Labor Radio-Podcast Weekly

Labor Radio on KBOO; Union Dues; Working People; San Francisco Mime Troupe; Tales from the Reuther Library; Empathy Media Lab; 3rd and Fairfax

On Labor Radio KBOO, Michael and Elliot discuss the NLRB recommendation that the Amazon facility in Bessemer, Alabama should hold a new election after finding that Amazon violated workers’ rights and engaged in misconduct.

Next we travel across the pond to Union Dues where we hear about the latest UK supreme court ruling on Uber drivers’ employment rights and how it's not the end of the ACDU’s fight against the rideshare company.

Back in Alabama, the Working People podcast talks with labor journalist Kim Kelly, who’s been covering the Warrior Met Coal strike in Brookwood where 1,100 members have been out on strike for over five months. Kelly discusses the current status of the coal workers and her own career in journalism.

Then, a quick teaser from the San Francisco Mime Troupe’s upcoming episode of Tales of Resistance called “Hobos in Space.” As the title indicates, you won’t want to miss it.

Moving on to some history, folks at the Tales from the Reuther Library podcast speak with author Dr. Edward McClellan whose new book explores the fascinating story of the Flint Sit Down Strike and its lessons for the modern labor movement.

Next, from the Vatican to the metaverse, Empathy Media Lab’s Faith and Labor podcast touches on Pope John Paul II’s encyclical “Laborem Exercens” or Through Work and how it relates to work in the past, present, and future.

And last but certainly not least is the 3rd & Fairfax podcast which features writer Michael Waldron, known for the film Doctor Strange, the adult cartoon Rick and Morty, and most recently, the newest Marvel show: Loki. Waldron talks about his unexpected origins as a writer (spoiler alert: it’s playing softball) and how it resembles his current work.

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 @duesunion @WorkingPod @kboo @SFTroupers @ReutherLibrary @empathymedialab @WGAWest 

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

Monday Morning QB; Belabored; Laborwave Radio; The State of Working America; Working People; Brazil Worker's Podcast; SAG-AFTRA

On Monday Morning QB, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, offers her critical take on the conservative culture war over the idea of critical race theory in schools.

On Belabored, Sarah and Michelle talked to Anna Canning, campaigns manager for the Fair World Project, about the limitations of corporate social responsibility and ethical certification.

Should policy makers look to the New Deal as the gold standard for progressive reform? Historian Gabriel Winant, author of The Next Shift: The Fall of Industry and the Rise of Healthcare in Rust Belt America joins Laborwave Radio in Philadelphia.

Nina Banks discusses the scholarship and ideas of Sadie Alexander, the nation’s first black economist on the State of Working America podcast.

In the Working People podcast Max talks to Professor Richard Wolff about how to understand COVID 19 within the context of American capitalism and its development since the 1970s.

The Brazilian Olympic team put in an impressive showing in Tokyo, finishing first among Latin American countries, but the Brazil Workers Podcast puts out a call for better funding for the countries athletes who are getting the short end of the stick when compared to more profitable sports.

Finally, bad lighting, extraneous noises, and messy bedrooms. For actors, casting calls have been transferred from an in-person to a self recorded format within the past eight-months. Casting director Kim Williams discusses the new rules of the road on the SAG-AFTRA podcast.

Special edition: Remembering Richard Trumka

AFL-CIO president Rich Trumka died last Thursday. A heart attack did what no boss could: stilled the voice of a relentless champion of workers' rights. On today’s show, we’re highlighting a few of the Network’s shows that featured Rich Trumka.

On the State of the Unions podcast, from an episode released in late November 2018, Trumka talks about the midterm elections and a lot more, including an incredibly touching and revealing story about one of his first exposures to racism as a young boy.

Then, on the America’s Work Force Radio podcast’s Labor Day show from last year, Trumka tackles a raft of issues, from the effect of the pandemic on workers to the PRO Act, worker safety, the National Labor Relations Board and a whole lot more.

Finally, on Your Rights At Work, broadcast last Thursday, just an hour after learning about Trumka’s death, labor historian Joe McCartin discusses Trumka’s life and his legacy.

As you’ll hear from Joe, Richard Trumka loved history, and labor history especially. So, brother Trumka, on today’s Labor History in 2:00…the year was 1890.  That was the day that one of the heroines of the US labor movement, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, was born in Concord, New Hampshire.

#LaborRadioPod @AFLCIO @AWFUnionPodcast @DCLabor @ILLaborHistory

Produced/edited by Chris Garlock; social media guru: Harold Phillips

Million Dollar Organizer; Speaking of Work; UCOMM Live; FairWork; Council 4 Unplugged; Union Strong; Labour Radio; Art and Labor

We’ve got eight different excerpts to share with you this week, some from shows that are new to the network and others that will be familiar to regular listeners.

We begin with the Million Dollar Organizer podcast where host Bob Oedy offers some thoughts on the global employment crisis.

