Dear UALE members, One of Kent Wong’s many projects was a connection with the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labor, the Viet Nam national union. He took delegations from the US, labor leaders and labor educators, to Viet Nam. Joe Berry and I benefited from this project because we got to teach for three semesters at Ton Duc Thang University, the union-sponsored university in Ho Chi Minh City, between 2016-2019, about the time that the Trans Pacific Trade Partnership and related changes in Viet Nam’s labor were under consideration. That was ten years ago, but the article linked below contextualizes what we experienced. We could only see what we saw and hear what people who were willing to talk to us could say, but with the aid of hindsight, it makes sense. This article was cross-posted on the Vietnam Studies Group list. If someone has taken over Kent’s Viet Nam project, or is interested in following up, please send them this article. We would be willing to talk to anyone planning to go. Yours in solidarity, Helena Vietnam’s Labour Question: The Hidden Fault Line of its Development Model https://pietromasina.substack.com/p/vietnams-labour-question<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://pietromasina.substack.com/p/vietnams-labour-question__;!!DZ3fjg!_X1CyY2ztGxUwKEPPXqRm4gXB3hVm5hMJP_6INggB1nd0SC0nhHMYv9WbrLgJxrpJ6xYN6L8imQhhI1rHa7Nyg$> Pietro P. Masina Professore Ordinario - Professor Storia dell’Asia Orientale - East Asian history Director of the Master programme Global Management for China Editor-in-chief of the European Journal of East Asian Studies Università di Napoli L'Orientale - University of Naples L'Orientale Dipartimento di Scienze Umane e Sociali - Department of Humanities and Social Sciences Palazzo Giusso Largo S. Giovanni Maggiore 30 80134 Naples - Italy Tel. +39 0816909436 Mobile + 39 3292628816 __________________ Worthen, Helena Harlow hworthen@illinois.edu @helenaworthen.bsky.social Power Despite Precarity: Strategies for the Contingent Faculty Movement in Higher Education. Pluto Books 2021 https://helenaworthen.net/

Thanks for sharing this, Helena. I'm on the Exec Committee of VSG and hate to admit that the field hasn't paid enough attention to labor and/or labor education in contemporary Vietnam (beyond discussions that frame labor primarily in terms of Vietnam’s participation in free trade agreements or human rights critiques). I'm not sure whether anyone has taken over Kent's work on Vietnam, but I do know of a progressive coalition (comprising groups such as VietLEFT Power) that is forming its own study group and a labor delegation to Vietnam (I believe their trip will happen sometime this summer if not sooner). I'll be sure to pass your email and materials onto them, and will also write a followup email to connect you to the leads of that coalition. Thanks again for your important work! Best, *An T. Nguyen, Ph.D. *(*she/her*) Historian and Lecturer Bureau of Labor Education | The University of Maine 5713 Chadbourne Hall, Room 200 (207) 581-4127 | an.t.nguyen@maine.edu On Fri, Mar 6, 2026, 9:35 AM Worthen, Helena Harlow via UALEList < ualelist@list.uale.org> wrote: > Dear UALE members, > > One of Kent Wong’s many projects was a connection with the Viet Nam > General Confederation of Labor, the Viet Nam national union. He took > delegations from the US, labor leaders and labor educators, to Viet Nam. > Joe Berry and I benefited from this project because we got to teach for > three semesters at Ton Duc Thang University, the union-sponsored university > in Ho Chi Minh City, between 2016-2019, about the time that the Trans > Pacific Trade Partnership and related changes in Viet Nam’s labor were > under consideration. > > That was ten years ago, but the article linked below contextualizes what > we experienced. We could only see what we saw and hear what people who were > willing to talk to us could say, but with the aid of hindsight, it makes > sense. > > This article was cross-posted on the Vietnam Studies Group list. If > someone has taken over Kent’s Viet Nam project, or is interested in > following up, please send them this article. We would be willing to talk to > anyone planning to go. > > Yours in solidarity, > > Helena > > Vietnam’s Labour Question: The Hidden Fault Line of its Development > Model > > https://pietromasina.substack.com/p/vietnams-labour-question > <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://pietromasina.substack.com/p/vietnams-labour-question__;!!DZ3fjg!_X1CyY2ztGxUwKEPPXqRm4gXB3hVm5hMJP_6INggB1nd0SC0nhHMYv9WbrLgJxrpJ6xYN6L8imQhhI1rHa7Nyg$> > > > Pietro P. Masina > > Professore Ordinario - Professor > Storia dell’Asia Orientale - East Asian history > > Director of the Master programme Global Management for China > > Editor-in-chief of the European Journal of East Asian Studies > > > <https://www.google.com/maps/search/Largo+S.+Giovanni+Maggiore+30+%0D%0A+80134+Naples+-+Italy?entry=gmail&source=g>Università di > Napoli L'Orientale - University of Naples L'Orientale > Dipartimento di Scienze Umane e Sociali - Department of Humanities > and Social Sciences > > Palazzo Giusso > Largo S. Giovanni Maggiore 30 > <https://www.google.com/maps/search/Largo+S.+Giovanni+Maggiore+30+%0D%0A+80134+Naples+-+Italy?entry=gmail&source=g> > 80134 Naples - Italy > <https://www.google.com/maps/search/Largo+S.+Giovanni+Maggiore+30+%0D%0A+80134+Naples+-+Italy?entry=gmail&source=g> > Tel. +39 0816909436 > Mobile + 39 3292628816 > __________________ > > > Worthen, Helena Harlow > hworthen@illinois.edu > @helenaworthen.bsky.social > *Power Despite Precarity: Strategies for the Contingent Faculty Movement > in Higher Education.* Pluto Books 2021 > https://helenaworthen.net/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > UALEList mailing list -- ualelist@list.uale.org > To unsubscribe send an email to ualelist-leave@list.uale.org > > See UALE's website at <uale.org>. You can also like us on Facebook and > follow us on Twitter