
Elaine Bernard is the former executive director of the
Labor and Worklife Program
The Labor and Worklife Program (LWP) at Harvard Law School is described as "Harvard University's forum for research and teaching on the world of work and its implications for society." The LWP grew out of the Harvard Trade Union Program (HTUP), an ...
at
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
and a member of the
Democratic Socialists of America
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a political organization in the United States and the country's largest Socialism, socialist organization. Sitting on the Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left of the politic ...
. She is also a member of the interim consultative committee of the International Organization for a Participatory Society which she describes as offering "an opportunity to reach across borders, time zones, organizations, communities, and individual interests and grow solidarity".
Early life and education
A
high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
drop-out who was able to go to university without finishing High School, Bernard got a job as a service worker at
Carleton University
Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...
in
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, Canada. She began taking classes from 1971 to 1973. In 1976, she graduated with a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
from the
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...
in
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
.
She obtained a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
in history from the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...
in 1979, and a
Ph.D. from
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...
in
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
in 1988.
Career
While working on her doctorate, Bernard worked as a labor historian for the
Telecommunications Workers Union in 1980. She left this position in 1982. From 1984 to 1986, Bernard was a labor historian for the Brewery, Winery and Distillery Workers Union (now part of the British Columbia Government and Service Employees' Union).
During her studies at Simon Fraser, Bernard became director of the Labour Program in the university's Continuing Studies division. She continued in this role from 1983 to 1989.
In the fall of 1989, Bernard became executive director of the Harvard Trade Union Program (now part of the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School).
Research interests
Bernard's research interests are widespread and varied. Her writings often focus on women and the traditionally female jobs, to which she brings a feminist and highly
class
Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...
-conscious theoretical perspective. She continues to focus on workers in the telecommunications industry, and the role technological change plays in altering work. In the last several years, she has publicly discussed how advancing technology will change how labor unions function (especially in regard to member-to-member and union-member communication and organizing).
Bernard's primary reputation, however, is as public speaker. She is provocative and blunt, and has been known to pleasantly shock audiences with her off-color language. Bernard often takes the American labor movement to task for not being aggressive enough in pushing its agenda, too willing to couch its opinions and conclusions in objective language, and for not engaging in strategic thinking. As Bernard herself has stated, her prescription is for the American labor movement "to be bold, to be explicit, be as loyal to labor as the
business school is to business. Be audacious!"
[Elaine Bernard, "The Labor Movement and Social Change," speech given before "The New Economy and Union Responses," Institute for Labor and Employment, University of California, Los Angeles. March 9, 2001]
http://www.iir.ucla.edu/research/march_conf/pdf/bernard.pdf
Such statements, as well as her skills as an orator, have made her much sought-after as a panelist and public speaker.
Memberships and awards
Bernard is a member of the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW), the
Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST), the
Labor and Employment Relations Association
The Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA) was founded in 1947 as the Industrial Relations Research Association. LERA is an organization for professionals in industrial relations and human resources. Headquartered at the School of Lab ...
, and the
United Association for Labor Education.
From 1993 to 1995, she was a trustee of the
George Meany Center for Labor Studies.
She is a member of the editorial boards of ''
WorkingUSA'' and ''
New Labor Forum'' and is a sponsor of ''
New Politics''.
She is a member of the
National Writers Union
National Writers Union (NWU) is a trade union in the United States for freelance and contract writers founded on 19 November 1981. NWU is affiliated with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the International Authors Forum (IAF), a ...
, Local 1981,
United Auto Workers
The United Auto Workers (UAW), fully named International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and sou ...
,
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...
.
Selected published works
Solely authored books and articles
* "A University at War: Japanese Canadians at UBC During WWII" ''BC Studies'', no. 35, Autumn 1977.
*''The Long Distance Feeling: A History of the Telecommunications Workers Union.'' Vancouver, B.C.: New Star Books, 1982.
*''Technological Change and Skills Development.'' New York: Hyperion Books, 1991.
*''Working Lives: Vancouver 1886-1986.'' Vancouver, B.C.: New Star Books, 1985.
Solely authored chapters
*"The Future of Labour." In ''After Bennett: A New Politics for British Columbia.'' Warren Magnusson, Charles Coyle, R. B. J. Walker, and John Demarco, eds. Vancouver, B.C.: New Star Books, 1986.
*"How Jobs are Changing, Where Jobs are Going, Who Controls Technology." In ''Union Strategies For a High Tech Era.'' Los Angeles: Institute of Industrial Relations, UCLA, 1989.
*"Labor and Politics in the U.S. and Canada." In ''Labor in a Global Economy: Perspectives from the U.S. and Canada.'' Steven Hecker and Margaret Hallock, eds. Eugene: University of Oregon Books, 1991.
*"A Labor Perspective on the Americans with Disabilities Act." In ''Arbitration 1993: Arbitration and the Changing World of Work.'' Washington, D.C.: BNA Books, 1994.
*"Last Back: Folklore and the Telephone Operators in the 1919 Vancouver General Strike." In ''Not Just Pin Money: Selected essays on the history of women's work in British Columbia.'' Barbara Latham and Roberta Pazdro, eds. Victoria, B.C.: Camosun College, 1984.
*"Solidarity and Democracy: Creating Democratic Communities in the Workplace." In ''The New Labor Movement for the New Century.'' Gregory Mantsios, ed. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1998.
Co-authored articles
*Bernard, Elaine and Schenk, Christopher. "Social Unionism: Labor as a Political Force." ''Social Policy.'' 23:1 (Summer 1992).
*Bernard, Elaine and Shnaid, Sid. "Social Unionism and Restructuring." ''New Labor Forum.'' Fall 1997.
*Bernard, Elaine and John Trumpbour, "Unions and Latinos: Mutual Transformation" in Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco and Mariela M. Páez, eds.,''Latinos Remaking America'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002).
Notes
External links
Labor and Worklife Program, Harvard Law School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, Elaine
20th-century Canadian historians
Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from Massachusetts
American socialist feminists
Historians of Canada
University of Alberta alumni
Simon Fraser University alumni
University of British Columbia Faculty of Arts alumni
Labor historians
Harvard Law School faculty
National Labor College people
Canadian expatriate academics in the United States
21st-century Canadian historians
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Canadian women historians
American women legal scholars
American legal scholars