Labor Radio: Recent Episodes
WORT-FM Labor Radio
Labor Radio is news by, for, and about working people in Madison, Wisconsin and around the world. It originates out of the studios of WORT 89.9 FM Madison.
A targeted health worker explains how an expensive union-busting campaign by Rogers Health against the new National Union of Healthcare Workers union falls short so far in court and in front of a Wisconsin professional board, an American Federation of Government Employees local president discusses how AFGE is standing up to Trump anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-DEI campaigns, professors at Texas Tech represented by AAUP-AFT have filed a lawsuit over censorship by the university system, and Labor Radio speaks to participants from the AFL-CIO convention and Labor Notes conference.
Madison labor activists call for solidarity with the indicted anti-ICE activists the Minnesota 15, the nonprofit ABS For Health which is undergoing a union drive describes its mission, and Labor Radio looks at some labor history in the US: how the undermining of postwar Reconstruction keeps the legacy of racially-based unpaid labor continuing to hold down Black people and the whole working class, Labor Radio looks at the now-nationwide public sector American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in Wisconsin since its founding 90 years ago, the longest strike in US history lasted over six years between the UAW and the Kohler company in Kohler's self-named Wisconsin company town, and how the nationwide National Association of Letter Carriers can trace its origin to an 1889 meeting above a Milwaukee saloon.
A Madison health cooperative that is facing a union organizing drive had questions about its board election procedures, Meriter Hospital support staff represented by SEIU Wisconsin agree to contract terms, AFSCME Local 60 speaks out against a plan to relocate food services workers from middle and high school to elementary, labor responds to the release of Milwaukee area Muslim leader Salah Sarsour, WRTP-Big Step offers pre-apprenticeship programs in the building trades, labor joins the Madison celebration of Juneteenth, and the International Trades Union Confederation puts the United States and Israel on its watchlist for violations of labor rights.
The Madison Metropolitan School District adopts a plan to address teacher salary compression, Group Health Cooperative members vote on a board of directors through June 25th as its workers continue to organize to join SEIU Wisconsin, a CWA local president responds to the indictments and arrest raids of 15 anti-ICE activists in Minnesota, UAW at its convention votes to divest itself of Israel bonds, Black Resilience: Celebrating Our History and Presence is the theme of this year's Juneteenth, it's the 121st birthday of Wisconsin's civil service system and a state worker explains its importance, UAW members ratify a new contract by 80% after a 10-day strike at Dauch (the former American Axle), and a Trump executive order strips civil protections from a tier of federal employees.
Nurses at St. Mary's Hospital in Madison opt to join SEIU Wisconsin in a landslide vote, Labor Radio speaks to a Wisconsin Democratic Party official about labor ahead of the state party convention, the UAW goes on strike at Dauch (the former American Axle) in Michigan, The House of Representatives passes a law designed to keep bosses from delaying the first union contract after union recognition, funds for daycare that went in place during the pandemic are set to run out, and the Building Trades Council and Sportsmen's Alliance holds its annual Takes Kids Fishing Day.
Labor Radio talks to a St. Mary's nurse as the NLRB sets June 11th as the date for a union representation election to join SEIU Wisconsin, organized labor sponsors a forum for candidates for Governor of Wisconsin ahead of the primaries, Cargill is closing its Milwaukee facility and laying off over 220 workers, Labor Radio speaks to the both the outgoing and incoming presidents at IBEW Local 2304, and there is an update on donation numbers for the National Association of Letter Carriers food drive. THIS IS A WORT PLEDGE WEEK EDITION.
Jiffy Lube workers in Madison and Janesville are organizing with UFCW Local 1473, nurses at SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital in Madison rally to join SEIU Wisconsin, Midwest Organic Services Association organic food certification workers vote to unionize with OPEIU Local 39, the UW School for Workers Labor Forward series looks at independent labor organizing, a federal judge rules that the Trump administration must honor its union contract with the American Federation of Government Employees, Pope Leo XIV looks at AI and its effects on society and workers, and we share results of the National Association of Letter Carriers food drive.
