Shows
Labor Express RadioLabor Express Radio 20th/30th Anniversary Special!This is the full 3-3-2024 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
Our 20th / 30th Anniversary special! Labor Express Radio started in Fall 1993, so the program actually had its 30th birthday some months ago. February marked the 20th anniversary of current host producer Jerry Mead-Lucero at the helm. This 2 hour + special features a panel discussion with Scott Houldieson UAWD Steering Cmte Chair, and former VP UAW L551- Richard Berg organizer with Chicago Teachers Union (specifically charter school division) - Jorge Mujica of ARISE Chicago Workers Center - and includes the original host...
2024-03-062h 14
Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 7-30-2023 - El Milagro tortillerias and Portillo’s workers favorable NLRB rulings and the legacy of UE HallThis is the full 7-30-2023 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, workers for El Milagro tortillerias and for Portillo’s, with the assistance of ARISE Chicago workers center, utilize favorable NLRB rulings to advance their organizing efforts. UE General President Carl Rosen talks about the history and legacy of UE Hall. And some brief words on the tentative agreement between the Teamsters and UPS.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio...
2023-08-021h 01
Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 7-16-2023 - Hollywood actors on strike, largest Starbucks in the world files for union election, Joe Allen - The Package King: A Rank and File History of UPSThis is the full 7-16-2023 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, the Hollywood actors (SAG-AFTRA) go on strike. Workers at the largest Starbucks in the world in downtown Chicago file for a union recognition election. And from the Labor Express archive, Joe Allen, author of The Package King: A Rank and File History of UPS, discusses the history of UPS and its impact on working conditions in the U.S. PLEASE NOTE, THE WLPN BROADCAST INCLUDED ONLY THE FIRST HALF OF JOE ALLEN’S INTERVIEW. THIS PODCAST VERSION FEATURE...
2023-07-191h 27
Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 7-2-2023 - Teamsters at UPS prepare to strike, update on WGA strike and Chicago minimum wage increases.This is the full 7-2-2023 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, Teamsters and the TDU prepare for a strike at UPS. Update on the Hollywood writer's strike. Chicago and Cook County minimum wages increase.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebook page... laborexpress.org
and...
2023-07-0558 min
Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 6-18-2023 - Will the Summer-Fall of 2023 bring a historic “strike wave”? Chicago Teachers win 12 weeks of parental leave and Chicago as a model for asylum sanctuary.This is the full 6-18-2023 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, a possible Summer-Fall 2023 strike wave looks more likely with developments with Teamsters at UPS, UAW at the Automakers, Hollywood actors joining the writers and the ILWU contract yet to be voted on. Chicago teachers win 12-weeks of parental leave and Chicago becomes a model city for welcoming Asylum seekers under the leadership of Mayor Johnson.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only labor news and current affairs radio program. News...
2023-06-211h 05Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 6-4-2023 - AI and your job, warehouse workers demand stronger truck emissions standards, Hollywood strippers unionize, dock workers hold work stoppageThis is the full 6-4-2023 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, will AI steal your job? Warehouse workers push for stronger truck emissions standards in Illinois. Strippers in Hollywood unionize. West Coast dock workers hold work stoppage.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebook page... laborexpress.org
and our homepage on Archive...
2023-06-0756 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 5-14-2023 - AI and the working class, Hollywood Writers Strike, and May Day 2023 in ChicagoThis is the full 5-14-2023 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, AI’s impact on the working class, the Hollywood Writers Strike, and May Day 2023 in Chicago.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebook page... laborexpress.org
and our homepage on Archive.org at:
http://www.archive.org/details/LaborExpressRadio
2023-05-2457 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 4-30-2023 - Hope Academy, Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson and child labor laws under attackThis is the full 4-30-2023 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, 10th anniversary of the Rana Plaza workplace disaster, former union organizer Brandon Johnson elected Chicago’s next Mayor, teachers and parents of Hope Academy Chicago fight to keep their school open and child labor laws under attack in Iowa.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see...
2023-05-2456 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 4-2-2023 - Teamsters gear up for possible UPS strike and France in revoltThis is the full 4-2-2023 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, Hong Kong unions fight for survival under government suppression, Teamsters organize for a possible strike at UPS in August and the French working class in open revolt against Macron.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebook page... laborexpress.org
and our ho...
2023-05-2457 min
Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 3-19-2023 - Saket Soni’s The Great Escape, UTLA and SEIU strike LAUSD, UAW reformers winThis is the full 3-19-2023 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
Reformers victorious in UAW elections, teachers and staff in Los Angles schools prepare to strike and Saket Soni discusses his new book The Great Escape: A True Story of Forced Labor and Immigrant Dreams in America, about hundreds of Indian guest workers escaping a forced labor camp in post-Katrina Mississippi.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday...
2023-03-2356 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 2-26-2023 - 2022 strike surge and Railroad Workers United speaks out on East Palestine Ohio train derailmentThis is the full 2-26-2023 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, it seems the pandemic period strike wave continues - 2022 saw a 50% increase in strike activity. And Railroad Workers United speaking out on the corporate greed behind the East Palestine Ohio train derailment.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebook page... laborexpress.org
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2023-03-111h 08Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 2-12-2023 - U.S. Supreme court threatens right to strike and 1937 Flint Sit-Down strike and its relevance to UAW todayThis is the full 2-12-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the Feb. 12th episode of Labor Express Radio, will the U.S. Supreme Court attack the right to strike? And the 86th anniversary of the 1937 Flint Sit-Down strike and its relevance to the UAW and the labor movement today.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebook page... laborexpress.org
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2023-03-0556 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 1-29-2023 - Chicago teachers demand improved parental leave, Arise Chicago demands DHS implement protections for immigrant workers, and Dr. Rasmus predicts economic conditionsThis is the full 1-29-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the Jan. 29th episode of Labor Express Radio, Chicago teachers demand Mayor Lightfoot implement improved parental leave, Arise Chicago demands DHS implement protections for immigrant workers, the war in Ukraine’s effect on seafarers and Dr. Jack Rasmus predicts economic conditions in 2023.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebook pa...
2023-03-0555 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 1-8-2023 - Howard Brown Health Centers strike and 2023 predications for the working classThis is the full 1-8-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
What does 2023 have in store for working people and the labor movement? Forecasts and predictions for the new year. Also, workers at the Howard Brown Health Centers carry out a 3-day strike to protest layoffs.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebook page... laborexpress.org
and our homepage on...
