Labor Radio-Podcast Weekly

“Amazon’s money machine can’t stop for one second”

On this week’s show, Building Bridges Radio reports from a late December rally for Amazon workers in New York City…On the Belabored podcast, a discussion on the so-called Great Resignation, Striketober, and other developments in the labor movement in the pandemic era…
Then we take you to the ground level of the American labor movement with four brief excerpts from podcasts that either feature a guest from a local union or podcasts produced by local unions: UFCW Local 152 Assistant Director of Organizing Hugh Giordano talks with host Ed “Flash” Ferrence on America’s Work Force Radio Podcast; we find out about challenges facing the leaders and members of UAW Local 2209 in Fort Wayne, Indiana on the local’s podcast, Trucked Up; on the 141 Report, Machinist union leaders try out different communication tools to build membership participation; the construction industry has one of the highest rates of suicide of any occupation, yet the stigma of admitting mental health issues keeps many from getting the help they need: Breaking Ground, the podcast from Operating Engineers Local 3, explores the issue.
The AFT’s Union Talk podcast explores how the right wing has used Critical Race Theory and the pandemic to drive a wedge between parents and teachers and how to rehabilitate that relationship; Heather McGhee, author of “The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone” on “Racism in our politics and in our policy making is why all of us can’t have nice things,” on the Heartland Labor Forum.
Heather Berg talks about sex, labor, and late capitalism on the Reinventing Solidarity podcast…The Art and Labor podcast tackles NFTs, DAOs, crypto currency and teleology, and, from the On The Job podcast, we find out about the historic Australian female labor activist who chained herself to a building in downtown Melbourne in 1969.

Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people’s issues and concerns.

#LaborRadioPod @AFLCIO @bbridgesradio @DissentMag @AWFUnionPodcast @UAW_Local_2209 @IAMDistrict141 @aftunion @Heartland_Labor @CunySLU @ArtandLaborPod @SaintFrankly @sallyrugg

Edited by Patrick Dixon and Mel Smith; produced by Chris Garlock; social media guru Mr. Harold Phillips.

Grit Nation; Heartland Labor Forum; Willamette WakeUp Labor Report; My Labor Radio; Working to Live in Southwest Washington; Labor History in 2:00

On this week’s show, Jamie McCallum, author of "Worked Over" tells Grit Nation about the only strike that has occurred off the Earth and how it represents a lot of issues workers on this planet face today.
Then, on the Heartland Labor Forum, we hear a lot about the working class, but who’s really in it, who isn’t and why does it matter? Special bonus on the show this week: a new labor song feature with a song by Billy Bragg.
After many years, Bob Rossi is transitioning out of producing The Willamette WakeUp Labor Report: we wish Bob well and bring you his final show, in which Reverend David Wheeler and Joe Rastatter discuss the faith-labor connection and the role of clergy in union activism.
My Labor Radio visits with Detroit labor activist Frank Hammer and on Working to Live in Southwest Washington, Shannon and Harold sit down with two veteran labor reporters to discuss the gains working people made in 2021, and look ahead to what's in store for 2022.
Finally, on Labor History in 2:00, on January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation, but did you know that the emancipation proclamation did not actually free enslaved people in the U.S.?

Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people’s issues and concerns.

#LaborRadioPod @AFLCIO @GritNw @Heartland_Labor @kmuz885 @mgevaart @SWWACLC @ILLaborHistory

Edited by Patrick Dixon and Mel Smith; produced by Chris Garlock; social media guru Mr. Harold Phillips.