The Madison Metropolitan School District adopts a voluntary dues deduction policy for employee association groups, Madison Hilton workers of Unite Here Local 1 Members want a first contract, IBEW Local 159 is celebrating its 125th anniversary, Labor Radio gets some voices of the COPE Bean Feed 2026, NABET-CWA members at Milwaukee's WIDI TV Fox News outlet have been without a first contract for years and Labor Radio speaks to a member, striking Long Island Railroad Workers reach a deal, and University of Chicago Press workers have joined the News Guild.
UnityPoint-Meriter Hospital workers rally for a fair contract, Wisconsin legislators kill a school funding deal, Google workers in England want a union as a voice against military deals, Economic Policy Institute speakers argue that the power of bosses is the real threat to workers as technologies develop, Max Hall of AFSCME speaks on Minnesota's new landmark employment legislation, and Texas public union officials talk to Labor Radio about a legal victory for a Texas State professor targeted for political speech.
Another Madison hospital wants to go union as St. Mary and Dean Nurses United is announced, Cap Times reporters talk about how they joined NewsGuild-CWA, Wisconsin's largest teachers union coalition announces their gubernatorial endorsement, a University of Wisconsin-Madison labor-student coalition speaks up on May Day 2026, women and minorities hit even worse in weak April employment numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a worker tells Labor Radio that Rogers Behavioral Health has fired three workers it suspended on the day of a union recognition election, Milwaukee workers of Landmark Credit Union Live have joined MASH, and workers at Meriter Hospital will hold a rally for a new contract on May 15 in Madison.
Labor Radio airs voices of some of the attendees of Madison's version of the nationwide No Work No School No Shopping rallies across the nation on May 1st 2026, the president of Madison Teachers Inc. explains why the union is supporting the student call to close school on May Day, the president of South Central Federation of Labor speaks on May Day and what is ahead for labor, MTI rallies for a promised administrative action on salary compression, Madison labor recognizes the annual April 28 Workers Memorial Day, and the nation's largest commuter railroad may strike.
Workers at Rogers Behavioral Health in Madison and West Allis overwhelmingly vote to join the National Union of Healthcare Workers but not without drama at one voting place, the president of Madison Teachers Inc. discusses how teachers face salary compression and an upcoming rally to protest it, labor council president Nick Webber discusses the impact of the closing of the Northern Metal Fabrication plant in Baldwin, Madison labor loins groups across the country in calling for May Day Strong in 2026, AFSCME endorses Ben Gruber in a state assembly race, and Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigns as the Trump administration labor secretary.
The National Labor Relations Board has sided with United Healthcare Workers petitioners and has scheduled a representation vote at Rogers Health facilities in Madison and West Allis, three University of Wisconsin-Madison employee unions join campus student groups to march to the UW administration and demand ICE Out of UW, after a sweeping strike vote the Teamsters hammer out a contract with B&G Foods in Stoughton, unemployment ticks up in Wisconsin, labor activists who are veterans of the recent Operation Metro Surge assault in Minnesota visit Madison to talk about lessons learned, Labor Radio talks to the Wisconsin Farmers Union about the farm labor shortage, and the non-for-profit Union Now is launched by the labor movement to give help to strikers and organizers.
Labor and community activists who have been confronting ICE in Minneapolis will speak in Madison and Labor Radio talks to one of them ahead of the event, the April 7 election shows many big wins for labor-endorsed candidates, the NLRB has finally ordered Amazon to bargain with its union, state union worker Ben Gruber explains why he is running for a State Assembly seat, and Madison holds a Workers Assembly modeled after a similar action in Minnesota.
Teamsters Local 120 authorizes a strike at B&G Foods in Stoughton, as a new Qamaria Coffee shop opens in Madison a worker discusses an outstanding labor complaint still outstanding at their Milwaukee-area facility, the local League of Woman Voters voting director goes over how to vote on the April 7 election and the president of the South Central Federation of Labor explains and names SCFL endorsements for April 7, an organizer discusses a Madison-area Workers Assembly with Labor Radio, a Teamsters-led school bus strike in the Madison area and nationwide set for the beginning of April was closely averted, and Labor Radio speaks to participants in Madison-area labor-endorsed No Kings marches of March 28.
