Working Life Podcast

Episode 80: The high-tech world is too often made out to be a shiny new toy, all upside. But, it ain’t so—especially at Tesla where workers are getting sick at astronomical rates. I talk to a Tesla worker about the dangers in the plant—and the unionizing drive underway to protect workers lives. I also talk with a leading expert about the scam human traffickers use to enslave women who are forced to perform commercial sex under the cover of massage parlors—the traffickers mask the ownership of thousands of parlors spread all across the nation by creating anonymous shell companies. Our Robber Baron of the week is Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Episode 79: The uprising is hitting Arizona. Tomorrow, thousands of teachers will flood the state capitol to demand—like their brethren in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Colorado—fair wages. I talk with the both the head of the union and a rank-and-file union leader. I also take up the silly idea of privatization, inspired by a recent dumb-as-can-be article in The New York Times, with the dude who actually sort of wrote the book showing why privatization is bunk. And as Workers Memorial Day looms, our Robber Baron of the week is the CEO of Lowe’s, a company that is selling really bad stuff that poisons, sickens and kills people.

Episode 78: You may remember that last month I did a curtain-raiser on the Jet Blue flight attendants’ union organizing campaign (Episode 74). Yesterday, the vote came in—and the workers crushed it, winning by a 2-1 margin. You get to hear first-hand from three front-line flight attendant activists how it all came down. I also talk with a global union organizing expert about the trail of murder and violence in Honduras and Guatemala that befalls union activists. I go a bit deeper in a chat with an expert researcher on why the Federal Reserve needs to act to repair the damage to regular people that still lingers from the financial crisis. I also give some key tax truths to remember—truths you won’t hear talked about much.

Episode 77: Beto. He’s the guy who will send Ted Cruz into retirement. I talk with Beto O’Rourke while he’s out driving on the campaign trail in Texas. Have you tried to live on a teacher's salary? In Oklahoma, it means counting on visiting a food pantry to survive, as I learn in my in-depth talk with veteran teacher Jennifer Thorton. And as Tax Day looms, I bring in tax expert Carl Davis to talk about the widening GOP Tax Fraud and Trump’s own personal business tax dodging. Our Robber Barons of the week, in recognition of Equal Pay Day, are all the employers who pay women less than men.

Episode 76: Now it's the turn of teachers in Oklahoma to rise up. Jonathan chats with Alicia Priest, the president of the Oklahoma Education Association, and Jennifer Thornton, a third grade teacher in Tulsa, after the state's teachers walked off the job to push for higher pay so they don't have to go to a food pantry to feed their families. Jonathan, then, discusses with EPI's John Bivens how unemployment is tied to a too-secret search for the new head of the Federal Reserve Board of New York, one of the most powerful jobs in the system. Lastly, Jonathan visits with Levi Tilleman, a progressive candidate running for the Democratic nomination in Colorado's 6th Congressional District. Our Robber Barons of the week are Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin and her mindlessly, ideologically-dumb, Republican-ruled Legislature.

Episode 75: The gall of greedy employers never seems to end, right? This time it shows up in the restaurant biz where the other NRA--the National Restaurant Association--was trying to get its hands on waiters' tips. Jonathan talks to Judy Conti, a key leader in the successful battle to slap down that money grab. Jonathan then chats with Angie Person, an airport worker, and Rob Hill, a union organizer, to hear how 40,000 workers won a raise more than doubling pay to--are you sitting down?--$19-per-hour. Lastly, Jonathan continues the series of progressive candidate interviews with a conversation with Lillian Salerno who is running in Texas' 32nd Congressional District. Our Robber Baron of the week is the CEO of Toys-R-Us.

Episode 74: Betsy Devos has already shown herself to be entirely unqualified to be running the Department of Education. Jonathan adds on to what we already know with a look at how she is breaking the law by trying to impose rules on workers in the department without bothering to reach agreement with the union representing the workers. Hey, we get ideology stokes a fire but ignoring the law—a habit with the wing nuts in power—isn't going to happen unchallenged. Jonathan talks with a top union official about the fight. Jet Blue flight attendants look set to have a union—Jonathan digs into that vote underway right now with the president of the Transport Workers Union. Our Robber Baron of the week is Marillyn Hewson, the CEO of defense contractor Lockheed Martin.

Episode 73: Nine days striking isn't the longest walk-out you will see. But, when you do that in defiance of the law, whoa, now that's showing some spine. Jonathan kicks off the podcast with a chat with the president of the West Virginia Education Association, Dale Lee, to get a read on what we can learn from the teachers' victory. Jonathan, then, takes up the topic of climate change "just transition" with the president of the Washington State Labor Council, Jeff Johnson, who is among the leaders of a broad coalition to push a ballot initiative to fund serious action on climate change but does so in a way that protects and strengthens workers and their communities. And, last up, Jonathan visits with progressive candidate State Representative Kaniela Saito Ing who is running for Hawaii's 1st Congressional District.

Episode 72: Jonathan continues his deep-dive series interviewing scores of progressives candidates running all across the country with three new segments with three Congressional candidates: James Thompson in Kansas, David Gill in Illinois and Rico Franco in California…all regular people jumping into the electoral world. Our Robber Barons of the week are the U.S. Senate fools—including 12 Democrats—who are supporting a rollback in banking regulations put in place to prevent another financial crisis.