Special Edition: Remembering Richard Trumka: State of the Unions; America’s Work Force Radio; Your Rights At Work; Working to Live in Southwest Washington; Labor Express Radio; Labor History Today

On this week’s show, excerpts from some of the Network shows that focused on AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka, who died on August 5.
In a year when we lost so many, it’s still hard to believe that Rich – who walked so many picket lines, who thundered forth at so many rallies -- is really no longer with us. So it was a special honor to listen through the labor radio shows and podcasts that paid tribute to Rich Trumka, to hear the old stories and some new ones, and to hear his voice once again.
We begin with the AFL-CIO’s own podcast, State of the Unions, which talked with a characteristically optimistic Trumka in 2018, followed by a 2020 Labor Day interview on America's Work Force Radio.
Then labor historian Joe McCartin, who been invited onto the August 5 Your Rights At Work show to discuss the 40th anniversary of the PATCO strike, reacts to Trumka’s death that morning.
We go back to the State of the Unions podcast and America's Work Force Radio for thoughts on Trumka’s life and legacy from Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and The Nation’s John Nichols.
Then it’s out to the Northwest for reactions on the ground on the Working to Live in Southwest Washington podcast, and on Labor Express Radio, labor educator Steven Ashby casts a critical eye on Trumka’s legacy.
Finally, we wrap up with the Labor History Today podcast, where Rich Trumka – who rose to national prominence when he led the 1988 Pittston strike – recounts how the mine workers won that historic strike.  

Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people’s issues and concerns.

#LaborRadioPod @AFLCIO @AWFUnionPodcast @DCLabor @SWWACLC @WLUW @DCLabor

Edited and produced by Chris Garlock; social media guru Harold Phillips.

Labor Radio on KBOO; Work Week; America’s Workforce Radio; For a Better World; Union City Radio; Your Rights At Work; Labor History Today

On this week’s show, hosts Michael Cathcart and Elliott Gilliland discuss the tragic workplace disasters that took place when tornadoes destroyed an Amazon warehouse in Illinois and a non-union candle factory in Kentucky on Labor Radio on KBOO.
Work Week Radio interviews New Orleans ATU 1560 president Valerie Jefferson who was fired after standing up for her members during the hurricanes and dangerous conditions for their members.
On America's Workforce Radio, Ohio Federation of Teachers President Melissa Cropper discusses the difficulties faced by teachers attempting to unionize at Menlo Park in northeast Ohio and some of the successes of neighborhood programming in Cincinnati schools.
Then, on For a Better World, Shefali Sharma of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy discusses the role of Big Dairy in fueling the climate crisis and hollowing out rural communities.
Plus, How the bosses stole Christmas, on Union City Radio; the San Francisco Mime Troupe's “A Red Carol” on Your Rights At Work and, on Labor History Today, Striketober and The Great Resignation: Take this job and shove it!

Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people’s issues and concerns.

#LaborRadioPod @empathymedialab @duesunion @SolidarityCntr @AFLCIO @labormedianow @AWFUnionPodcast @fairworldprj @DCLabor

Edited by Mel Smith and Chris Garlock; produced by Chris Garlock; social media guru Harold Phillips.

Work Stoppage; Working People; The Rick Smith Show; Solidarity Works; Solidarity Center Podcast; Working Class History; Your Rights At Work

The year may be coming to an end but worker’s struggles continue and those fights are reflected in many of this week’s shows.
On the Work Stoppage podcast, the crew are joined by Charlie, a striking PhD student from Columbia University who talks about what their union's demands are and recounts a walkout involving the president of the university and his class on free speech.
Then, Alex Bazeley and Bobby Wagner discuss the Major League Baseball lockout on the Working People podcast.
On The Rick Smith Show, David Pepper reports on the slow death of democracy in the states, while we hear about the fight for healthcare heroes at Kaiser Permanente on the Solidarity Works podcast.
During the lockdown, millions of migrant workers were sent home unpaid, and many were forced to pay their own way back after already being in debt to get a job in their destination country. But wage theft started long before the pandemic. This week's episode of The Solidarity Center Podcast highlights the struggles of migrant workers for decent working conditions and comes a few days before International Migrants Day today, December 18.
Then, on Working Class History, we learn about the forces and events leading up to the Bread Intifada in Egypt in 1977.
We wrap up this week’s show with some of last Sunday’s Evening of Favorite and Sacred Songs concert by the DC Labor Chorus, which aired on the Your Rights At Work radio show.

Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people’s issues and concerns.