Meriter Hospital support staff and labor and community supporters rally at the hospital to demand a fair contract, AFGE Local 777 President Darrell English describes what his members are going through as they are forced to work without pay, a union an student coalition at UW Madison organizes against ICE oppression on campus, Labor Radio looks at what's up at the nation's oldest teaching assistant's union, striking non-tenured faculty forced a quick agreement at New York University, March 26 was Equal Pay Day as women's pay still lags behind, and Labor Radio looks at the work of United Farm Workers leader Dolores Huerta.
The negotiations chair for non-nursing staff at Madison's UnityPoint Health Meriter Hospital talks to Labor Radio about current talks, Starbucks management says they will return to the table and a Madison unionized Starbucks worker talks about why it likely happened, a federal ruled with the American Federation of Government Employees in ordering the temporary reinstatement of the collective bargaining agreement that had been unilaterally dismissed by the Trump administration, TSA workers are working without pay during the latest federal semi-shutdown and Labor Radio reporter Jeannine Ramsey talks to people at an airport who may not realize this, the massive announced UFCW Local 7 meatpackers strike in Greeley, Colorado is on and workers speak out, and the dangers to free speech and academic freedom of a proposed Wisconsin state law that is going to the governor's desk which would enshrine the International Holocaust Remembrance Association definition of antisemitism into state civil and criminal law is discussed by the UW faculty and staff union co-president.
Worker Justice Wisconsin tells of immigrant workers experiencing injury and wage theft in Madison area construction jobs, Labor Radio interviews new IBEW Local 159 President Mitch Johnson, Discourse Coffee in Milwaukee is now union, the Madison Teachers Inc. Executive Director discusses its social committee MTI Cares, and Colorado meatpackers with UFCW have authorized a massive strike action. PLEDGE UPDATE: Certain pledges doubles through March 20.
Wisconsin's Act 15 would put even more work requirements on the underfunded University of Wisconsin system and the co-president of the faculty union talks to Labor Radio, Walmart has to pay out millions in a multistate wage theft case involving driving gigs, a northern Michigan town is raising a statue honoring early 20th-century labor organizer "Big Annie" Clemenc, Rick Smith looks at the notorious Dred Scott case, and Labor Radio looks back at a late 19th woodworkers strike in Oshkosh in which women took a major role. THIS IS A PLEDGE WEEK EDITION.
Wisconsin's largest teachers union has joined others in filing a lawsuit against the state legislature for the lack of funding of public schools, UPS is offering buyouts to workers as it biggest client announces cuts and Teamsters are pushing back, striking nurses at Presbyterian Hospital in New York agree to a contract, in 1942 the Seattle public reacts as Japanese-American school workers are forced from their jobs, and Labor Radio looks at the Trump administration assault on Black history. THIS IS A WORT-FM PLEDGE WEEK EDITION.
Striking nurses at New York's Presbyterian Hospital are voting on a tentative agreement as we air, Worker Justice Wisconsin is working with community members to expand its fight against wage theft, TSA workers are again without pay in a government shutdown and Labor Radio talks to the head of the Madison area union local, a new report shows that states with high union density have more rewards for all workers, UAW auto workers ratify a historic contract in Tennessee, the Department of Labor slaps down Wisconsin scofflaw bosses cheating on tips, wages, and benefits, and Labor Radio looks at Black-led organizations within organized labor.
Labor Radio interviews one of three workers fired at Rogers Behavioral Health in West Allis just days after the workers had demanded union recognition, a reporter talks on a massive string of child labor violations at Burger King, Alabama prison workers are striking against barbaric conditions, striking nurses in New York have reached an agreement and Labor Radio talks to nurse there for details, Labor Radio interviews a professor affiliated with the UCLA Labor Center, striking teachers in San Francisco have reached a temporary agreement with the school district, and Labor Radio remembers civil rights leader Gloria Richardson Dandridge.