Episode 71: The attacks against public sector unions—an attack on all working people—reached their legal pinnacle Monday when the Supreme Court heard the case, Janus v. AFSCME. But, something else is exposed in the case: the links between the conservative right-wing ideologues on the Supreme Court, greedy billionaires and piles of money that have funded bigots, racists and a general assault on a progressive society. Jonathan looks at the whole terrain in talks with three national leaders and experts who share a collection of knowledge and insight you won't find anywhere else. Our Robber Barons of the week are, in fact, a whole raft of secretive funders who are pouring money into efforts to undermine economic security for millions of workers.

Ep. 70: ISIS poses virtually no threat to you in your home. The same can’t be said for Amazon. Amazon really is an economic terrorist. That's what Jonathan spends most of the podcast this week digging into—after laying out the picture of the sorry spectacle of cities and states begging Amazon to locate its new headquarters in one of their communities, Jonathan turns to economic and tax experts who explain the fraudulent claims Amazon repeatedly makes about what a great job creator the company is and, then, how Amazon engages in relentless tax dodging. Jonathan also checks in with Tom Guild, a progressive Democrat running for Congress in conservative Oklahoma's 5th District. Our Robber Baron of the week, appropriately, is Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos.

Episode 69: In Germany, the most powerful union in the country just secured the rights of workers to opt for a—get this!--28-hour workweek. Jonathan gives us the details. And, then, Jonathan talks with two progressive candidates—Michael Bracamontes who is running for governor in California and Jenny Marshall who is looking to capture a House seat in North Carolina. Our Robber Baron is the CEO of PG&E.

Episode 68: We love this description of the people burrowing deep inside government agencies to screw the people: political termites. And it comes courtesy of investigative journalist David Cay Johnston who returns to the podcast to discuss with Jonathan his new book, "It's Even Worse Than You Think: What The Trump Administration Is Doing To America". Jonathan also chats with two union organizers—Sal Rosselli and Clem Papazian--who have helped tame hospital giant Kaiser Permanente in an organizing campaign that has lessons for labor. Lastly, Jonathan gives a preview of the upcoming release of CEO-to-worker pay ratios, which will shine a light on the greed in the executives suites.

Episode 67: The super-wealthy keep getting richer and, while they are human beings, they just don't seem to care how many people die or go hungry while billionaires party on. That's the only conclusion you can come to after reading a new stunning report about global wealth and inequality out from Oxfam--and Jonathan delves into the report with Oxfam's Paul O'Brien. Jonathan also chats with Katie Hill, a progressive candidate running for the House seat in California's 25th District. Our Robber Baron of the week is Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus.

Episode 66: Yeah, we get it: you like Uber and Lyft because it's the "new thing" in the app-centered corporate world. But, know this: Uber and Lyft are very bad corporate actors, stomping around the country, using right-wing, anti-consumer, anti-union tactics, to trash fundamental rights in every state—as Jonathan learns from Rebecca Smith, co-author of an incredible study about the nefarious tactics the two companies use. Jonathan also circles back to hear the voice of joy of Carolina Miranda, in the wake of a smashing victory in the union organizing effort she helped lead at the Los Angeles Times. In our last segment, Jonathan chats up Derrick Crowe, a progressive candidate running for Congress in Texas's 21st District. Our Robber Baron is Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan who wants to make poor people even poorer.

Episode 65: Fifty years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, just after he had marched on behalf of striking sanitation workers. Today, racism is still a defining characteristic of the economic system, which is what Jonathan and Janelle Jones of the Economic Policy Institute discuss in our lead segment. Jonathan then visits with two progressive Congressional candidates, one in California and the other in Michigan. Our Robber Baron is—once again—Wal-Mart and the Walton family.

Episode 64: Jonathan continues his on-going chats with solid progressive candidates all across the country. He chats with Abdul El-Sayed, who is vying in Michigan to be the first Muslim-American elected as governor in the history of the country. And from south-eastern Indiana, Dan Canon tells Jonathan why he jumped into a congressional race despite being, in his words, the most non-politician you could find. Our Robber Baron of the week is Big Pharma CEO Jeffrey Marrazzo.

Episode 63: Republicans tried all sorts of tricks in their tax scam bill to target taxpayers in Democratic states, including messing with the deduction for local and state income and property taxes…except we're smarter than they are—at least Dean Baker is. Because he's found a way to keep the deductions in a round-about way—and he explains the idea that is catching fire around the nation. For decades, the Los Angeles Times has been viciously anti-union when it came to journalists who might want a union at the newspaper—but that may all change within two weeks thanks to a union election that starts tomorrow. Jonathan gets all the latest from Times reporter and union supporter Carolina Miranda. We also visit with Austin Frerick who is running for Iowa's 3rd Congressional District. Our Robber Baron is Home Depot CEO Craig Menear.

Episode 62: We're not resting in the low-key week between Xmas and the New Year. Jonathan chats up Marcus Ferrell, who was Bernie Sanders' main man organizing African American voters, who is now in the fray himself, running for a state house seat in Arizona. And across the country from sunny Arizona, over in the much chillier temps of New Hampshire, Jonathan hears from progressive union leader and Bernie delegate Mark MacKenzie who is vying in a Democratic primary in the 1st Congressional District. Our Robber Baron is UK CEO Jeff Fairburn.

Episode 61: Even Paul Ryan, the odious Speaker of the House, is in the electoral crosshairs and has a good shot at losing in the 2018 midterm elections. The man who is up to the task is Randy Bryce, better known in the Twitterverse as @ironstache. Randy joins Jonathan for a talk about politics, his campaign and the people he is seeking to give a voice in Wisconsin's First Congressional District. Looked at your paycheck recently? There is a decent chance the boss has stolen some money from you because billions are stolen from workers every year—as Jonathan explains with the help of Marni Von Wilpert of the Economic Policy Institute. Our Robber Baron is Bob Iger of Disney.