Doug Swanson joined the University of Missouri faculty in February 2017 as the UMSL Labor Studies Program Coordinator. Swanson after over a quarter of a century working for labor unions in a variety of roles, such as being a member activist, an officer, and an administrator. Swanson’s work in labor took him from Illinois to Wisconsin than Alaska, and Maine before eventually arriving at UMSL. Before beginning his career in the labor movement, Swanson had worked for the Illinois Department of Transportation doing bridge and highway construction and running multi-million dollar highway projects. While working as a worker advocate, Swanson acquired considerable skills in member and leadership development, collective bargaining, organizing, and administration. Brining these rich and diverse experiences to the classroom to engage students is one of the things that he finds most rewarding.

 

Swanson has an Doctorate of Education from the UMSL College of Education, a Master’s in Labor Studies from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Bachelor's in union leadership and administration from the National Labor College, Associate’s degree in management from Sauk Valley Community College,. 

 

Teaching interests and areas of interest for Swanson include labor history, the changing patterns of work, changing definition of employment, and the equity of wages and their impact on communities.