A construction worker is hurt in Madison at the Wisconsin Historical Museum site, Labor Radio speaks to a Rogers Behavioral Health worker who is among those in West Allis organizing to join the National Union of Healthcare Workers, Wisconsin is considering a law that will benefit worker-owned cooperatives, a union member wins a key Texas state Senate election, a judge orders that workers from Haiti in the US can maintain Temporary Protected Status for now, UAW Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga negotiate their first collective bargaining agreement, and Labor Radio remembers NBA Hall of Famer and union leader Oscar Robertson.
In the wake of of the street execution of VA nurse and AFGE member Alex Pretti by federal agents Madison nurses rally on the day of a national strike and the president of the state Minnesota teachers union talks to Labor Radio about how educators deal with the statewide invasion, American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten addresses her union in a world of armed federal anti-immigrant gangs, 31,000 West Coast nurses in the Kaiser Permanente system go on strike, Teamsters Local 135 authorizes a strike against US Foods in Indiana, and New York nurses speak on their continuing strike.
Labor Radio speaks to a Wisconsin union member who is in Minnesota and who runs down the situation there, interviews a UFCW member grocery worker on the organizing and union solidarity that contributed to the Minnesota general strike against federal terror, and reports on solidarity actions in Madison. New York's largest nurses strike continues, a federal judge rules against the Trump administration for targeting union TSA workers for firing despite the end of the government shutdown, and the heavily unionized Nordic countries react to Trump's promise to conquer Greenland.
A vigil led by a Wisconsin immigrants rights group and a student-led school walkout are among actions in Madison organized against ICE terror in Minneapolis and elsewhere, labor joins the general community in Minnesota is organizing for a general strike in resistance to ICE there, labor activists in Madison hold a rally to protect Social Security and government office staffing, the largest nurses strike in New York history is on, and Trump administration officials are openly using slogans reminiscent of Nazi Germany on government publications and websites.
The president of National Nurses United speaks to Labor Radio in the wake of the state killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis, child care centers are in crisis as Trump cuts childcare subsidies, the president of UE Local 1186 speaks to Labor Radio on his union's stance following the US invasion of Venezuela and the kidnapping of its president, Trump targeting of H1B visa holders will effect universities including UW-Madison, 19 states have raised their minimum wage rate as of January 1, the National Labor Relations Board backs the Teamsters by declining an injunction demand from Amazon, and the American Federation of Teachers is suing Texas for violating the free speech rights of teachers.
Labor Radio collective members Greg Geboski, Robin Gee, Joanne Powers, Jeannine Ramsey, Keith Steffen, and Carol Weidel are in the WORT studios to discuss labor stories and themes we covered in 2025.
The national Starbucks strike led by Starbucks Workers United continues at four stores in the Madison area, the Labor Department is back to issuing a monthly jobs report and Labor Radio takes a closer look, the Trump Administration again unilaterally voids the collective bargaining agreement covering Transportation Security Administration workers and Labor Radio speaks to the president of TSA AFGE Local 777, New York State sues UPS claiming the company owes millions in unpaid wages, table card dealers at Horseshoe Indianapolis casino join Teamsters Local 135 after a 50 day recognition strike and the Local 135 president talks to Labor Radio, and we hear some union voices at the annual South Central Federation of Labor holiday party at the Madison Labor Temple.
Wisconsin state workers unions rally as the Joint Committee on Employment Relations legislative committee continues to hold up their compensation, Wisconsin dairy workers have authorized a strike as milk companies pull back on safety and compensation, a fourth Madison area Starbucks store joins the nationwide strike and Starbucks workers get a legal win in New York City over widespread Starbucks labor violations, educator unions are working to get the cost of funding private school vouchers in print in local property tax bills, and the 37th annual Holiday in Lights sponsored by IBEW Local 159 is taking place in Madison's Olin Park.