Next we introduce you to the Speaking of Work podcast from the Iowa Labor History Society.  In this episode we learn about Keokuk Senior High School, site of an illegal strike in 1970 that changed the trajectory of education in all of Iowa, through the voices of teachers themselves.

Randy Corrigan from the Teamsters Union joins Kris LaGrange on UCOMM Live to discuss organizing the world’s most evil corporation (That’s Amazon, by the way). From one colossal warehouse to another, we cross the Atlantic to the FairWork podcast and hear from delivery drivers who participated in a recent wildcat strike against Gorillas Corporation in Berlin.

On Council 4 Unplugged -- that’s the podcast of AFSCME Council 4 in Connecticut -- we learn about a new project that’s focused on addressing some of the mental health challenges faced by workers in correctional facilities. And Denise Berkley joins the latest episode of Union Strong to discuss the New York State AFL-CIO’s Social Justice Task Force.

We then journey a bit further north to Montreal where this month’s episode of Labour Radio focused on the history and legacy of the Greek Workers Association of Quebec. Finally, the Art and Labor crew raise concerns about the United Federation of Teachers’ position on the New York Health Act.

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 @WorkingPod @SpeakingWork @ucommblog @TowardsFairWork @AFSCMECT3 @nysaflcio

Edited by Patrick Dixon, Melanie Smith and Chris Bangert-Drowns; produced by Chris Garlock; social media guru: Harold Phillips

BCTGM Voices; Working People; The Valley Labor Report; The Rick Smith Show; Solidarity Works; Union Dues; Heartland Labor Forum; 7th Street Chronicles

This week, three strike reports. The first two are on the 3-week-old FritoLay strike in Topeka, Kansas, where the strike issues include forced overtime that’s so bad the workers call them “suicide shifts.” On the BCTGM Voices Project, we’ll hear from the picket line at FritoLay with Local 218 Chief Steward Paul Klemme in Topeka, and then the Working People podcast talks with Cheri Renfro, who’s worked at the Frito-Lay plant in Topeka for 9 years.

Then on The Valley Labor Report: Why did the UAW go on strike at Volvo in Dublin, Virginia?

From The Rick Smith Show, Jamie Martin discusses a scheme to limit access to college in Pennsylvania, and on Solidarity Works, Steel Workers Vice President Leeann Foster discusses safety and sustainability in the paper and forestry industries.

The UK-based Union Dues podcast features an in-depth discussion with Zita Holbourne, co-founder of Black Activists Rising Against the Cuts and co-chair of the Artists Union of England.

On the Heartland Labor Forum, Thomas Frank talks about populism and science and we wrap up this week with an interview on the 7th Street Chronicles podcast that will really open your eyes and hearts as Charlotte firefighters go deep on trauma and mental health.
Bonus tracks: The 1913 Michigan Copper Miners Strike Begins, on Labor History in 2:00, and a teaser for the latest episode of the San Francisco Mime Troupe’s Tales of the Resistance: Persistence.

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 @WorkingPod @DCLabor @BCTGM @WorkingPod @LaborReporters @RickSmithShow @steelworkers @duesunion @Heartland_Labor @SFTroupers

Edited by Patrick Dixon, Melanie Smith and Chris Bangert-Drowns; produced by Chris Garlock; social media guru: Harold Phillips

Your Rights At Work; Workers Beat Extra; Solidarity Center Podcast; Laborwave Radio; Tales from the Reuther Library; America's Workforce Radio; 141 Report; Blue Collar Gospel Hour

Is telework more productive? On Your Rights At Work, federal and DC workers say yes. Gene Lantz connects Independence Day and Bastille Day on the Workers Beat Extra, and on the Solidarity Center Podcast, host Shawna Bader-Blau talks with Phyo Sandar Soe, leader with the Confederation of Trade Unions, Myanmar, about the repression faced by trade unionists there and how workers are fighting back against the junta.
You say you want a general strike? Marianne Garneau discusses the challenges on Laborwave Radio. On Tales from the Reuther Library, Blaming Teachers: How America simultaneously professionalized and patronized education.
The Maritime Trades Dan Duncan talks about Buy American and the Jones Act on America's Workforce Radio and on The 141 Report, host Dave Lehigh talks shop with Darryl Currant, grievance committee chairperson at IAM Lodge 1725, about building a strong union in the South, and why it's important to organize as a team.
We wrap up this week’s show with poet Ed Werstein on the Blue Collar Gospel Hour.
Bonus track: Lumber Workers Put Down Their Axes on today’s Labor History in 2:00.