2023-01-2955 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 12-18-2022 - Twitter, domestic workers' rights, incarcerated workers, and labor journalist Kim KellyLabor Express for 12-18-2022
This is the full 12-18-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, what does chaos at Twitter mean for unions, domestic worker's rights in Illinois, labor journalist Kim Kelly on incarcerated workers, and much more.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebook page... laborexpress.org
and o...
2022-12-3155 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 12-4-2022 - Government imposes railway labor agreement, World Cup 2022, UAW strike at UCThis is the full 12-4-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, the federal government uses the arcane Railway Labor Act to cram an unjust contract agreement down the throats of union rail workers, World Cup 2022 comes at the cost of the deaths of hundreds of migrant workers, and the largest strike of graduate student workers in the nation’s history nears the third week mark.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Lab...
2022-12-0655 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 11-13-2022 - CTU fights for bilingual ed and railroad workers on the verge of striking.This is the full 11-13-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, the Chicago Teachers Union holds a Dia de los Muertos press conference to highlight CPS’s broken promises on bilingual ed in Chicago’s public schools and, is a railroad strike still likely? Members of Railroad Workers United discuss the ongoing vote on the rail worker's tentative agreement and its rejection by several of the 12 rail worker's unions.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working peopl...
2022-12-0556 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 10-30-2022 - Minimum wage laws, Chicago charter school contract fight, elections in Brazil.This is the full 10-30-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, minimum wage laws at the city, county and state level are discussed. CTU launches a citywide campaign for new charter school contracts. Brazil’s election could impact not only Latin America but the entire world.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebook page...
2022-11-1556 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 10-16-2022 - Alianza Americas sues Republican xenophobes, UAW election candidatesThis is the full 10-16-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, Alianza Americas and Lawyers for Civil Rights initiate a lawsuit targeting the Republican politicians responsible for the fraudulent transportation of migrants under false pretenses. Also, audio from the historic UAW Presidential Candidates Forum, the first direct election of UAW leadership in at least 70 years.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM...
2022-10-3055 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 10-2-2022 - Illinois Worker’ Rights Amendment plus was a railroad strike averted?This is the full 10-2-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, I discuss the proposed Workers' Rights Amendment that is on the 2022 general election ballot in Illinois with Robert Bruno, a Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Labor and Employment Relations and as well as the Director of the Project for Middle-Class Renewal and Frank Manzo the Executive Director of the Illinois Economic Policy Institute. Also, Jonah Furman of Labor Notes discusses the recently averted railroad strike.
Labor Express Radio is...
2022-10-0458 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 8-14-2022 - Ukrainian working class’s two-front warThis is the full 9-18-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, the Ukrainian working class faces a fight on two fronts. While they organize a truly heroic resistance to Russian imperialism, they must also contend with an attack on their labor rights from within - from their own neo-liberal Parliament.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. F...
2022-09-291h 07Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 9-4-2022 - Labor Day 2022This is the full 9-4-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, we celebrate Labor Day with a little history, reflections on highlights of the labor movement in Chicago for the past year and a little music.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebook page... laborexpress.org
and our homepage on...
2022-09-0656 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 8-14-2022 - Rank-and-File Revolt in the UAWThis is the full 8-14-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
Rank-and-File Revolt in the UAW! Scott Houldieson, Chairperson of Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD) discuss the historic UAW 2022 Convention.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebook page... laborexpress.org
and our homepage on Archive.org at:
http://www.archive.org/details/LaborExpressRadio
L...
2022-09-0656 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 7-31-2022 - Labor’s response to the attack on abortion rights.This is the full 7-31-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the next episode of Labor Express Radio, the U.S. Supreme Court last month stripped away bodily autonomy for women and endorsed forced pregnancy - involuntary, unpaid reproductive labor. What is the labor movement's response?
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebook page... laborexpress.org
and...
2022-09-0656 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 7-17-2022 - Part 2 of Labor Notes 2022 CoverageThis is the full 7-17-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the next episode of Labor Express Radio, part 2 of our excerpts of presentations from Labor Notes 2022, including the voices of powerful leaders in the labor movement like Sara Nelson of the Flight Attendants Union, Marcia Howard of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, Nolan Tabb of Unite All Workers for Democracy and Chicago’s very own Stacy Davis Gates, who now takes over as president of the CTU.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio pr...
2022-09-0655 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 6-26-2022 - Part 1 of our coverage of Labor Notes 2022.This is the full 6-26-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, excerpts of presentations from Labor Notes 2022, including voices from the organizing victories at Amazon and Starbucks and a speech on the state of the class struggle in the U.S. by Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our...
2022-07-1956 min
Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 6-12-2022 - Joe Burns - Reviving the Strike, Labor Notes 2022 and Poor People’s Assembly and Moral March.This is the full 6-12-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, Joe Burn’s has a new book out entitled Class Struggle Unionism. From the Labor Express Radio archive, we rebroadcast a presentation on his previous book, Reviving The Strike. Plus Labor Notes 2022 and Poor People’s & Low-Wage Workers' Assembly and Moral March on Washington and to the Polls.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every...
2022-06-1553 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 5-22-2022 - WWJ Good Jobs & Clean Air study, Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh murdered, new book by Robin Alexander on the UE, FAT relationship.This is the full 5-22-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
Warehouse Workers for Justice releases a new Good Jobs & Clean Air study which examines the impact of warehouses in Will County and alternatives for the future. Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh murdered by the IDF in the Occupied Territories. And new book by Robin Alexander of the UE entitled International Solidarity in Action on the UE, FAT relationship.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Ra...
2022-05-3059 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 5-8-2022 - May Day 2022 in Chicago and around the world.This is the full 5-8-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
May Day 2022 in Chicago and around the world.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebook page... laborexpress.org
and our homepage on Archive.org at:
http://www.archive.org/details/LaborExpressRadio
Labor Express is a member of the Labor Radio / Podcast Network, Wo...
2022-05-151h 00Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 4-17-2022 - Amazon and REI in New York go union!This is the full 4-17-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, a historic union election victory at Staten Island Amazon warehouse and union election victory at Soho REI store in NYC! Are we in a period of possible labor movement resurgence? #laborradionetwork #LaborRadioPod #1u #UnionStrong
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebo...