Labor Radio hears from the picket line as the national Starbucks strike for a good faith bargained contract reaches Madison, the president of IBEW Local 2304 talks to Labor Radio after meeting with the WORT board of directors in the wake of the firing of two unionized staff collective members, and a filmmaker behind Baristas vs. Billionaires on the Starbucks unionization fight speaks to WORT. THIS IS A PLEDGE WEEK EDITION. Feel free to donate at www.wortfm.org
Labor Radio for Friday, November 28, 2025, was an all-music show. The show is at the WORT archive for three months at archive.wortfm.org. Look for Labor Radio for Friday, November 28, listed at 5:30 p.m.
The Building Trades Council and community members speaking at a public meeting are on opposite sides on building a data center in the DeForest area and Labor Radio hears from both side, new owners of Milwaukee Forge agree to keep the company open and retain union jobs, leaked documents detail how Amazon intends to slash jobs within three years using automation, Amazon drivers at a Kentucky facility march on the boss and declare their membership in Teamsters Local 89, A proposed GOP-sponsored would gut the National Labor Relations Act but another would return collective bargaining rights to federal employees, and Workers Justice Wisconsin will hold workshops in December on your protections from wage theft and other legal rights for workers,
WORT lays off two union members and Labor Radio talks to the president of IBEW Local 2304, writer Eric Blanc says the the deal to end the federal government shutdown shows fissures in organized labor and a missed opportunity to exercise worker power, a federal court ruling gives a big win to NewsGuild workers who have been on strike for over three years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Labor Radio talks to a striker there, striking Machinists at Boeing in Missouri and Illinois are going back to work after accepting a newly bargained agreement, unionized baristas of Starbucks Workers United across the country walk out on the coffee behemoth's Red Cup Day promotion, and KFC restaurant employees across Wisconsin win a unanimous jury verdict granting them unpaid overtime.
UNITE HERE Local 1 invites the community to a picket demanding a first contract at the Madison Hilton Monona Terrace, the labor liaison to the Madison area United Way discusses how they are reaching out to workers facing dismissals and a federal shutdown, rank and file Machinists striking Boeing in the St. Louis area have rejected a tentative agreement, Labor Radio looks at the expected skyrocketing of healthcare costs for working people, Alberta teachers are forced back to work under a punitive anti-strike law, an American Federation of Musicians local representing Broadway musicians have reached a tentative contract agreement, and Amazon Labor Union organizer and Gaza blockade participant Chris Smalls leads a protest at AFL-CIO headquarters demanding US labor take a stand against arming the genocide in Palestine.
Machinists on strike at Boeing in the St. Louis area have a federally-mediated agreement that will be voted on by members on October 26, the national No Kings march takes place in Madison with labor support, federal workers who have been shut out from work rally outside the Madison-area Social Security office, national flight attendants union leader Sara Nelson has raised the idea of a general strike as the Trump administration runs wild, the Chicago Teachers Union leads the fight against that city's federal invasion, a worker sues the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for not doing its job, and the attack on immigrant workers is beginning to tank the GDP.
A membership meeting at Group Health Cooperative in Madison cheers a push for unionization with SEIU, Trump announces that some federal workers won't return after the government shutdown and American Federation of Government Employees members talk to Labor Radio about the White House onslaught against federal workers, as ICE deports farm workers the Trump administration says the answer to farm job loss is to lower the minimum wage paid to H2A visa holders and cut its housing subsidies, Wisconsin unions push for a bigger local worker stake in green infrastructure jobs, a Madison elder care resident talks to Labor Radio about the threat that immigration crackdowns will pose to elder care, Professor Tom Alter talks to Labor Radio about being fired by Texas State University and the support he is getting from his unions, and Madison will have a No Kings march supported by organized labor.
