Union Spaces in Jeopardy: Labor Exchanges and Workers’ Halls from the 19th Century to the Present. History, Heritage, and Contemporary Issues in the Geography of Activism—Labor Exchange (Toulouse)—Deadline (abstract): October 30, 2026

Calenda Ad 1,439,466 (excerpts)

Union facilities—labor centers, people’s houses, union halls, workers’ offices, and the like—are much more than mere administrative addresses. They are the physical centers of union activity, the places where, generation after generation, workers’ collective capacity to organize, educate themselves, and resist has taken root. Yet for several decades now, these spaces have been repeatedly threatened: evictions, sudden rent hikes, reductions in floor space, and refusals to renew occupancy agreements. This conference aims to connect the deep historical significance of these places with their current vulnerability, using history as a resource for the present.