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Lydia Anne Savage

Professor of Geography, University of Southern Maine
Chapter Member: Maine SSN
Areas of Expertise:

Connect with Lydia

(207) 780-5570
Faculty

About Lydia

Savage's research focuses on economic, urban, and social geography focused primarily on economic change and both its impact on workers and the response of workers, particularly women employed in the growing service sector. Overarching themes in Savage's writings include the ways in which labor unions use geographically informed organizing strategies in light of contemporary changes in employment and changes needed in labor unions (structure, culture, and leadership) in order to represent workers in the new economy. Savage serves as Vice-President of the Affiliated Faculties of the Universities of Maine and President of the USM chapter and is on the Negotiating Team.

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Contributions

Secrecy Amid Storms at UMF, UMA Feels All Too Familiar

Commentary,

Publications

Labouring Geography: Negotiating Scales, Strategies, and Future Directions (edited with Steven Tufts) (Geoforum, 2009).

Examines labor union activities internationally.

"Boston’s Urban Politics: Mediating Neo-liberalism and Redefining Sustainability" (with Rob Krueger). International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 31, no. 1 (2007): 215-223.
"Changing Work, Changing People" in The Sex of Work, edited by Dorothy Sue Cobble (Cornell University Press, 2007).

Discusses how labor unions offer a path forward to a collective vision of needed changes in workday practices and operations.

"Justice for Janitors: Scales of Organizing and Representing Workers" in The Dirty Work of Neoliberalism: Cleaners in the Global Economy., edited by Luis Aguiar & Andrew Herod (Wiley-Blackwell, 2006).

Discusses how unions must adapt organizing strategies to reach workers across multiple employers in a region and reach workers in the communities they live.