The strike at Mercy Health East Clinic in Janesville enters its 100th day and UAW Local 95 holds a solidarity rally, Boeing is ignoring striking Machinists and training scabs as the strike near St. Louis enters its third month, Labor Radio speaks to a local president of a federal employees union about how the US government shutdown is being used to heighten the anti-worker attacks of the Trump administration, and workers at Anodyne Coffee in Milwaukee vote 100% to unionize--which doesn't keep management from challenging it. THIS IS A WORT PLEDGE WEEK EDITION. Please support Labor Radio and WORT at wortfm.com.
UFCW Local 1473 president Jake Bailey talks to labor Radio about a worker victory in an NLRB ruling shows egregious union busting in 2022 by Starbucks during a 1473 organizing drive in Madison, the Sumud Flotilla is stopped as it tries to break Israel's illegal blockade of Gaza but workers in Italy and elsewhere strike in support of Palestine, a federal judge issues a sweeping First Amendment victory in a union-backed petition fighting ICE detentions on free speech grounds but issues a warning as the Trump administration rampages unimpeded through liberal law and custom, and Daniel Costa of the Economic Policy Institute discusses the ins and outs of worker visas. THIS IS A WORT PLEDGE WEEK EDITION.
Unions and community supporters hold a rally for striking health care workers of Mercy Health East Clinic in Janesville, UAW members in California demand a sustainable industrial policy, striking Machinists at Boeing in the St. Louis area offer their own contract proposal absent movement from Boeing management, New Mexico is becoming the first state to institute state-funded universal childcare, strikes spread across Italy in support of the Palestinians undergoing genocide in Gaza and in support of the Sumud Flotilla sailing the Mediterranean, unions at Texas State University rally for colleague and tenured professor Dr. Tom Alter who was summarily fired under political pressure for advocating socialism, and Labor History in Two looks at the Shays Rebellion.
University of Wisconsin system faculty and staff unions go to a Board of Regents meeting to demand meet and confer and formal recognition, OPEIU Local 39 wins a union recognition vote at Pathfinders social services in Milwaukee, a four-day strike by Teamsters Local 320 at the University of Minnesota system ends in an agreement with the help of solidarity from IATSE, a UW School or Workers webinar series looks at the role of immigrant labor, a meeting of the Dane County Board of Supervisors is packed with AFSCME members protesting a sudden proposed rise in health care costs and the vote goes the workers; way, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has to revise employment statistics from earlier this year downward, and a federal judge ruled in a union-filed lawsuit says that the federal Office of Personnel Management broke the law when firing thousands of probationary employees.
Machinist union members who build Boeing fighter jets reject a tentative agreement, Teamsters Local 320 at the University of Minnesota goes on strike and Labor Radio talks to a strike captain, the US Supreme Court increasingly relies on a "shadow docket" to upend the lives of workers, department store Target's abandonment of diversity gets a target on its back from organized labor, the feds raid a Georgia Hyundai plant and maybe destroy a big capitalist deal with South Korea because foreigners, the National Weather Services doesn't want workers who know about weather, and Labor History in 2 remembers when Eugene Debs ran for president from jail.
UAW Local 95 remains on strike against Mercy Health East in Janesville and labor and supporters in Madison rally at the state capitol, the Madison Social Security office was the site of a rally in support of that program, on Labor Day workers speak at LaborFest and also march downtown against oligarchs in Labor Over Billionaires, Italian dockworkers promise to shut down European shipping if a flotilla braving the illegal blockade of Gaza is attacked, and the small Wisconsin town of Abbotsford faces government collaboration with ICE.
Security workers at Woodman's grocery vote to join SMART Local 565, a nationwide AFL-CIO bus tour hits Eau Claire and a Central Labor Council leader there speaks to Labor Radio, W&W dairy workers who are on strike receive a show of support in Madison, AFL-CIO President Liz Schuler's Labor Day speech slams Trump but also says workers can't depend on Democrats, Laborers union member Jose Ramirez speaks of his union rise and the labor movement in a segment by the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, SMART union member Kilmar Abrego Garcia is jailed again and faces exile by a vindictive Trump administration, and organized labor and immigrants rights advocates come out to support activist Catalina "Xochitl" Santiago who has been detained by federal agents.