2022-04-2456 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 4-3-2022 - IBEW Local 1220 goes on strike at WTTW.This is the full 4-3-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, IBEW Local 1220 launches a strike at WTTW-Channel 11, Chicago’s public television channel. It's the first strike in the broadcaster's over 65-year history. Hear why the workers at WTTW see this as an existential fight. #laborradionetwork #LaborRadioPod #1u #UnionStrong
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more info...
2022-04-0656 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 3-20-2022 - Voices from the Ukrainian Left as they fight Russia’s imperialist aggression.This is the full 3-20-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, voices from the Ukrainian Left as they fight Russia’s imperialist aggression. #laborradionetwork #LaborRadioPod #1u #UnionStrong
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebook page... laborexpress.org
and our homepage on Archive.org at:
http://www.archive.org/det...
2022-03-2457 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 3-6-2022 - War in Ukraine from a working-class perspective.This is the full 3-6-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, one of the Ukraine Solidarity Campaign’s leading spokespersons - academic, socialist activist and expert on Ukrainian history, Marko Bojcun, discusses the origins of the current crisis in Ukraine. We will also hear from a long-time Russian socialist dissident and academic, Boris Kargalitsky. He will discuss in particular what this crisis means for the Russian working class and the tremendous opposition to the war in Russia. #laborradionetwork #LaborRadioPod #1u #UnionStrong
Labor Express Radio is Chicago...
2022-03-1057 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 2-13-2022 - Ald. Sigcho-Lopez discusses Starbucks worker organizing and affordable housing in ChicagoThis is the full 2-13-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, we talk Starbucks workers organizing! Workers at 70 Starbucks locations across the country are organizing unions, including 2 in Chicago. Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez discusses introducing a resolution in Chicago City Council to support the workers. He also discusses exciting affordable housing possibilities in Pilsen. Hosts of the Work Stoppage Podcast, former employees for Starbucks, discuss the firing of 7 workers for organizing at a Starbucks store in Memphis. #laborradionetwork #LaborRadioPod #1u #UnionStrong
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only Eng...
2022-02-161h 00Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 1-30-2022 - New protections for domestic workers in Chicago and CTU and Mayor Lightfoot reach agreement on safe schools.This is the full 1-30-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, Arise Chicago Workers Center discusses Chicago’s new domestic worker rights ordinance. The Chicago Teachers Union and Mayor Lightfoot reach an agreement on a safe return plan, but short of what the Union wanted. And working people’s loss of faith in public institutions in the United States. #laborradionetwork #LaborRadioPod #1u #UnionStrong
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Expre...
2022-02-0657 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 1-9-2022 - Chicago Teachers Union fights for safe schools in response to the Omicron variant and Steve Zeltzer looks at labor’s response to the rise of the right.This is the full 1-9-2022 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
SORRY FOR THE MUCH DELAYED PODCAST VERSION OF LAST SUNDAY’S LABOR EXPRESS. THE NEWS IN THIS EPISODE IS DATED NOW, BUT STILL VERY MUCH RELEVANT. UPDATE COMING SOON… On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, The Chicago Teachers Union calls for a safe return to schools including increased testing in response to the Omicron Covid variant. Also, Steve Zeltzer of Work Week Radio marks the anniversary of the Jan. 6th attempted coup in a discussion with Vermont AFL-CIO Labor Council president David Van Deu...
2022-01-1555 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 12-19-2021 - Rank-and-file members of IATSE and UAW at John Deere discuss health and safety, new contracts, Chicago JWJ launches new campaign.This is the full 12-19-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, rank-and-file members of IATSE and the UAW at John Deere discuss health and safety on the job as well as their new contracts. Chicago JWJ announces a new organizing project called CAWS.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebook page... lab...
2021-12-2656 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 12-5-2021 - Jonah Furman, Labor Notes on new John Deere contract and sympathy strikes at KaiserThis is the full 12-5-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, Jonah Furman of Labor Notes discusses the victory of striking workers at John Deere and what they won in their new contract. Jonah also talks about the new contracts or TAs for IATSE members and workers for Kaiser, as well as the overall state of labor struggle in this unique period. Later in the program, voices from the picket lines of striking workers for Kaiser Permanente in the Bay Area of California.
Labor Express Ra...
2021-12-0856 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 11-21-2021 - New IATSE contract, Halyna Hutchins tragic death on the set of Rust, El Milagro workers, immigration reform and BidenThis is the full 11-21-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On the latest episode of Labor Express Radio, IATSE members vote yes by a raise thin margin on their new contract, avoiding a strike. But is this really a win for workers? And how does the tragic death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust highlight the working conditions in the film industry? Plus, Jorge Mujica of Arise Chicago workers center discusses success in the El Milagro tortilla factory worker’s ongoing struggle and fading hopes for serious immigration reform from the Bide...
2021-11-251h 03Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 11-7-2021 - STRIKETOBER becomes STRIKEVEMBER or STRIKESGIVING!This is the full 11-7-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, STRIKETOBER becomes STRIKEVEMBER or STRIKESGIVING! The 2021 wave of strikes continues, but is it a “strike wave”. We hear from multiple labor commentators, organizers and Kellogg’s strikers.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebook page... laborexpress.org
and our homepage o...
2021-11-1059 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 10-24-2021 - Shailly Gupta Barnes of the Poor People’s Campaign and Striketober.This is the full 10-24-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, Shailly Gupta Barnes of the Poor People’s Campaign discusses their new study, Waking the Sleeping Giant: Poor and Low-Income Voters in the 2020 Elections. We also discuss STRIKETOBER! The strike wave sweeping the nation.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebook page...
2021-10-2756 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 10-3-2021 - Know Your Rights on the Job and Jonah Furman on John Deere.This is the full 10-3-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, the Raise the Floor Alliance, Warehouse Workers for Justice and TWUAP (Temp Worker Union Alliance Project), educate workers about their rights on the job and Jonah Furman, staff writer for Labor Notes, discusses contract negotiations at John Deere where a strike is still possible. We also briefly discuss the current state of the UAW.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working p...
2021-10-0655 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 9-19-2021 - Status of PRO-Act and Hurricane Ida and the NYC working class.This is the full 9-19-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, Bill Samuel, director of government affairs at the AFL-CIO talks about the status of the PRO-Act and Luis Feliz Leon, staff writer and organizer with Labor Notes, discusses the impact of Hurricane Ida on the NYC working class.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more...
