Jim Begley is the Director of the William Brennan Institute for Labor Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Begley, who was raised in a union family, talks about organized labor’s historic rise in the face of oppressive working conditions, its decline over the last few decades, and the resurgence of unions in recent years to tackle inequity, support human rights in the workplace, and to hold on to labor’s historic victories for adult and child workers.

Jim Begley grew up in a union household in Omaha and spent 15 years addressing labor and human resources issues for the City of Omaha. Since 2012, he has been an elected member of the Metropolitan Utilities District (MUD) Board of Directors in Omaha. Begley is a member of the UNO Chapter of the American Association of University Professors, the faculty union at UNO. Begley received his Master’s degree in Public Administration and Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from UNO. 

Begley and his wife, who is a public-school teacher and union member, live in Omaha with their family.