Immigrant workers at W&W Dairy in Monroe strike their new owners and the community and organized labor comes out in support, hotel workers at the Hilton-Madison Monona Terrace join UNITE HERE Local 1 in an NLRB certified election with two-thirds of the vote, workers at Mercy Health East represented by UAW Local 95 carry their strike into the seventh week and get support in Madison, Teamsters local 705 is striking Mauser Packaging Solutions in Chicago, striking flight attendants reach an agreement with Air Canada, and US courts are ready to make the National Labor Relations Board unconstitutional.
Workers at Festival Foods in Madison speak to Labor Radio after their landslide vote to unionize and join UFCW Local 1473, Pathfinders in Milwaukee joins OPEIU Local 39, some states are passing labor protections as they are withdrawn on the federal level, the NewsGuild and the NWU jointly condemn the Israeli assassination of journalists Anas al-Sharif and his colleagues and call for solidarity with the Palestinian people, AFGE Local 1732 President William Townsend speaks on the attacks on federal workers from the Trump administration, ex-Packer and first NFL Players Association president Billy Howton dies, and Madison holds a fundraiser for UAW Local 95 on strike in Janesville.
After three years the Game Workers Alliance union at Raven Software in Middleton secures its first contract, a representative of UAW Local 95 on strike in Janesville addresses Labor Radio listeners, Teamsters Local 120 inks a contract at Sysco Minnesota and alleges poor bus maintenance support in Madison, the Secretary of the Veterans Administration tears up VA collective bargaining agreements, Madison celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, Trump doesn't like the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers so kills the messenger, Machinists at Boeing in Missouri and Illinois go out on strike, Amazon workers will have trouble appealing to the National Labor Relations Board as the board is dragging along without a quorum, and there will be a fundraiser for striking UAW Local 95 workers in Janesville at the Madison Labor Temple on August 15th.
Former Amazon Labor Union organizer Chris Smalls is freed from Israeli captivity after being abducted on the sea while bringing aid to Gaza, Amazon workers finally get rulings on charges filed at the National Labor Relations Board, national unions are having trouble unifying against actions of the Trump administration, a Wisconsin bill to strip gig workers of employee status goes to the desk of Governor Tony Evers, the president of IATSE Local 415 in Arizona talks to Labor Radio, there will be a march in support of Social Security in Madison this month, and the Rick Smith show remembers the police shooting of striking dock workers in Hilo, Hawai'i, in 1938.
The president of UAW Local 95 talks to Labor Radio as her union continues its strike against Mercy Health East in Janesville, faculty and staff at institutions of higher education across the US are organizing against federal cuts and academic interference, the NEA executive board backs off from its rank-and-file proposed ban of the ADL, an Australian journalist is awarded damages after being fired for commenting on Gaza, a Palestinian union federation issues a desperate call, Representative Ilhan Omar speaks on worker safety deregulation at the Trump Department of Labor, workers at a Tucson movie theater join IATSE Local 415, the Teamsters are striking Airgas across the US and the cops are investigating whether the company gassed strikers, Doctor Feroze Sidhwa addresses what he saw in Gaza, and the AFL-CIO has announced that John Smallwood is the new Community Services Liaison.
A UAW Local 95 nurse at the striking Mercy East clinic in Janesville speaks to Labor Radio and the union holds a rally at the picket line, Wisconsin health care activist Tim Faust speaks on the effect on workers of the upcoming massive cuts in Medicaid funding, a Good Trouble rally is held in Madison, the US Supreme Court says Trump can go ahead with gutting the US Department of Education, striking municipal workers in Philadelphia go back to work as they go to vote on a tentative agreement, and a California State professor protesting a massive ICE raid in Camarillo is detained and their union rallies behind them.
The massive Philadelphia public worker strike continues, a deeper look at "no taxes on tips," the Supreme Court allows Trump to go ahead with mass firings of federal workers and a Madison-area labor veteran explains why US workers may have to give up on relying on labor law, Amazon thinks a good way to solve its hiring problems is to "suggest" office workers work in its warehouses for free during its Prime Days, a leading committee of the country's largest union says it will no longer work with the dubious "civil right organization" the Anti-Defamation League, and a union delegate visiting Madison talks on unions in Argentina and here.