2021-09-2258 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 9-5-2021 - Reflection and analysis of the Trumka years of the AFL-CIO with two labor historians.This is the full 9-5-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, we examine the Trumka years of the AFL-CIO and reflect on the legacy of the late Richard Trumka - from miner to trade union leader and eventually President of the nation’s largest labor federation. Our guests are Steven Ashby, professor in the Chicago Labor Education Program in the School of Labor and Employment Relations, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Kim Scipes Professor of Sociology at Purdue University and the author of numerous books on...
2021-09-081h 10Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 8-22-2021 - Eulogy to Trumka, CTU demands safe school return, and the host/producer of The Amazon.This is the full 8-22-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, a brief eulogy for AFL-CIO president Rich Trumka, CTU bargains with CPS over safe return to schools and Avery Barnard, former Amazon employee and producer of the podcast called The Amazon talks about why he launched a podcast on Amazon’s impact on workers and society.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM...
2021-08-2855 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 8-8-2021 - Dennis Kosuth on new nurses contract at Cook County Hospital and Frito-Lay strikers on why they struke and what they gained.This is the full 8-8-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, Dennis Kosuth - NNU nurse at Cook County hospital and member of the CTU as a school nurse discusses the new nurse's contact at Cook County and concerns regarding the coming school year. Also, a 3-week long strike at Frito-Lay in Kansas ended on July 25th. We hear about why the workers struke and what they gained in their new contract. What do their conditions say about work in the 21st century?
Labor Express Radio is...
2021-08-1056 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 7-25-2021 - PRO-Act week of action and Amazon a danger to our communities.This is the full 7-25-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, The AFL-CIO ramps up the fight for the PRO-Act with a week of action including every state in the union. Meanwhile space cowboy Jeff Bezos takes a 4 minute ride to outer space, financed on the backs of hundreds of thousands of Amazon workers.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN i...
2021-07-3056 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 6-27-2021 - CTU fights layoffs, NNU and SEIU strike at Cook County, members of ATU fight CTA mang. and their union leadership, SEIU celebrates JuneteenthThis is the full 6-27-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
SORRY FOR THE UNEXPECTED AND UNPLANNED MONTH HIATUS OF THE PODCAST!... Chicago Teachers Union opposes more than 440 layoffs of CPS employees at the end of the school year. Cook County hospital nurses on the picket lines during their one day strike. Chicago transit workers who are fed up with working for a year and a half without a contract and a union leadership that seems unwilling to take the militant steps necessary to win a good contract. SEIU celebrates Juneteenth 2021, the first year this imp...
2021-07-3059 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 6-13-2021 - Union struggles at Urban Prep and EPIC charter schools, WWJ goes after Amazon shareholdersThis is the full 6-13-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio teachers at Urban Prep Charter school win their two-day strike while teachers at EPIC Charter school are fired and students are harassed by management for supporting them. Also, Illinois has no clean energy law this legislative session because of the influence of the Prairie State Coal plant, one of the nation’s worst polluters and Warehouse Workers for Justice goes after Amazon’s shareholders.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and curre...
2021-06-2200 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 5-23-2021 - May Day in Chicago and what next for Amazon organizingThis is the full 5-23-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
This episode of Labor Express Radio includes audio from the 2021 May Day events in Chicago and addresses the question of what next for organizing at Amazon after the lost union election at the Bessemer Alabama Amazon warehouse, featuring audio from Labor Notes.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our...
2021-05-261h 01Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 5-2-2021 Jorge Mujica of Arise Workers Center, Alianza Americas on migrationThis is the full 5-2-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
This episode features a wide-ranging interview with Jorge Mujica of Arise Chicago Workers Center. We discuss the end of the dreaded “No Match letters”, the Illinois Senate’s considering of the Secure Jobs Act (SB2332), Biden’s first 100 days and May Day 2021. Later in the program we hear from Alianza Americas about the root causes of migration from Central America.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Expr...
2021-05-0458 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 4-18-2021 Analyzing the lost union election at Amazon in AL.This is the full 4-18-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode, we address the very unfortunate loss in the union election at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer Alabama. What are the lessons of this turn of events and what does it mean for the labor movement more broadly? The program includes the voices of the union, The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), workers at Amazon in Bessemer and analysis from several experts on union organizing and labor law.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news an...
2021-04-2057 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 3-28-2021, unions vs. Amazon, Chicago school parents want TLC, Dave Zirin interviews Sarah JaffeThis is the full 3-28-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, as we await the results of the union election at the Amazon.com warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, we’ll hear about global union efforts to confront this international logistics giant. Then we will hear from parents of students in the Chicago public schools who are fed up with what they see is a lack of parent voice in the school system in this city, especially during this pandemic. And in the second half of the program sports edit...
2021-03-3155 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 3-16-2021, Campaign to pass the PRO ActThis is the full 3-14-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, the PRO Act (the “Protecting the Right to Organize Act”) passes in the house and is headed to the Senate. We hear about what's in the PRO Act from Labor Radio/Podcast Network partner Labor Live at 5. In the second half Sara Nelson, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants and author, activist, and filmmaker Naomi Klein talk about the grassroots organizing effort to win passage of the Act, an effort organized by DSA (Democratic Socialist of Ame...
2021-03-1755 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 2-28-2021, Special Program - Labor Express celebrates the work of the late Karen LewisThis is the full 2-28-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, we remember Karen Lewis, former President of the Chicago Teachers Union, with audio from the Labor Beat TV and the Labor Express Radio archives. Karen passed away Feb. 7th. She leaves a tremendous legacy of a union transformed from one that had made concessions in contract after contract to union that won two historic strikes, and became a model for other unions around the country of how a militant, member driven, social justice focused union should operate. She...
2021-03-051h 36Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 2-14-2021, Chicago teachers win improved COVID safety plan and the passing of CTU President Emerita Karen LewisThis is the full 2-14-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, we celebrate an agreement between the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and Chicago Public Schools on a plan for an at least safer return to schools than what CPS was originally demanding. It is a victory for the union who had fought hard to ensure the safety of school personnel and students alike during this pandemic. We also mourn the passing of Karen Lewis, President Emerita of the CTU, whose leadership and vision helped build the union into on...