#LaborRadioPod @empathymedialab @duesunion @SolidarityCntr @AFLCIO @WorkStoppagePod @WorkingPod @RickSmithShow @steelworkers @SolidarityCntr @wrkclasshistory @DCLabor

Edited by Patrick Dixon and Mel Smith; produced by Chris Garlock; social media guru Harold Phillips.

The Rick Smith Show; Building Bridges; Union Strong; AFT In Action; The Labor Link; For A Better World; Labor Wave Radio; On the Line: Stories of BC Workers

Striking Kellogg’s workers rejected a contract settlement earlier this week; one of those strikers, Todd Menousos from the Bakery Workers’ union in Battle Creek, Michigan, explains why on The Rick Smith Show…
Then, on Building Bridges Radio, Teamsters for a Democratic Union national organizer Ken Paff celebrates a new era of union democracy and militance…
Dennis Hughes has a plan to create fair working conditions for farmworkers; the former New York State AFL-CIO president explains how on the latest episode of the Union Strong podcast…
On AFT In Action: protecting teachers "freedom to teach" with Connecticut Education Association President Kate Dias and US Senator Chris Murphy…
Wage theft is a global problem: The Labor Link podcast tells us how an NGO is helping Cambodian workers fight back…
On the For A Better World podcast; what the push to “get big or get out” means for dairy farmers, workers, and consumers--and some ways to challenge that growing corporate power…
A fictional workplace campaign to unionize the hotel workers at the illustrious White Lotus is the subject of the latest Labor Wave Radio show…
And, from On the Line: Stories of BC Workers: The Battle of Blubber Bay; an epic confrontation just before World War Two between mine workers fighting for justice and an arrogant company with authorities in their hip pocket.

Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people’s issues and concerns.

#LaborRadioPod @empathymedialab @duesunion @SolidarityCntr @AFLCIO
@RickSmithShow @bbridgesradio @nysaflcio @AFTCT @fairworldprj @LaborwaveRadio @BC_LHC

Edited by Patrick Dixon and Mel Smith; produced by Chris Garlock; social media guru Harold Phillips.

State of the Unions; Your Rights At Work; Labor Express Radio; My Labor Radio; 141 Report; Black Work Talk

This week’s show starts with the AFL-CIO's State of the Unions podcast where this week AFL-CIO President Liz Schuler is asking the questions in conversation with Laphonza Butler, the past president of SEIU Local 2015 in California and the new president of EMILY’s List.  Schuler and Butler discuss the importance of recruiting working class candidates and union members to run for political office.

On Your Rights at Work, hosts Chris Garlock and Ed Smith talked with David Story (one of the founders of the Valley Labor Report) about his provocative recent article in The Nation, “I’m a Defense Industry Worker. It’s Time to Cut the Pentagon Budget".

On Labor Express Radio Jerry Mead-Lucero met with Jorge Mujica from Arise Chicago and learned about a series of recent wins for workers at the El Milagro tortilla factory.

Then we catch up with the latest goings on at Machinists Local 141 in two segments, the first in My Labor Radio where President Mike Klemm spoke with Mark Gevaert about the importance of surveying members in advance of collective bargaining negotiations, and then in the 141 Report, where Dave Lehive spoke with Regional Representative Belinda Hawkins about some of the challenges members are facing over the holiday season and what she’s doing to help.

Finally, Black Work Talk is back for Season 2 with a four-part mini-series on Black Labor. In this segment Steven Pitts and guests put the challenges of 2022 in perspective.

Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people’s issues and concerns.

#LaborRadioPod

Edited by Patrick Dixon, produced by Patrick Dixon and Chris Garlock; social media guru Harold Phillips, with Mel Smith.

The Labor Link; Union Dues; Solidarity Center Podcast; The Checkout; State of the Unions; El Desvio; A Better World

This week’s show starts in Thailand with Sawit Kaewwan, the secretary general of the State Enterprises Workers’ Relations Confederation (SERC) on the Labor Link Podcast. Sawit has worked tirelessly to build solidarity between migrant workers and union workers in Thailand to improve workers’ rights.

