April 15, 2008

Film analyzes shift in jobs from U.S. to Mexico

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill. — A film examining issues of "immigration, factory flight and the organized demand for economic justice" is set for later this week at the Southern Illinois University School of Law.

The film, "Morristown: In the Air and Sun," will be shown at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, April 17, in the law school auditorium. A discussion with Fran Ansley, principal humanities adviser to filmmaker Anne Lewis, follows the film.

Prior to the film, a "Know your Labor and Employment Law Rights" presentation is at 5:30 p.m. in the law school's auditorium. The presentation will include discussions on discrimination, sexual harassment and the Family Medical Leave Act, said Thomas A. Gatheman, a third-year law student and president of the law school's Employment & Labor Law Association registered student organization.

Admission to all of the events is free.

According to filmmaker Anne Lewis' Web site, the film, shot over an eight-year period in eastern Tennessee, interior Mexico, and Ciudad Juarez, "is a working-class response to globalization."

The film analyzes the shifts in jobs from the United States to Mexico, Gatheman said. He hopes the film and discussion provide a broader view of the issue, and shows that both Mexicans and Americans are victims in the job shift, he said.

The SIU School of Law Employment & Labor Law Association, the Hispanic Law Student Association, the Asian American Law Student Association, the Black Law Student Association, Law School Democrats, and the St. Louis-based employment and labor law firm of Schuchat, Cook & Werner, which has an office in Carterville, are sponsoring the event.

Contact Gatheman at gatheman@siu.edu for more information.