2021-02-1658 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 1-31-2021, Chicago teachers demand vaccinations before return to school buildings and the PRO Act could significantly improve labor law in the U.S.This is the full 1-31-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, the Chicago Teachers Union makes their demand crystal clear - no return to in-school classes without vaccinations. And they receive what they see as a statement of support from none other than President Biden himself, while CPS continues to lock out teachers who have resisted a return to school buildings. NOTE THIS IS A QUICKLY EVOLVING SITUATION. SEE LABOREXPRESS.ORG FOR UPDATES. Also, the PRO Act - proposed ground breaking federal legislation that if passed would go a lo...
2021-02-021h 01Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 1-17-2021, Dennis Kosuth on Chicago nurses and teachers fighting back, plus The COVID Jungle Research Report, and workers response to the right-wing insurrection.This is the full 1-17-2021 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, nurse Dennis Kosuth, who works in both hospitals and public schools, a member of both National Nurses United (NNU) and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) discusses Chicago’s teachers and nurses fighting back against unsafe conditions in their workplaces during the pandemic, especially the resistance of teachers to a return to in-classroom teaching as the infection rate in the city tops 10%. Also in this episode, a coalition of Chicago worker’s centers release a new report entitled The C...
2021-01-2155 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 12-27-2020, Monopoly, capitalist game with left wing origins and the AFL-CIO turns 65.This is the full 12-27-2020 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, it's our holiday episode. Did you buy the game Monopoly as a gift this year? Maybe you played it with friends or family? What does this game teach children and what was it really meant to teach? We explore those last two questions on this episode. And, we mark the 65th anniversary of the AFL-CIO merger. Both segments courtesy of our friends at Labor History Today… https://laborhistorytoday.podbean.com/
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only Eng...
2020-12-3056 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 12-13-2020, DSA launches renewed fight for M4All, CTU on new teachers militancy, UE’s booklet - “Them and Us UnionismThis is the full 12-13-2020 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) host their own Medicare4All campaign relaunch, shortly after NNU’s kickoff. The relaunch event includes Chicago nurse Dennis Kosuth, NNU and CTU member. Then the CTU hosts a discussion of rising teacher union militancy nationwide. And UE releases a booklet entitled “Them and Us Unionism”.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio air...
2020-12-191h 08Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 11-29-2020, Nurse Elizabeth Lalasz, member of NNU, discusses Cook County cuts and COVID. Plus NNU relaunches Medicare4All Fight.This is the full 11-29-2020 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On tonight’s episode of Labor Express Radio, cuts in the Cook County hospital system and nurses on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis fightback. An interview with Stroger Hospital nurse Elizabeth Lalasz, member of National Nurses United who works with COVID patients on the likely effects of the cuts to Black and Brown working-class communities on the Southside of Chicago and how nurses are organizing regardless to fight for safe workplaces and patient centered care. Plus, NNU launches a renewed fight for Medicare4All...
2020-12-0155 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 11-15-2020, Bill Fletcher Jr. on Trump’s election defeat, Mars warehouse workers, and Erek Slater’s fight for reinstatement continues.This is the full 11-15-2020 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, responses to Trump’s election defeat from people celebrating the 2020 Presidential election’s outcome in the streets of Chicago and from highly respected racial justice and labor organizer Bill Fletcher Jr. Also on the program, updates on the fight of workers in the warehouses for Mars candies, members of Warehouse Workers for Justice (WWJ) for safe workplaces and against retaliatory firings for organizing activity. And the International Campaign to Reinstate Chicago Bus Driver Erek Slater continues, with a rall...
2020-11-171h 15Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 10-25-2020, Fair Tax in Illinois and Prop 15 in California.This is the full 10-25-2020 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, unions fight for fair, progressive taxation on two coasts. Here in Chicago, the labor movement, especially the teachers, are working for a yes vote on the Fair Tax which would switch Illinois from a flat tax to a progressive graduated income tax. Meanwhile, the labor movement in California is putting its resources behind passage of Prop 15, Schools and Communities First, which will end a loophole allowing wealthy commercial and industrial property owners to avoid paying their fair sh...
2020-10-2759 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 9-27-2020, SEIU 73 WINS at UIC Hospital, People’s Academy defeats ICE Academy and LVEJO and Warehouse Workers Justice partnership.This is the full 9-27-2020 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, victory in the strike of SEIU Local 73 members at UIC Hospital! The Peoples Academy defeats the ICE Academy- an insidious attempt to recruit regular citizens to become part of the deportation machine. And LVEJO and Warehouse Workers for Justice form a groundbreaking partnership uniting the interests of low wage workers and environmental justice activists.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working pe...
2020-09-3058 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 9-13-2020, Nurses at UIC go on strike! Teamsters 743 fight cuts and closures at Provident and Mercy hospitals. Warehouse Workers for Justice fights firings of Mars candy workerThis is the full 9-13-2020 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, nurses at UIC hospital go on strike! Members of INA (Illinois Nurses Association) launched a week-long strike on Saturday at UIC Hospital over staffing ratios and safe working conditions, especially in the context of the COVID-19 crisis (they were joined by SEIU Local 73 on Monday). Teamsters Local 743 organized a car caravan and rally last Tuesday from Provident Hospital in the Washington Park neighborhood to Mercy Hospital in the Bronzeville neighborhood to protest cuts at Provident, the closing of...
2020-09-1555 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 8-30-2020, Postal workers speak out against attacks on the postal system and bus driver Erek Slater of the ATU fights the CTA over another illegal firing and for racial and ecoThis is the full 8-30-2020 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, postal workers speak out against attacks on the postal system by the Trump administration. This is not just an election issue, this is a privatization issue and an attack on unions. And in the second half of the program, Erek Slater fights a political firing by the Chicago Transit Authority for the second time in his 14 years as a Chicago bus driver. The CTA fired Erek once again for carrying out his union duties. Erek relates his figh...
2020-09-011h 05Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 8-9-2020, CTU demands remote start to CPS school year and audio excerpt from Haymarket Books forum Racism is a Public Health Crisis.This is the full 8-9-2020 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, we bring you audio excerpts from one of the Chicago Teachers Union’s recent Car Caravan protests demanding that Chicago Public Schools start the 2020 school year fully remote. The CTU has claimed another victory at Mayor Lightfoot has backed down and agreed to a fully remote start to the school year. Also in the program, audio excerpts from Haymarket Books recent webinar “Racism is a Public Health Crisis”.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English languag...
