0: Valuing Work!

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“The safety of the people shall be the highest law."

Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman philosopher born in 106 BC

Overview

Let’s face it, not many of us were born with the proverbial silver spoon in our mouths. We will at some point in our lives offer our minds, labor, knowledge and skills in exchange for some form of payment. The payment may be currency, acknowledgement, goods, services, etc. We may also volunteer or offer up our labor not seeking compensation but to support some higher purpose or call, to serve others, or just to learn more and improve our present and future circumstances. Humans were made for productivity. We were made to cultivate, to create, to teach and explore. We are workers and will fully utilize our faculties to survive.

Work is something we all have in common! In this course you will explore not only your relationship or ideas regarding work, but also the history, politics, and dignity of work. Most importantly you will learn how to work safely. In learning the origins of what makes a workplace safe and why your workplaces are required to be safe, you will understand and develop the skills necessary for becoming a more engaged, responsible, and safe worker in the 21^st century.

But first the following will guide your understanding and then afterwards a bit of historical context! As a matter of organization all chapters will begin with an overview followed by chapter objective, learning outcome, key terms, and the title of the associated lecture.

Chapter Objective:

Explore and view work and worker safety through a historical context;
Assess how you view and value work and worker safety.

Learning Outcome:

Identify and understand the roots of social, economic, and environmental justice concerns in worker safety.

Key Terms:

COVID-19, Social Justice, Economic Justice, Environmental Justice, Work, Safety, Essential Workers, Union, Pandemic, COVID-19

Mini-Lecture: The History of Work

Required Time: 1 hour; Independent Study and reflection 1 ½ hour.

Thumbnail: Spanish Workers Panama Canal, commons.wikimedia.com, CC-BY