West Los Angeles College, with the support of the Dolores Huerta Labor Institute, has added a new course exploring the social and political history of working people in California through films, literature and poetry.
The course, “English 275: California Literature in the California Labor Movement,” is offered online and begins on Tuesday, Sept. 2, the day after Labor Day.
“This course is particularly relevant in today’s environment,” said faculty member Bruce Lebedoff Anders.
“The labor movement in California continues to face enormous obstacles.”
Prof. Anders was referring to Gov. Schwarzenegger’s recent controversial decision against state workers in the midst of the annual stalemate with the legislature over the fiscal year budget.
What of the Undocumented?
Some10,000 part-time and temporary state workers were fired, and the governor ordered the state controller to reduce the pay of others to the Federal minimum.
Another problem, Prof. Anders said, is the challenge faced by the inclusion and/or exclusion of undocumented workers.
The Dolores Huerta Labor Institute, which aided in the development of the course, is named after United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta.
Ms. Huerta revolutionized the labor movement in the 1960s, using tactics of non-violence, and ultimately dedicating her life to the struggle for justice, dignity and a decent standard of living for farmworkers, whom she said were horribly exploited. T
Today, she is president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation
West L.A. is a community college on Overland, two blocks south of Jefferson.
For information on West, visit www.wlac.edu. For information on the course, contact Prof. Anders at 310.287.4301.