UnionDues is back with special guest Tom Grinyer, Chief Executive of the British Medical Association—the UK’s doctors’ union. Tom discusses their goal to balance the doctors’ needs with those of their patients and how that mission has helped them throughout the pandemic.

For our last international show, the Solidarity Center’s Podcast, features Rita Goyit from the Nigeria Labor Council. She talks about some of their creative and inspirational initiatives designed to fight against gender-based harassment in workplaces in Nigeria.

Back in the states, worker John Yougstun joins The Checkout and talks about the working conditions at his employer HelloFresh, as well as his and his colleagues’ attempt to form a union, and the company's latest response to their efforts.

The AFL-CIO’s State of the Unions podcast welcomes the new president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, Jimmy Williams Jr. He highlights some of the pushback he has received for his advocacy of undocumented workers and the importance of a strong connected membership.

In honor of Latina Pay Gap Day, El Desvío features Irasema Garza, Attorney and Co-Author of a report on the pandemic's impact on Latina workers. She explains the invisibility of Latinas in the workplace, and the link between childcare and their wage gap.

And finally, with a Wisconsin dairy farmer who has lived through it all, A Better World Podcast traces the historical relationship between small dairy farms and government policies starting with Reaganomics and ending on Trump’s USMCA deal. 

Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people’s issues and concerns.

#LaborRadioPod @empathymedialab @duesunion @SolidarityCntr @AFLCIO @checkoutradio @LCLAA @fairworldprj

Edited by Patrick Dixon and Mel Smith; produced by Patrick Dixon and Chris Garlock; social media guru Harold Phillips.

Union Strong; Working People; Your Rights At Work; The Rick Smith Show; Educating From the Heart

This week, Union Veterans Council Executive Director Will Attig talks with theUnion Strong podcast about Operation Union Veterans Day…On the Working People podcast, 35,000 workers at healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente are ready to walk off the job November 15; two nurses explain why…Then, on Your Rights At Work, New York Times media columnist Ben Smith on "Why the Media Loves Labor Now"…From The Rick Smith Show, David Pepper, author of "Laboratories of Autocracy" exposes the extreme levels of corruption that have somehow become normal in GOP politics, and how it gets even worse as we move from DC into the states. And we wrap up this week’s show with National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers presidents Becky Pringle and Randi Weingarten on the Educating From the Heart podcast, discussing the dynamic power that comes when there is alignment between the national, state, and local unions and rank-and-file members.

Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people’s issues and concerns.

#LaborRadioPod @AFLCIO @nysaflcio @WorkingPod @DCLabor @RickSmithShow @FloridaEA

Edited by Patrick Dixon and Melanie Smith; produced by Chris Garlock; social media guru: Harold Phillips with Mel Smith.

RadioLabour; Reinventing Solidarity; State of the Unions; Labor Wave Radio; For A Better World; Powerline Podcast; Tales from the Reuther Library; SAG-AFTRA

This week, RadioLabour on what labor wants from the UN's climate change conference…the intersection of the decarbonizing industry and labor in Scotland on Reinventing Solidarity…two striking Kellogg’s workers tell the AFL-CIO’s State of the Unions podcast how the company has become a “shitshow”… Bill Fletcher Jr. on Janus v. AFSCME on Labor Wave Radio …from the For a Better World podcast, how the Milk with Dignity program empowers dairy workers in Vermont…D’Jon Greer tells the Powerline Podcast about his experience as a Black journeyman lineman…on Tales from the Reuther Library, how the Communist Party and labor activists worked together in post-WWII Detroit…SAG-AFTRA's podcast explores what it takes to narrate an audiobook.

Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people’s issues and concerns.

#LaborRadioPod @AFLCIO @radiolabour @CunySLU @LaborwaveRadio @fairworldprj @powerlinepodcast @ReutherLibrary @sagaftra

Edited by Patrick Dixon and Melanie Smith; produced by Melanie Smith and Chris Garlock; social media guru: Harold Phillips.