Debra Bernhardt Labor Journalism Prize–Call for Entries!

Debra Bernhardt (Photograph by Jane Latour, 1995)

The New York Labor History Association is pleased to announce this Call for Entries for the First Annual Debra E. Bernhardt Labor Journalism Prize. The deadline for entries is Tuesday, September 1, 2015.

The Bernhardt Prize is an award of $500 given to an article or series of articles that furthers the understanding of the history of working people.  The work should be published – in print or online – in a union or workers’ center publication or by an independent journalist.

By sponsoring this award we hope to inspire more great writing for a general audience about the history of work, workers, and their organizations.

The award is co-sponsored by LaborArts; Metro New York Labor Communications Council; the NYC Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO; and the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at NYU’s  Tamiment Library.

The winner will be announced at the Tamiment Library on October 15, 2015, during a forum about the history of labor journalism.

We are guided by the vision of the late Debra E. Bernhardt, who worked in so many different realms to share the hidden histories of working people.  As head of the Wagner Labor Archives she reached out to an astonishing number of people and organizations, to document undocumented stories and unrecognized contributions, and to make links between past and present.

The prize will be given to insightful work that contributes to the understanding of labor history; shows creativity; demonstrates excellence in writing; and adheres to the highest journalistic standards of accuracy.

The work may be an article or a series of articles, published in a labor or a workers’ center publication or by an independent journalist – in print or online – between January 2014 and August 30, 2015.

Entries should include a cover sheet with name of the author and the place and date of publication. Six copies of each article (with cover sheet) should be submitted, to: New York Labor History Association, Tamiment Library, 10th Floor Bobst Library NYU, 70 Washington Square South, New York NY 10012. Questions? Contact info@LaborArts.org or 212 998-2637.

New Wertheimer and Bellush Prizes Awarded

NYLHA is proud to announce our winners of the Bernard Bellush and Barbara Wertheimer Prizes for 2014.  The Wertheimer Prize goes to Connor Kenaston of Yale University (faculty advisor John Faragher), “If the Men Don’t Fight, the Women Will’: Women and Gender Roles in the West Virginia Mine Wars,” and Kathryn Tokle of the University of Montana (faculty advisor Anya Jabour), “In the Wake of Disaster and Disease: Widowhood in Butte, America, 1900-1920.”  The Bellush Prize goes to Trish Kahle of the University of Chicago, for “The Graveyard Shift: Energy Industry Reorganization and Rank and File Rebellion in the UMWA, 1963-1973.”  Abstracts for the Wertheimer essays are available here, and an abstract for the Bellush essay is available here.

Congratulations to all the winners!