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 @WorkingPod @DCLabor @KNON893FM @SolidarityCntr @LaborwaveRadio @ReutherLibrary @AWFUnionPodcast @IAMDistrict141 @TheBlueCollarG1 @ILLaborHistory

Edited by Patrick Dixon, Melanie Smith and Chris Bangert-Drowns; produced by Chris Garlock; social media guru: Harold Phillips

The Teamsters Podcast; Belabored; The Voice of Oregon's Workers; CTU Speaks; Solidarity Breakfast; Trailblazers, Inc.; 3rd and Fairfax: The WGAW Podcast; Tales of the Resistance; LRPN Profiles

Joe Biden talks about building for the future on the Teamsters podcast; what rising U.S.-China tensions mean for workers and the labor movement in both countries, from the Belabored podcast; On The Voice of Oregon's Workers, a look at Oregon's growing union movement; CTU Speaks talks with longtime educator and activist Tara Stamps; the Solidarity Breakfast podcast reports on the lockout at the Collingwood Community Gardens; on Trailblazers, Inc. Kayla Vander Moler shares her experiences as a boilermaker; writer, actor, producer, and stand-up comic Iliza Schlesinger talks about the hard work of comedy with 3rd and Fairfax, the podcast from the Writers Guild of America West; from the San Francisco Mime Troupe’s new radio drama, we get a taste of Episode 1 of Tales of the Resistance. This week’s Labor Radio Podcast Network profile from Empathy Media Lab is a visit with Maximillian Alvarez, host of the Working People podcast.
Bonus track: Organizing During Wartime on today’s Labor History in 2:00.

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 @WorkingPod @Teamsters @DissentMag @CtuSpeaks @3CRsolidarity @empathymedialab @WGAWest @ILLaborHistory

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

Talking SMART; Labor Radio on KBOO FM; My Labor Radio; Valley Labor Report; En Masse; The BCTGM Voices Project; On the Line: Stories of BC Workers; LRPN Profiles

Long trains, two-person crews and rail safety on Talking SMART…On Labor Radio on KBOO, Painters launch "Summer of Chaos"… My Labor Radio explores how money from the American Rescue Plan is being spent in Indiana… The Valley Labor Report exposes union busting at MSNBC…Liz Medina talks to Robert Ovetz, author of "Global Workers and Class Struggle" on En Masse…The BCTGM Voices Project features one of the Bakery Workers’ most enthusiastic young leaders…from On the Line: Stories of BC Workers, indigenous longshoremen and the IWW… Rick Smith on this week’s LRPN Profiles, from Empathy Media Lab.

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 @WorkingPod @smartunionworks @kboo @mgevaart @LaborReporters @EnMassePodcast @BCTGM @BC_LHC @empathymedialab

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

Working People; Monday Morning QB; Heartland Labor Forum; Your Rights At Work; Solidarity Breakfast; SAG-AFTRA podcast; America Works; LRPN Profiles

The Working People podcast returns to Asheville North Carolina,  where the union-busting No Evil Foods abruptly closed its plant, leaving employees out of work with no severance…On Monday Morning QB, researcher Brittany Scott of Partners for Dignity & Rights talks about their recent research uncovering discrimination in temp worker hiring in Chicago, and how to fight back…Next, the Heartland Labor Forum profiles two local women leaders, Alise Martiny at the Kansas City Building Trades and Toni Robinson, president of the Postal Workers KCMO local…Then a world premiere of “Scabby the Rat, and Fatty the Cat,” a brand-new song played on this week’s Your Rights At Work show…from Australia, we’ll hear about the Collingwood Community Gardeners being locked out of their garden on the Solidarity Breakfast podcast…And on the SAG-AFTRA podcast, Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett talks about his big break and his support for the labor movement.
We wrap up this week’s show with a pair of profiles: Mike Peabody talks about how he learned his trade as a Garbage Man on the America Works podcast; and you’ll get a look inside the Labor Radio Podcast Network in the first of a series of profiles put together by Network producer Evan Papp of Empathy Media Lab. Evan’s been conducting these interviews of Network members over the last year and we’ll be featuring them in upcoming editions of the Weekly.

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 @WorkingPod @WPFWMMQB @Heartland_Labor @dclabor @3CRsolidarity @sagaftra @librarycongress @empathymedialab

Edited/produced by Patrick Dixon & Chris Bangert-Drowns; produced by Chris Garlock; social media guru: Harold Phillips

America's Workforce Radio; Union Dues; Solidarity Works; Labor Wave Radio; Labor History in Two

On America's Workforce Radio, David Van Deusen, president of the Vermont AFL-CIO, discusses the United Slate's approach to politics and the recent defeat of Right to Work legislation in New Hampshire.  In the latest episode of Union Dues, GMB National Organizer Martin Smith describes his union's historic deal with Uber.  On Solidarity Works, author and activist Anne Balay describes the research process behind her book Steel Closets: Voices of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Steelworkers. On this week's Labor Wave Radio, Elizabeth Laycak imagines what it would be like to unionize Dunder Mifflin Paper Co., the fictional location of the popular television series The Office.  Finally, on Labor History in Two, Rick Smith revisits the wildcat strike at the Dodge Truck plant in Warren, Michigan on June 11, 1974.

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 @duesunion @steelworkers @ILLaborHistory

Edited/produced by Patrick Dixon; produced by Chris Garlock; social media guru: Harold Phillips