Working Life Podcast

Episode 180: It is quite something to hear the elites in Washington—especially Republican members of Congress and the menace in the White House—blather on about wanting to wait to see how well the previous, inadequate fiscal stimulus works before deciding whether to do anything else. That’s while tens of millions of people are in the streets, huge lines of hungry people form every day across the nation and states and cities are on the brink of financial ruin. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast States and cities not only employ collectively millions of people but, my god, their services—from education to just picking up the garbage—are damn essential. And you don’t need a computer to get that with the economy shut down and people sheltering at home, revenue to the states through incomes taxes and other taxes has nosedived. It’s just around the corner, folks: when there are gaps in local budgets, especially at the state level, they are coming after us with cuts pretty quickly to our

Episode 179: There is no way to downplay the risks to U.S. frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic—and I’ve dug into that in the past month or so, in our various segments talking about workers in health care, postal service, hog and poultry processing, airlines, rail, and subways. It’s dangerous and frightening—and it’s exponentially more terrifying when you look at the global threat to workers. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast Think about what tens of millions of workers in poorer countries, with far fewer resources, are facing. The images coming out of Africa, Asia and South America showing huge migrations of workers are mind-boggling—how do you even wrap your mind around how to achieve social distancing at bus depots in India, crammed with huge crowds of migrants, who are desperately trying to get home because they have nowhere to go as industries have shut down in the pandemic. Or, consider Haiti, the poorest country in this hemisphere—close your eyes and think of gar

Episode 178: Here’s a little riddle: What has 157 million daily delivery points, 35,000 offices and 500,000 workers? It’s your U.S. Postal Service, that would be the service that really is a democratic, small “d”, institution—it’s there for everyone at a reasonable cost, no matter where you live or who you are. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast Putting it mildly, postal workers are frontline workers—and to pile the safety and health dangers on top of everything else, the service is facing a massive budget hole because of the collapse of the economy because, obviously, less commerce means a lot less stuff being sent via the postal service which relies on fees. I go in-depth on what’s happening to postal workers with Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast And Jeff Bezos is up to his usual despicable behavior—the wealthiest human on the planet is piling up more money but at the expense of the s

Episode 177: The dinner plates of millions of people are soon going to be an interesting place to focus the mind on the balance between the desire to fill bellies with protein—poultry and pork, mainly—versus the worthiness of peoples’ lives, specifically the lives of the workers who process the chickens and hogs in plants across the country. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast To put it bluntly, workers are getting sick and dying from COVID-19 just so millions of people can chow down some meat product at dinner. And those products may be harder to find because the virus is raging through food processing plants nationwide and fraying the supply chain from factory to plate. To get an on-the-ground report about the epidemic, I’m joined by Randy Hadley, the president of the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union’s Midsouth Council who has been working in the industry for over four decades. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast Since today, April 15th, is n

Episode 176: When we come out of the immediate pandemic crisis, then, maybe we can have some accounting of who and what is responsible for the needless deaths of thousands of people—and among the “who” would be, say, politicians who are making themselves look like heroes today—I’ll just say, randomly, New York politicians—even though they sat on their hands in January when the World Health Organization issued a worldwide pandemic warning, which you think might have made those same aggrandizing politicians—say, in New York—think, “gee, maybe I should make sure we are stocked up with the right equipment.” Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast But, the bigger inquiry should be about how a part of the crisis comes right from the way we’ve allowed global corporations and elites to set up an economic system using trade deals that profits them a whole lot but leaves everyone else vulnerable to a pandemic, not to mention other quaint class warfare damage. Which is what I talk about today wit

Episode 175: The other night I was watching an episode of Season 3 of Ozark and there was a scene in which the mother, played by Laura Linney, walks out of a supermarket with her son, both of them pushing a shopping cart. My head went immediately to, without a thought: I hope they sanitized that bar on the cart where their hands were placed…and then a few seconds later I laughed. That is where our heads are at these days—but, for lots of frontline workers out there, it’s all very real, deadly real, terrifyingly real. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast So, again, this week you are going to hear about those workers—today it’s health care workers and transit workers as I talk with the leaders of two very important unions: Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, which represents 180,000 health care workers, and John Samuelsen, the president of the Transport Workers Union, whose members work on the buses, rail and airlines all across the country. Perhaps

Episode 174: When I have snuck out briefly in the past couple of weeks to safely get a few items at the supermarket, I made sure to thank the workers in the aisles and my cashier for being on the job, and I also tell them be safe and careful. They are supremely vulnerable to getting sick. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast Those retail workers, who still have jobs despite many stores having closed down, are forced to show up at work, mainly because they have no choice—their boss hasn’t shut down and the workers need the paycheck because lots of them are like millions of Americans with very little in the way of an emergency cash cushion, and in lots of cases they have zero paid sick leave. Today, I speak with Dave Mertz, vice president and New York City director of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, about what’s happening in the lives of retail workers on the corona frontlines. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast And speaking of bad employ

