Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate

One of the themes of Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate is work. More specifically the theme is dead-end work, how there is so much of this in the United States. Work has always been something that has interested me; I taught about, and for years I scrutinized my own labor. Now for a few months, I once again have a regular job, teaching in the Labor Studies Department at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Teaching a large undergraduate class has brought back memories of my thirty-two years of doing this at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. Memories by no means mainly positive. I was asked by a colleague in the department to give a public lecture, which I will do next week. I decided to speak about work and the lack of it) in our economic system. I have titled it The Injuries of Class. It parallels and explores more deeply some of the material in the first two chapters of the book. Here it is: Read More