posts and bio John McKerley

John McKerley is an independent oral historian, archivist, and documentarian based in Iowa. His publications, photographs, and audio projects focus on struggles around labor, civil, and human rights, with an emphasis on the US South and Midwest. Between 2013 and 2023, he served as oral historian for the Iowa Labor History Oral Project (ILHOP) at the University of Iowa Labor Center. More information about his work can be found on his website, The Extra Board (www.theextraboard.com).

Website

theextraboard.com

A Seat at the Table – Update Part 3

by John McKerley on November 24, 2023

This is the third in a series that updates and extends John McKerley’s essay in the current issue of Labor: Studies in Working Class History, which is freely available for three months, thanks to Duke University Press. The first post is here.

A Seat at the Table – Update Part 2

by John McKerley on October 23, 2023

This is the second in a series that updates and extends John McKerley’s essay in the current issue of Labor: Studies in Working Class History, which is freely available for three months, thanks to Duke University Press. The first post is here.

A Seat at the Table: New Voices from the Struggle to Organize Young, Service-Sector Workers in the US

by John McKerley on October 12, 2023

This is the first in a series that updates and extends John McKerley’s essay in the current issue of Labor: Studies in Working Class History, which has been made freely available for three months, thanks to Duke University Press.

Organizing within the Academy: The Campaign to Organize Graduate Students Turns Twenty

by John McKerley on May 4, 2016

April 16, 2016, was a day for celebration. It marked the twentieth anniversary of the union certification election that transformed a home-grown organizing campaign among graduate employees at the University of Iowa (UI)—the Campaign to Organize Graduate Students (COGS)—into Local 896 of the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE).

LAWCHA

The Labor and Working-Class History Association