America’s Work Force Union Podcast

EPI's Lynn Rhinehart on Sectoral Bargaining and the Path Forward

Millions of workers say they want a union. The law makes it too hard to get one. Most of Europe has a model that sets wages for entire industries at once, covering every

Bricklayers' Victor Castro on Restoring the Capitol and a Life in Stone

He came from Spain in 1986 with his father's encouragement. He worked his way up to foreman. He left, came back and became a U.S. citizen in 2008. And somewhere in betwee

AFSCME 2975's Evan Newton on Corvallis Workers' Contract Fight

The city of Corvallis, Oregon, calls itself an employer of choice. Over the past four years, 75% of its union-represented workforce has turned over. Management recently g

SMART-TD's Bob Guy on Rail Safety, PSR and What East Palestine Proved

Every three hours in the United States, a vehicle or a person is hit by a train. More than 2,300 people are injured or killed every year in North America at railroad cros

32BJ SEIU on BWI Airport Workers and IAM's Buffenbarger on AI and Work

Two conversations that cut to the heart of what workers are facing right now — one on the fight to lift airport workers out of poverty wages today and one on what AI and

AFL-CIO's Fred Redmond on Election Protectors and the 2 Million Goal

94% of workers say their paychecks are not keeping up with the cost of living. Four in five say politicians are not showing up for them. The AFL-CIO's response is 50,000

C/COBCTC's Dorsey Hager on Data Centers, Honda and Ohio's Gas Tax

The Yotta data center conference in Las Vegas started three years ago with 1,500 attendees. This year it drew 7,000. Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trade

Animation Guild on DreamWorks Win and ILEPI on the Union Membership Surge

Two conversations capturing what the union movement looks like right now — one tracing how remote animation workers at DreamWorks won their first collective bargaining ag

Pete Ielmini on Energy Conservation and the Federal Mechanical Insulation Act

At Ellis Island in the early 1900s, the Bricklayers' union was advertising to arriving immigrants. The biggest selling point beyond wages was the eight-hour workday, beca

UC Doctors United's Jacob Lentz on Organizing Physicians at UC Health

He spent eight and a half years writing for Jimmy Kimmel, went on strike twice with the Writers Guild and watched a well-organized union deliver real results. Then he wen

MIT's Paul Osterman on Disposable Workers and a New Employment Crisis

A McKinsey report argued that 95% of a firm's value is produced by 5% of its workforce. An MIT professor spent years finding out what that means for the other 95%. His an

BMWED on CSX Cutting Track Workers While Reporting Record Profits

CSX reported $3.94 billion in quarterly revenue and approximately $1 billion in quarterly net earnings. Then it notified the union it plans to cut its maintenance of way

Andrew Strom on the Fifth Circuit's OSHA Mental Health Ruling

A refinery worker responds to an eight-hour fire and is later diagnosed with PTSD. ExxonMobil does not record it as a workplace illness. OSHA cites them. The case goes to

Mass Building Trades Recovery Council on No Stigma, No Shame

A union member stands before a construction crew and tells his story. Raw. Personal. The crew that did not want to be there goes completely silent. And the phone rings a

BCBS NLO on the 988 Coin Campaign and Mental Health in the Trades

A union worker hands a coin to a colleague. On it: someone cares about you. Call or text 988. That act — started in the construction trades with poker chips, now at 150,0

American Legion and Alliance for Retired Americans on November Voting

Two conversations connecting veteran service and senior advocacy to the November election — one previewing the October issue of The American Legion Magazine and one with

QPR's Shayna Klassen on Suicide Prevention with the Iron Workers

She walked into a conference room full of ironworkers for a one-hour presentation on suicide prevention. The room was packed beyond fire code. When she finished, no one l

Ohio Teachers in Crisis and CWA on the Union Wave Into November

Two conversations that connect the stress of the classroom to the energy on the shop floor — one on a national survey showing the teaching profession is in crisis and wha

Steven Ruggles on the Coming Labor Shortage and What It Means

Wages for young workers peaked in 1973. Real wages for young men did not fully recover until after 2015, reaching a low of approximately 25% below the 1973 peak — a 42-ye

AGMA's Opera Colorado Win and Ohio AFL-CIO on November's Stakes

Two conversations connecting the ground-level work of organizing to the political moment that makes it possible — one tracing the first wall-to-wall unionization of an Am