2020-08-1159 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 7-26-2020, Jorge Mujica of Arise Chicago on Illinois Unidos and CBA for displaced by Obama Presidential Library.This is the full 7-26-2020 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, Jorge Mujica of Arise Chicago workers center talks about the new coalition called Illinois Unidos, formed to address the health care problems of the Latinx community associated with COVID-19, especially in the workplace. Also in the episode, Black Youth Project 100 and Black Lives Matter activists demand a CBA for displaced Southeast siders because of the Obama Presidential Library. And 200,000 seafarers trapped at sea, for months after the expiration of their employment contracts, because of the pandemic.
2020-07-281h 00Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 6-28-2020, COVID-19 and meatpackers as well as union’s relationship with Black Lives Matter and the Police as addressed by several labor radio shows.This is the full 7-12-2020 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio we look at the impact of COVID-19 on workers in the meatpacking industry and the relationship between unions, Black Lives Matter and the police. But we are doing it in a unique way because this episode of Labor Express Radio is also a coast to coast tour of labor radio programs in celebration of our new membership in the Labor Radio/Podcast Network. The Network offers us wonderful opportunities to expand our reach and resources so that...
2020-07-1456 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 6-28-2020, Ameya Pawar on UBI, Stacy Davis Gates on cops out of CPS SchoolsThis is the full 6-28-2020 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, Universal Basic Income (UBI), great solution to help alleviate some of the worst problems of our economy whose time has come or distraction from real solutions to the crisis we face? And what is up with the proposed Chicago UBI pilot project? A conversation with Ameya Pawar, former Chicago alderman and Fellow at the Open Society Foundations & Economic Security Project. Pawar also discusses public banking and its potential to revolutionize the marketplace. Also on the program, Chicago T...
2020-06-3059 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 6-14-2020, Erek Slater on ATU solidarity with Black Lives Matter and CTA management’s efforts to silence that solidarity, and voices from the uprising.This is the full 6-14-2020 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, REBELLION 2020!: Uprisings against racism and police brutality erupt across the nation in response to the murder of yet another Black man, George Floyd at the hands of yet another White cop, Derek Chauvin. But this time the African-American community and its allies have come out into the streets day after day, week after week, across the nation to say enough is enough. And this time, at least one union, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), is doing more th...
2020-06-161h 01Labor Express RadioLabor Express Radio Audio Extra: Chicago bus driver and elected ATU Local 241 board member denounces CTA management’s suspension for discussing solidarity with anti-police brutality protesters.Labor Express Radio Audio Extra: Chicago bus driver and elected ATU Local 241 board member denounces CTA management’s suspension for discussing solidarity with anti-police brutality protesters.
CTA Bus Driver and elected executive board member of ATU Local 241 Erek Slater is fighting an unlawful suspension by CTA management who have repeatedly harassed him and his fellow bus drivers, denying them their 1st amendment rights as well as violating labor law and union contract protections. It appears that at the heart of the harassment is the bus drivers' discussions of how they should respond to the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU...
2020-06-0915 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 5-31-2020, Mike Elk on COVID-19 Strike Wave Tracker and Interactive Map. Plus teachers respond to COVID-19.This is the full 5-31-2020 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, we continue our ongoing examination of how unions and social movements are responding to the COVID-19 crisis and how the working class has responded to this crisis with an historic level of self-activity, militancy and creativity. Labor Journalist Mike Elk discusses his Payday Report website which hosts the COVID-19 Strike Wave Tracker and Interactive Map, which has so far documented over 230 strikes related to the COVID-19 crisis since early March. We also take a look at how te...
2020-06-011h 00Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 5-17-2020, Cristobal Cavazos of Immigrant Solidarity DuPage Workers Center and Amazonians United.This is the full 5-17-2020 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, we highlight the work of Immigrant Solidarity DuPage and their Workers Center, especially their mutual aid efforts during the COVID-19 crisis. Cristobal Cavazos explains the history of the organization, the unique role of workers centers in the labor movement, and how they can organize to support workers during this crisis. He describes several recent victories including the two week shutdown of the Smithfield meatpacking plant in St. Charles, IL. Also in the program, does Amazonians United demonstrate the...
2020-05-1856 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 5-5-2020, Nurses protest COVID-19 safety at Stroger, transit worker Eric Basir battle with COVID-19, Moises Zavala UFCW organizing cannabis, Marianela D'Aprile growth of DSAThis is the full 5-5-2020 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, nurses at Stroger hospital, members of NNU, protest hospital administrators refusal to follow CDC guidelines, putting employees and patients at risk.* Moises Zavala and Eric Basir are back. This time Moises is talking about organizing in the cannabis industry and Eric is discussing his own battle with COVID-19 and with his employer, the CTA, over testing and sick leave. And Marianela D'Aprile, member of the National Political Committee of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), discusses the “Be...
2020-05-0657 minLabor Express RadioLabor Express Radio Audio Extra: Nurses at Stroger Hospital in Chicago hold rally protesting lack of PPE are joined by transit workers with the same complaint against the CTA.Labor Express Radio Audio Extra: Nurses at Stroger Hospital in Chicago hold rally protesting lack of PPE are joined by transit workers with the same complaint against the CTA.
Nurses, members of National Nurses United (NNU), held a rally outside Stroger hospital in Chicago on April 27, 2020. They were protesting practices and policies of hospital management they say is preventing the nurses from accessing needed PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and do not observe CDC guidelines for how hospitals should operate in order to protect both staff and patients. They were joined by transit workers who have similar complaints ag...
2020-05-0519 minLabor Express RadioInterview: Marianela D'Aprile, member of the National Political Committee of the Democratic Socialists of America, discusses rapid growth of the DSA post Bernie campaign.Labor Express Radio Interview: Marianela D'Aprile, member of the National Political Committee of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), discusses the “Bernie bump”. Both in 2016 and now again, in 2020, the DSA has seen massive increases in membership. As a result, the DSA has become the closest thing to a mass socialist party we have seen in the United States in at least 70 years. At the same time, the organization has worked to avoid the limitations that come with electoralism. Embracing a “class struggle election work” strategy that privileges movement building as much as winning elections. The DSA has also launched new p...