Episode 173: Last week I asked everyone to consider the coronavirus pandemic as a pretty clarifying picture of class warfare—who are the people who get hurt most when millions of jobs go away or at best are in limbo because of a nationwide shutdown? It’s working people, minimum wage workers, service workers—almost none of whom have enough cash in reserve to pay bills, unlike the rich who have made their wealth by exploiting workers. Who are the people most vulnerable? It’s the people who either have to still go to work or can’t afford to stay at home because they don’t have mandated paid sick leave or family leave, even in a crisis. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast Today, as so many of you either hunker down or are living in fear, I talk with one of my favorite and regular guests Eileen Appelbaum, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, about a menu of steps the country needs to take to mitigate the devastating health and economic hits workers are taking in t

Episode 172: Pandemics might be one of the single best mass events to shine a light on class warfare, especially in the U.S. Rich people don’t have to worry about getting sick—they can afford extensive care in a country in which millions of working-class people can’t even afford to see a doctor for a run-of-the-mill reason. If a rich person gets sick, well, he can just sit home in his pajamas for as long as needed and never worry about paying next week’s rent, while a fast food worker or other service worker on an hourly wage is forced to go to work, even when sick. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast What the coronavirus has shown, quite sharply and clearly, is that a country without paid sick leave is not only an immoral society but also, on a practical level, a country which denies the most basic benefits that could contain a health threat—which is what I talk about today with Judy Conti, government affairs director for the National Employment Law Project. Support the podcast h

Episode 171: Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast You may remember me using this before because the idea comes up again and again in the struggle of workers to get some power at work. In his ballad “Pretty Boy Floyd”, Woody Guthrie sang these words: “Yes, as through this world I've wandered, I've seen lots of funny men; Some will rob you with a six-gun, And some with a fountain pen” Today that’s real life, and today, I chat with Hugh Baran of the National Employment Law Project about forced arbitration, a mumbo jumbo legal term that basically means millions of workers are giving up their rights to corporations who are stealing billions from workers by using the power of the corporate pen. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast Then, I chat with Tomas Ramos, a progressive running for the 15th Congressional district in New York, a heavily Democratic district where a progressive can win. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast -- Jonathan

Episode 170: I try to mostly stay away from long monologue and ruminations, leaving the topics to be explored in conversations with my guests. Today, a little change because of the issue—I’m going to dig into a recent important study that shows what is pretty obvious to anyone looking at the numbers—Medicare for All saves money and lives. That’s the conclusion of experts who published their peer-reviewed findings in The Lancet. You will want to catch this one to grab some easy talking points for future debates. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast Which will be a good transition, then, into chats with two progressive candidates running for Congress who both support, among other progressive positions, Medicare for All—Robin Wilt in New York and Chris Armitage in Washington state. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast -- Jonathan Tasini Follow me on Twitter @jonathantasini Sign up for The Working Life Podcast at: www.workinglife.org Facebook: http://www.faceb

Episode 169: It’s easy to get dragged into a negative head space if you do any kind of politics or movement building work—it’s hard out there and too often we have a tendency to focus on the really bad stuff, like “the planet is burning up and imploding” or a few people own more wealth in the world than hundreds of millions of people. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast But, truth is—we’ve had a lot of victories that have shifted the conversation. And it’s important to talk about those victories because it reminds us that, yes, change is possible and, yes, it takes a long time—sometimes. So, today, I chat with economist Dean Baker about how progressive ideas have shifted the conversation and won the debate on many economic issues. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast And, then, yet another progressive candidate joins the program—you just don’t hear about most of these great progressive candidates on any show but this one. He is Jim Harper and he is runnin

Episode 168: Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast Hypocrisy is pretty much a given when you are in politics. I’ve pointed out the particular hypocrisy of all those flag-waving politicians who shout a full-throated “I support our men and women in uniform” but, then, cut benefits for vets and cut funds for the VA. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast Today, I hone in on another hypocrisy: politicians who wax eloquently about the importance of families but refuse to advance paid family leave, a benefit enjoyed by tens of millions of people in other advanced economies. Just days after the 27th anniversary of the passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act, which introduced unpaid family leave, I explore the lack of movement to expand the crucial benefit of paid family leave with Jared Gaby-Biegel of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast Then, I chat with Lauren Ashcraft, a progressive runni

