as research director of the Massachusetts State Senate’s Taxation
Committee and the legislature’s Special Commission on Tax Reform. A labor
economist, her research and teaching cover a broad range of economic
policies affecting low-income women and families. In addition to many
academic journal articles and policy reports, she is coauthor of the books,
/Glass Ceilings and Bottomless Pits: Women’s Work, Women’s Poverty;
Unlevel Playing Fields: Understanding Wage Inequality and Wage
Discrimination;/ and /The War on the Poor: A Defense Manual/. Albelda
co-led the Bridging the Gaps project bringing together researchers and
advocates from nine states and Washington, DC to examine the gaps between
basic needs and earnings in light of welfare reform in the 1990s.  In 2012
Albelda co-authored the report, “How Youth Are Put At Risk by Parents'
Low-wage Work,” exploring the impact of poverty on social mobility across
generations.

JOEY MOKOS graduated from the Yale Divinity School and began his career as
a labor organizer after completing a summer inter-faith internship working
for worker justice. Mokos is currently Regional Director for Healthcare
Delivery for UNITE/HERE. He has participated in labor actions throughout
New England, working particularly with service sector employees.

This program is funded in part by MassHumanities, which receives support
from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is an affiliate of the National
Endowment for the Humanities.

The program is free and open to the public. Cambridge Forum is recorded and
edited for public radio broadcast. Edited podcasts are available, and
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Cambridge Forum
3 Church Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-495-2727
www.cambridgeforum.org