Opening Plenary: The State of the Illinois Workforce Pre- and Post-Pandemic

Jamie McCallum Related Seminars and Products

Associate Professor of Sociology

Middlebury College

Jamie McCallum is Associate professor of sociology at Middlebury College. His research focuses on labor and work issues around the globe. His work has been featured in scholarly social science outlets, medical journals, as well as popular places like the New York Times, The New Yorker, Washington Post, The Nation, and Jacobin. His third book, Essential: How the Pandemic Transformed the Long Fight for Worker Justice, was published by Basic Books in late 2022. He’s also a volunteer firefighter in Weybridge, VT.

Mike Newman Related Seminars and Products

Deputy Director

AFSCME Council 31

Mike Newman is the Deputy Director of AFSCME Council 31 and an AFSCME International Vice President. He is also a Vice President of the Illinois AFL-CIO. Newman joined Council 31 as Legislative Director in 1982, playing an important role in the passage of public sector collective bargaining laws.

AFSCME Council 31 represents more than 90,000 active and retired employees of state, county and city governments, state universities, local school districts and nonprofit agencies across Illinois.  Newman has been involved in every facet of the union’s work, including overseeing the negotiation and administration of hundreds of collective bargaining agreements and supervising the union’s legal and contract administration teams.

Newman previously taught in the Labor Education Program at the University of Illinois where he also earned a Master of Labor and Industrial Relations degree. Prior to that, Newman was a union organizer in the garment industry in the Southeastern United States. 

Erin O'Boyle Related Seminars and Products

Deputy Director, Labor Relations

Illinois Department of Central Management Services

Erin O'Boyle enlisted in the United States Navy after high school. She served for six years and was stationed aboard the U.S.S. Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) as a nuclear machinist mate. After her service was completed, she earned her bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Illinois. After a short stint in private practice, she spent two and a half years at the Office of the Illinois Attorney General where she focused on prisoner litigation, practicing primarily in federal court. She accepted a position with CMS as a labor attorney and spent six years at CMS Labor, ultimately rising to the position of Deputy General Counsel of Labor Relations. After 18 months in that role, she accepted a position in the labor offices of Ameren Illinois. After two years with Ameren Illinois, she returned to CMS in the role of Deputy Director of CMS in December 2020.