Episode 167: Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast It’s pretty likely that when you cut into a nice juicy roast chicken at home or in a restaurant a worker in some poultry processing plant was injured cutting up that chicken into commercial pieces. And in some cases, it’s even worse: in January, two workers in poultry plants were killed in the space of a little over a week. I talk about their deaths and the brutal working conditions in poultry plants with national safety and health expert Debbie Berkowitz. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast Then, Tom Winter, a progressive populist, joins me to talk about his race to win the congressional seat in Montana—it’s a conversation about how to win in so-called “red” areas with progressive ideas. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast -- Jonathan Tasini Follow me on Twitter @jonathantasini Sign up for The Working Life Podcast at: www.workinglife.org Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jonatha

Episode 166: Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast With the Iowa caucuses just a few days away, I thought this would be a good time to devote the entire episode to progressive candidates who I’ve been talking to over the course of a number of weeks, with many more to come throughout the year. Today, you’ll hear from three women candidates—two are running for Congress—Morgan Harper in Ohio and Kathy Ellis in Missouri—and one, Paige Kreisman, who is running for a state house seat in Oregon. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast -- Jonathan Tasini Follow me on Twitter @jonathantasini Sign up for The Working Life Podcast at: www.workinglife.org Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jonathan.tasini.3

Episode 165: “Economic inequality is out of control. In 2019, the world’s billionaires, only 2,153 people, had more wealth than 4.6 billion people.” Those two sentences lead off Oxfam’s annual look at inequality. This year, Oxfam looks at unpaid and underpaid care work and the global inequality crisis. I speak with Paul O’Brien, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at Oxfam America about the in-depth report that is startling and bracing, and reminds us of the vast chasm dividing the very rich from the rest of us. Then, almost three decades ago, the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect, which devastated working people and the planet because NAFTA meant poverty for millions and an open season for corporations to abuse workers and the planet. Last week, NAFTA 2.0 passed the Senate so it’s a time to ask: Is it any better? Well, that depends on who you ask—so I debate that question with Eric Gottwald, the AFL-CIO’s trade expert. -- Jonathan Tasini Follow me on Twitter @jonathantasini Sign up for Th

Episode 164: Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast Most people, when they walk out the door to go to work, don’t think, “damn, I’m going to get killed today or seriously ill with a chronic disease”. Yes, if you work in a mine or on a construction site, you are more aware of the dangers. But, most people just assume work is a safe place and they will come home. Well, it’s getting more dangerous at work—the death rate has spiked to the highest point in a decade. And that’s the cheery topic of my first segment today in my conversation with Peter Dooley, a pro-worker safety and health activist, analyst and consultant with the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH). Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast I also talk with Jon Hoadley who is running for the Democratic nomination for the 6th Congressional District in Michigan and a chance to take out a long-time Republican incumbent. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifeP

Episode 163: Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast The GOP Tax Robbery Bill, the tax cuts that shoveled hundreds of billions of dollars into the hands of the very rich and corporations, was built on a complex set of lies. And, now with the close of 2019 and the numbers in on a full year of corporate 2018 tax returns, we have the numbers to prove it. It’s worse than you imagine—not only did hundreds of corporations pay a piddling amount of money to no taxes at all, but the Treasury Department, run by banker-to-the-elites Steven Mnuchin, created regulations and rules entirely out of thin air that gave even more money to corporations. Hear all the dirt in my in-depth conversation with Matt Gardner of the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast Then, I visit with Cristina Tzintzun Ramirez, a strong progressive activist, who is running for the Democratic nomination for the race for the U.S. Senate seat in Texas, and for t

Episode 162: As the New Year beckons, there’s good news and bad news on wages. The good news is something I’ve been able to talk about for the past few years at the end of each year—come January 1st, a whole lot of people are going to see their paychecks increase because of some state and local minimum wage hikes that go into effect. Which shows why movements matter—in this case, the Fight for 15. The bad news: we are quickly becoming a country divided in half when it comes to minimum wages standards. That’s on tap here in our first segment in a discussion with Yannet Lathrop, policy analyst for the National Employment Law Project. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast And two years after she first came on the program, progressive candidate Kara Eastman is back to talk about her second campaign to unseat a Republican incumbent in the 2nd Congressional district in Nebraska—and, even though she came so close in 2018, the party elites are not in her corner. Support the podcast here: w

Episode 161: Shut your damn mouth or be deported. That’s basically the upshot of what happened to Delmer Joel Ramirez Palma, who wanted to tell the truth about the collapse of the under-construction Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans but, two days after he was hurt in the disaster, Joel found himself dragged off by ICE into detention and, then, deported back to Honduras after living in New Orleans for 18 years. I’ll be talking in today’s episode to Mary Yanik, senior staff attorney with the New Orleans Workers Center for Racial Justice, about this abuse of workers to set the stage for a rally later today in New Orleans to “Bring Joel Home”. Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast Then, two more progressive candidates visit with me. Mike Siegel is running to unseat a Republican incumbent in Texas’ 10th Congressional district—and even though he came pretty close to winning the seat in 2018, the Washington Beltway consultant class and the DCCC are pushing a much more centrist candidate. Liam