Rising unemployment and health care costs, struggling schools and communities, broken levees and falling bridges – as the U.S. and Minnesota fail to invest in the future, the quality of life declines.

The University of Minnesota Labor Education Service is sponsoring a conference to analyze this problem – and discuss strategies for building a movement to reinvest. Called "Crisis of Disinvestment: Organizing to Rebuild Our Communities," the conference will be held May 30 and 31 on the St. Paul campus of the university.

This one-and-a-half day conference will bring together union members, staff and officers with allies and friends to expose decades of deliberate disinvestment in our state and our country and to begin building toward reinvestment and renewal, LES Director Howard Kling said. "We'll take an in-depth look at how we've gotten where we are -- and expose the economic models, cultural values and messages that brought us here."

This conference is designed for rank-and-file union members, as well as experienced union leaders and activists, and friends in the community. Participants will learn how to tell the disinvestment story and ways to share what they've learned with their fellow union members, families and neighbors. Offering a range of workshops, speakers and activities, the conference "will foster a sense of hope about our ability to organize and develop tools for rebuilding our state and communities," Kling said.

Registration is $65 before May 2 ($75 after) and includes conference fee, materials, Friday lunch and refreshment breaks. View an agenda and register online at www.reinvestnow.org or call 612-624-5020 for a brochure.