The Rise of the New Labor Movement
The last few years have seen a wave of labor organizing as it becomes more and more clear to workers that what they do is not expendable, but actually the heart of every business. From walkouts to unionization, workers everywhere, from Starbucks to Amazon to your local coffee shop have come together to build and exercise their power. In this episode we explore the issues that led people to organize their workplaces, the ins and outs...
Upstream: Worker Cooperatives
On today’s show we learn about worker cooperatives: what are they and can they offer an alternative to the dominant capitalist mindset? Our partner podcast Upstream brings us to a bike and skate shop in Richmond, CA that’s providing a much-needed service to its community, while also empowering its own workers. A version of this story was originally aired in 2018. Image Credit: Artwork by Phil Wrigglesworth Like this...
Hunger Strike! How Immigrant Taxi Drivers Took on City Hall
When Augustine Tang’s father passed away, Augustine decided to inherit his taxi medallion – the license that had allowed his father to drive a yellow taxi cab in New York City for decades. But the medallion came with a $530,000 debt trap and years of struggling to escape it. So Tang joined a push by the local taxi drivers’ union, to campaign for debt relief. And eventually, city resistance to worker demands culminated in a...
Re:Work Soul Force, Part 1
On Dec. 11, 2021, the UCLA Labor Center’s historic MacArthur Park building was officially named the UCLA James Lawson Jr. Worker Justice Center, in honor of a civil and worker rights icon who has been teaching at UCLA for the last 2 decades. In this episode of Re:Work, 93-year-old Rev. Lawson shares stories from his youth, and how he came to discover soul force and the path of nonviolence. This episode contains material from Rev....
The fight to reclassify some gig workers in California
By Emily Rose Thorne, Mercer University Center for Collaborative Journalism In California, gig workers that drive for companies like Uber and Lyft, got a win August 10 in federal court when the court sided with drivers to enforce Assembly Bill 5, AB5, a law that forces companies to reclassify contractors as employees. The move would force the companies to offer employees job benefits. The federal court granted a preliminary injunction...
A Look at Labor Organizing, and Worker and Immigrant Rights
Our latest radio release looks at workers organizing, inside and outside of labor unions. You’ll meet members of the Restaurant Opportunities Center of LA and hear from Day Laborers in Pasadena who are creating their own phone app and collective bargaining system by sharing info about employers. Plus an interview with Jane McAlevey, union member and union critic. Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here to support...
Buying Power: Corporate Money in Politics
The Tea Party has come a long way, but who’s really behind it? On this edition: how some of America’s largest corporations are using grassroots movements to influence law makers. We hear excerpts from Taki Oldham’s documentary “The Billionaires’ Tea Party” and learn more about the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
Undue Influence: the power of Police and Prison Guards’ Unions
Police officers and prison guards hold tremendous political sway. Their advocacy for better pay, more power, and more jobs has been a major factor in the expansion of the prison industrial complex. Now that system is changing. Can law enforcement unions change as well?
The Olympic Games: Who wins?
The Olympic Games have grown into a multibillion dollar industry. But with that growth comes concerns about the negative effects of the event on the people and places where the Games take place. We ask who wins, and who loses, when the Olympics come to town? We take you to Vancouver, London, and Denver — the only city to ever turn down the Olympics.
Tariq Ali on the Rise of the ‘Extreme Center’
As the U.S. prepares for another presidential election, journalist Tariq Ali says the ‘choices’ don’t present much in the way of options. On this edition, Ali speaks about the growth of the ‘extreme center’ and how Occupy and other emerging social movements are challenging the status quo.