2020-05-0227 minLabor Express RadioInterview: CTA train motorman Eric Basir discusses Transit Workers Unite’s petition on the COVID-19 crisis and his own battle with the disease.Interview: This is the full, unedited interview with transit worker Eric Basir. Excerpts were aired on the 4/19/2020 and the 5/3/2020 episodes of Labor Express Radio. Eric Basir, train motorman and member of ATU Local 308 discusses Transit Workers Unite's petition calling for workers action in the face of COVID-19 and the job action of the CTA train cleaners who were forced to work in unsafe conditions. Eric himself, like far too many transit workers has contracted COVID-19. He has not ended up in the hospital but the symptoms have been dragging out and preventing his ability to return to work. Unfortunately Eric...
2020-04-2923 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 4-19-2020, Worker’s Self-Activity in response to COVID-19, discussion with Moises Zavala - UFCW, Erek Slater and Eric Basir - ATU and Carl Rosen - UEThis is the full 4-19-2020 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, we continue to look at how the labor and other social movements are responding to the coronavirus crisis. The COVID-19 crisis is sparking worker's self-activity in a way not seen in generations. How are unions responding to this exciting development? Along with the theme of social solidarity in the time of physical distancing, this theme of the rise of grassroots working-class action is something I seek to explore on Labor Express and its starts tonight. Moises Zavala, D...
2020-04-221h 00Labor Express RadioInterview: Erek Slater of Transit Workers Unite and COVID-19 survivor on “Safety First for Transit Workers Now”Labor Express Radio Interview: Erek Slater of Transit Workers Unite and COVID-19 survivor on the “Safety First for Transit Workers Now” Petition and the impact of COVID-19 on transit workers.
Jerry Mead-Lucero of Labor Express Radio interviews Erek Slater, bus driver, elected board member of ATU Local 241 and founding member of Transit Workers Unite, recovering himself from his own bout of COVID-19, about the devastating impact of the crisis on transit workers and the petition his organization, along with several others including Local 100 Fightback and ATU 308 for Justice Coalition issued recently calling on their employers - the trans...
2020-04-1720 minLabor Express RadioInterview: Carl Rosen - General President of UE discusses how unions can and must organize a militant, bottom up worker fightback in response to the COVID-19 crisis.Labor Express Radio Interview: Carl Rosen - General President of UE discusses how unions can and must organize a militant, bottom up worker fightback in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
Jerry Mead-Lucero of Labor Express Radio interviews Carl Rosen, General President of United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE) about his recent article in In These Times magazine entitled “We Need the Labor Movement To Organize Worker Fightback in the Face of the COVID-19 Crisis”. Rosen layouts an agenda for organized labor to meet the needs clearly expressed by the working class in the explosion of self...
2020-04-1622 minLabor Express RadioInterview: Labor Express Radio interviews Moises Zavala of UFCW Local 881 about workers at Raymundo’s Foods who walked over COVID-19 concerns, and organizing in the cannabis industry.Labor Express Radio Interview: Moises Zavala - UFCW Local 881, Raymundo's Food workers walk-out over COVID-19 concerns and organizing workers in the cannabis industry.
Jerry Mead-Lucero of Labor Express Radio interviews Moises Zavala, Director of Organizing for Local 881 United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) about the workers at Raymundo's Food Group in Bedford Park, Illinois, who walked out of their factory on Friday April 3rd and have remained out since. They took action after their bosses refused to address their safety concerns when two of their co-workers were diagnosed with COVID-19 but still were required to work for s...
2020-04-1430 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 4-5-2020, Chicago NNU Nurse Dennis Kosuth on dealing with the coronavirus and Alianza Americas webinar audio featuring AFL-CIO and UFE.This is the full 4-5-2020 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On this episode of Labor Express Radio, we continue to look at how the labor and other social movements are responding to the coronavirus crisis. First we will hear a report from the frontlines from nurse Dennis Kosuth, member of both NNU and CTU. In the second half of the program, Shannon Lederer, Director of Immigration Policy for the AFL-CIO and Riahl O'Malley, National Education Director for United for a Fair Economy discuss the crisis during a webinar hosted by Alianza Americas.
...
2020-04-071h 04Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 3-22-2019, Isaac Silver on People's Coronavirus Response and Jorge Mujica of Arise Chicago on new Chicago COVID-19 coalition.This is the full 3-22-2019 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
Solidarity in the time of COVID-19 and "social distancing". This will be the theme explored on tonight's and future episodes of Labor Express Radio for the foreseeable future. It starts with tonight's program which features interviews with Chicago labor and immigrants rights activist Isaac Silver about the launching of the Facebook group, People's Coronavirus Response, which grew from a network of 2 to 10,000, practically overnight, and Jorge Mujica, an organizer for Arise Chicago workers center about the new coalition formed in Chicago in response to...
2020-03-241h 00Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 3-8-2019, Erek Slater of ATU Local 241 on Chicago transit worker contract negotiations and NNU on Coronavirus.This is the full 3-8-2019 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
Erek Slater, Chicago public transit bus driver, elected shop steward and executive board member, of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), Local 241, discusses both the recent elections for leadership of both ATU Local 241 and 308 and more importantly the contract negotiations for both locals with CTA management. Their contracts expired on Dec. 31st, 2019 and there has been little progress on a new contracts for either local so far. Erek offers his personal perspective of what he thinks it will take for transit workers to win major improvements...
2020-03-111h 07Labor Express RadioInterview: Eric Basir and Erek Slater - Transit Workers United 2020 Contract Speak OutInterview conducted by Labor Express reporter Michelle Burke at the “Transit Workers United 2020 Contract Speak Out” on February 25th, 2020. Michelle speaks with Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) El train motorman Eric Basir, member of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 308 and CTA bus driver Erek Slater elected shop steward and executive board member of ATU Local 241 about the issues facing CTA employees as they enter their third month working under an expired contract. The previous contract expired on Dec. 31st, 2019 and negotiations on a new contract did not start in earnest until January with little progress so far. Eric and Erek are bot...
2020-03-0109 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 2-16-2019, Labor Express remembers James Thindwa - interview with Carlos Fernandez of the AFT and Thindwa on Obama’s election.This is the full 2-16-2019 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On tonight's Labor Express, we continue to remember the life and legacy of James Thindwa. First, James colleague from struggles at both Jobs with Justice and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and friend of 16 years, Carlos Fernandez offers his reflections on his years of working with James. In the second half of the program, another archive interview with James. This one from November of 2008 focusing on James' analysis of the meaning for organized labor of Obama's first presidential election victory. James' warnings about...
