Working Life

If you are looking for a place to see the scourge of free market capitalism at work, you don’t have to look further than Bangladesh. I talk with Monika Hartsel of the Solidarity Center about the thousands of workers in Bangladesh who have been recently fired for protesting and demanding better wages. I, then, welcome […]

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A classic workers versus corporate greed battle is underway right now in Erie, Pennsylvania. Just about 2,000 workers who make locomotives are walking the picket lines in freezing weather—and I talk with Scott Slawson, the president of the union, to get the details on their struggle against, Wabtec, a union-busting company. Kimberly Ellis is back […]

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Here’s one thing we learned in recent days about Jeff Bezos—like all CEOs, he’s a bully and quite uninterested in engaging in a give-and-take with community leaders where Amazon does business. I talk to union leader Dave Mertz about the decision by Amazon to back out of the deal to build part of its new […]

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Thousands of workers, and supporters, have rallied and marched for several years under the banner “Fight for 15”—a demand that fast food workers, and all workers, be paid at least $15-an-hour, almost double the poverty-level federal minimum wage, and, as important, have the right to form a union. It’s been a hard slog but a […]

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The rich are living the creed of the 1987 film “Wall Street”: Greed is good! Consider this: 26 billionaires now have a collective wealth of $1.4 trillion—equal to the wealth of the bottom 3.8 billion people on the planet. That’s just a smidgen of the immorality I discuss with Oxfam America’s Paul O’Brien, whose organization […]

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Just as we were wrapping up the podcast episode, the striking teachers in Los Angeles won a new contract. I review the highlights, and underscore the smart strategy the union used in the campaign that generated overwhelming support for the teachers. Then, I chat with climate warrior Daphne Wysham about “risk bonding”, a demand that […]

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A lot of people are wondering: should Bernie Sanders run? Is Bernie going to run? In today’s episode, I consider the notion that Bernie would become the most powerful politician in the country, and it could be better for the progressive movement, if maybe he sidestepped running for president. Whoa! Then, I check in with […]

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I’ve spent a fair amount of time recently on the very bad deal made by New York and Virginia with Amazon to lure the company to build its new headquarters in those two states. Amazon is an important story because of the power it exercises over our economy—a power that grows every day. This week, […]

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The least surprising thing I might say is: the GOP Tax bill last year was an utter scam. We knew it. But, now we have a full year to look back at the lies and the realities of the tax cuts—where has all that money gone? I discuss all this with Richard Phillips, senior policy […]

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I’ve loved baseball since I was a kid. But, at the same time, I don’t believe we, the people, the taxpayers, should spend a single dime to help build baseball stadiums, or any sports arena, for the rich people or corporations who own teams. Don’t believe the hype—these projects never pay back the subsidies doled […]

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