SCHOOL FOR WORKERS - Key Persons
JD, Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology, L.L.M. University of Arkansas, B.A. in Economics. Alexia previously worked as Chief Counsel to SEIU Local 1 in Chicago, Illinois, and Associate General Counsel at IUOE Local 150 before joining the School for Workers in 2014. In addition to providing labor education programming, Alexia teaches Labor Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School, as well as a Labor and Employment Law survey course. Alexia has also taught Labor Relations at UW-Madison School of Business and Collective Bargaining at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
She is involved in analyzing and contributing to national labor policy through her publications and amicus curiae brief writing before the National Labor Relations Board, and in submitted federal rulemaking comments. She also currently studies labor standards in U.S. agriculture and the food system and has engaged in applied research involving agricultural workers and other essential workers. While always willing to customize courses for local unions or other advocacy groups, Alexia currently offers programs in labor and employment law, wage and hour claims, union organizing campaigns, contract negotiations and interpretation, grievance arbitration, hearings before the NLRB, internal union governance, women's leadership, employment discrimination, workers' compensation and workplace related immigration issues.
Job Titles:
- Marketing and Engagement Manager
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Our faculty and staff do their best to stay in touch with you by mail, email, phone, and whenever we run into you in a class, union, or labor council meeting. But sometimes that's not enough, and we'd like to hear from you. Send us a question or a comment, or request to be added to our mailing lists by completing the form below.
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- Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor
Armando Ibarra is a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in the School for Workers |Department of Labor Education and holds a joint appointment with Chican@ and Latin@ Studies at the University of Wisconsin Madison. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Irvine, and joined the UW in January 2011. Ibarra also holds a Master's in Public Administration, and a B.A. in Sociology and Spanish. His research and fields of specialization are Political Economy, working communities of Latin American descent in the U.S., social movements, community development, international labor migration, community-based participatory applied, and action research. Prof. Ibarra is an acclaimed public intellectual who has garnered much attention for his work from peers and professional associations. His research is published in traditional peer-reviewed journal and books, as well as applied and action research reports, and popular news media.
Job Titles:
- Education for Workplace Democracy.
BA in History, MA in Political Science, Professional Trainer and Change Leadership certifications. Before joining the faculty, Don worked as an organizer, representative, negotiator, business agent, communications director, and education director for unions such as the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (UE), the hotel workers union (HERE), and the Service Employees' international Union (SEIU). He has also taught labor and employment relations at the University of New Hampshire, the University of Illinois, and Indiana University, and has served as a shop steward and local union president. He has extensive experience in union leadership development, internal organizing, strategic planning, and building organizational capacity, as well as in online education. He is a nationally recognized expert on the constitutional rights of public employees and developed the website garrityrights.org.
BA in English and Environmental Studies from Illinois Wesleyan University; MS and PhD in English Studies from Illinois State University. As a labor educator and activist, Dr. Wills has worked on education programs, internal organizing, cross-border solidarity, and building worker power during labor disputes for a variety of workers and their unions, from steelworkers to teachers and miners to flight attendants. She offers courses in labor history, globalization, labor film, union leadership, and other topics, both in-person and online. Her research focuses on promoting diversity and equality in the labor movement; addressing COVID workplace changes; advocating for the needs of women workers; and creating transnational alliances with workers and unions that bring people together across borders.
Job Titles:
- Program and Office Manager
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Liz provides program and administrative support for School for Workers. She helps the department with the preparation and delivery of programs, conferences, workshops, and seminars. With over 10 years of administrative, customer service, and program support experience, Liz provides effective, efficient, and client-friendly operations for School for Workers. In addition, Liz is bilingual (Spanish and English) and can assist anyone that may need that accommodation. In her spare time she enjoys Latin dancing, going to music concerts and festivals, discovering new music, and spending time with her family.
BA in Political Science from the University of Buenos Aires, MS and PhD in Sociology from University of Oregon. As a researcher, teacher and activist, Dr. Loustaunau has led multiple research projects focusing on job quality, public policy, and collective organizing. Her work has been published in Labor Studies Journal, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, and Sociological Perspectives. She has also been a Vice President at Large at the American Federation of Teachers-Oregon, Vice President of Political Education at the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation, among other leadership positions in the labor movement. Her current research focuses on the impacts of COVID-19 on migrant workers in food processing, and their experiences of resistance and collective action.
BS in Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; MS and PhD in Workforce Education & Development, SIU Carbondale. Michael joined the School for Workers after completing his graduate degrees and post-doctorate fellowship and brings diverse management and engineering experience from a wide variety of industries, including basic steel, machining, metal fabrication, and plastics manufacturing. In addition to steward, bargaining, financial officer, and leadership courses, Michael's teaching interests include industrial engineering topics such as time study, production standards, lean production, job evaluation, and incentive & gainsharing pay systems. He also assists unions to be more effective in utilizing technology, including teaching computer skills and internet research.
On campus, Michael has taught Labor-Management Relations for the Wisconsin School of Business for the last decade. In 2018 he was honored as a University of Wisconsin System Teaching Scholar, and in 2019 became a fellow in the UW-Madison Teaching Academy for demonstrating excellence in teaching and a commitment to improving the quality of teaching and learning across campus. He serves on the executive committees of both the Teaching Academy and Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most prestigious interdisciplinary honor society for students in the top 10% of their class.