2020-02-2458 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 2-2-2019, Labor Express remembers James Thindwa with the re-airing of interviews on topics from human rights in Zimbabwe, to the Fight for 15 and police brutality.This is the full 2-2-2019 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
On January 19th the Chicago labor and social justice movements lost a dedicated organizer, spokesperson and fighter. James Thindwa touched many lives in a host of vital social movements in Chicago and beyond. Whether as an African solidarity activist, the staff director of Citizen Action Coalition of Indiana and Ohio, the lead organizer in Chicago for Metro Seniors in Action, the ED of Chicago Jobs with Justice or his last major organizing role as the Civic Engagement Coordinator at AFT, James was a powerful...
2020-02-0957 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 1-19-2019, John Ocampo, UE Organizer, discusses recent protests in Colombia.This is the full 1-19-2019 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
John Ocampo, union organizer with UE (United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America) and member of the board of directors of the Alliance for Global Justice (AfGJ) and US Labor Against the War (USLAW) reports back from a recent labor delegation to Colombia. Colombia is currently experiencing the most significant wave of street protests the nation has seen in decades with Colombians fed up with the right wing government of Iván Duque. Ocampo provides a brief but comprehensive overview of recent Colombian his...
2020-01-221h 01Labor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 1-5-2019, Oscar Chacón, Executive Director of Alianza Americas, discusses the current state of affairs across Latin America.This is the full 1-5-2019 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
Oscar Chacón, Executive Director of Alianza Americas, discusses the current state of struggles for a just society across Latin America. It is a wide-ranging conversation about the current situation in Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and the rest of the hemisphere and the history of how we have come to this point.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio a...
2020-01-0755 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 12-22-2019, Mario Venegas on uprising in Chile and Angela Davis on National Alliance Against Racist & Political RepressionThis is the full 12-22-2019 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
Chilean human rights activist Mario Venegas, a victim of the Pinochet regime who has made Chicago his home for the last 30 years, talks about his recent visit to Chile and the ongoing uprising there challenging the very foundations of the neoliberal state. Plus, Angela Davis speaks at the refounding convention of the National Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express...
2019-12-2456 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 12-8-2019, Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks to Chicago teachers and analysis of his labor platform.This is the full 12-8-2019 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
This episode includes a speech given by presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders to the Chicago Teachers Union as they voted to launch their historic 2019 strike. It also includes an interview with Shaun Richman, an In These Times contributing writer and the Program Director of the Harry Van Arsdale Jr. Center for Labor Studies at SUNY Empire State College analyzing Sanders labor platform conducted by Ken Nash of Building Bridges: Your Community and Labor Report on WBAI in New York City. For more on Building Br...
2019-12-2257 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 11-24-2019 Kenzo Shibata discusses the outcome of the 2019 CTU/SEIU strike at CPSThis is the full 11-24-2019 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
This episode features an interview with veteran Chicago Public Schools (CPS) teacher, Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) bargaining team member and one of CORE’s (Caucus of Rank and File Educators) founders, Kenzo Shibata about the recently concluded CTU/SEIU strike at CPS with an analysis of the strike, the resulting new 5 year contract and its implications for the future.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Ex...
2019-12-0255 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 11-3-2019 The Tale of Two Strikes: UAW strike at GM and the CTU strike at CPSThis is the full 11-3-2019 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
The Tale of Two Strikes: Labor Express examines the outcome of both the UAW strike at GM and the CTU strike at CPS, two potentially historic strikes with radically different results. Plus, strike victory at yet another Chicago charter school, Passages in the Edgewater Neighborhood. These strikes may well set the stage for union struggles in the public and private sectors for years to come. In the case of the CTU, the union has expanded what social justice, community based unionism is all about. Mak...
2019-11-041h 03Labor Express RadioInterview: Jesse Sharkey and Jeffrey Howard CTU SEIU StrikeCTU President Jesse Sharkey and SEIU Local 73 Vice-President Jeffrey Howard speak to the press on day 6 of the CTU-SEIU 73 Chicago Public Schools strike. They discuss the letter from Mayor Lori Lightfoot that indicated that the City and the Board are not serious about making progress in contract negotiations. Jesse and Jeffrey discuss outstanding issues in negotiations like class sizes and prep time for teachers and PSRPs. The impromptu press conference followed the rally headlined by presidential candidate, Senator Elizabeth Warren.
2019-10-2209 minLabor Express RadioShow: Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and SEIU Local 73 on strike!Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and SEIU Local 73 on strike! We have been talking about it for months and now its finally here. The two unions and the Chicago board of ed could not reach agreement and so as of Thursday, October 17th, teachers, PSRPs and other support staff including everybody from custodians to security personnel, to lunch room attendants, to bus aides, etc. went out on strike - some over 30,000 workers at over 500 schools, the 3rd largest school system in the nation. We will hear from both union officials and rank-and-file union members out on the picket lines on ton...
2019-10-211h 01Labor Express RadioInterview: Teacher David Kaplan Von Steuben On StrikeLabor Express Radio reporter Michelle Burke interviews Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center biology teacher David Kaplan about why he has joined 30,000 of his fellow coworkers on strike. David starts by discussing the state of contract negotiations as of Thursday Oct. 17th the start of the strike.
2019-10-1903 minLabor Express RadioInterview: Chris Hartwig and Marnita Hayes CTU and SEIU On Strike Chicago SchoolsBelding Elementary School special ed teacher Chris Hartwig, member of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and special education teacher assistant Marnita Hayes, member of SEIU Local 73, explain why they are on strike with over 30,000 of their fellow workers at Chicago public schools. The interviewer is Labor Express Radio reporter Marnie Goodfriend.
2019-10-1809 minLabor Express RadioShow: Labor Express for 10-6-2019 (UAW strike at GM, and CTU - SEIU Strike vote))This is the full 10-6-2019 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
Interview with Scott Houldieson, Vice President of UAW Local 551 and long-time UAW reform activist about the ongoing UAW strike at GM.
And in the second half of the program, the Chicago Teachers Union and SEIU Local 73 vote to strike by huge margins of their membership.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM...
2019-10-0758 minLabor Express RadioShow: STRIKE! Nurses strike in ChicagoThis is the full 9-22-2019 episode of the Labor Express Radio program.
STRIKE! Nurses strike in Chicago, auto workers strike across the country and students strike for climate justice around the globe, as Chicago teachers get closer to a possible strike of their own.
Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebook page... laborexpress.org
and our homepage on A...
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