The president of UAW Local 291 discusses its new contract with Cummins Incorporated in Oshkosh as its almost four-month strike there comes to an end, the president of the faculty and academic staff union at the University of Wisconsin-Madison discusses how a seeming big Wisconsin state budget increase for UW isn't necessarily one for workers, over 9000 city workers including sanitation workers are on strike across Philadelphia, UAW Local 35 members working at Mercy Health East in Janesville go on strike, a big district court injunction win for federal employees has to be sifted through a US Supreme Court decision issued a few days later, and Frederick Douglass asks What to a slave is the Fourth of July?
A UW Health nurse explains how the union fight is still on after the Wisconsin Supreme Court rules against the union in its Act 10 fight with the local healthcare giant, union-endorsed candidates are elected to the Group Health Collective board and a physician there speaks to Labor Radio as the GHC union recognition fight continues, labor voices are among those protesting at the Wisconsin state capitol after the US bombs Iran, the Wisconsin Alliance of Retired Americans meets at Madison's Labor Temple, the Trump administration wants you to snitch on bad wokeness at the National Parks, we look at the effect of job cuts at Wisconsin Public Radio, and a UAW monitor issues a report critical of the administration of UAW President Shawn Fain.
Labor is included in the Madison version of the national No Kings march and rally, workers at Madison's Group Health Cooperative who are trying to win a union rally on Madison's east side, and a GHC member describes a union-supporting member-worker slate for GHC board elections ending June 22, national labor leaders Randi Weingarten of the AFT and Lee Saunders of AFSCME quit the Democratic National Committee, we hear voices from a Juneteenth celebration in Sun Prairie, a lawsuit is filed to protect the federal Job Corps, and supporters of the Department of Labor's Women's Bureau fight to maintain that 105-year-old agency.
Workers at Group Health Cooperative rally to demand union recognition, leaders from the Meriter Hospital nurses and Harvard dining hall workers discuss their successful strikes and the power of solidarity in the workplace and in the community, the president of SEIU California is among union members targeted in protests against ICE abductions, we hear voices from Take Kids Fishing Day, a former Google employee fired for his activism has an update on that company's stake in military and policing projects, and No Kings Day protests will occur in Madison and around the country.
Meriter Hospital nurses in Madison represented by SEIU Wisconsin end their five-day strike and win a new contract, SEIU Wisconsin workers at Gundersen Health Care in LaCrosse have a new settlement, UAW Local 291 continues its strike a Cummins Incorporated in Oshkosh as the rank-and-file rejects the latest company offer, and workers at Anodyne Coffee joins the Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Union after a unanimous NLRB-adjudicated vote. THIS IS A PLEDGE WEEK EDITION.
Nurses at UnityPoint Health Meriter Hospital in Madison go on strike, the rank-and-file of UAW Local 291 will look at the latest management proposals as the strike continues at Cummins in Oshkosh, Labor Radio talks to Christine Vitel of AFGE 777 representing TSA workers, unions organize to resist federal spending cuts, mental health workers of the National Union of Healthcare Workers in Southern California reach an agreement with Kaiser Permante after striking for over six months, an immigration judge orders an SEIU member released from ICE detention in Washington State, and GM workers in Mexico fight to organize.
The South Central Federation of Labor holds its annual Bean Feed to raise funds for its COPE, a Wisconsin expert discusses the likely effect of Medicaid cuts on working people in the wake of the federal bill granting huge tax cuts to the rich, nurses at Meriter Hospital in Madison talk to Labor Radio ahead of their strike starting May 27th, UAW Local 291 workers at Cummins in Oshkosh reject a tentative agreement and continue their strike, a tornado wipes out a union-represented business in Mayville, a judge orders that foreign service employees can keep their collective bargaining rights for now, and we have results from the postal service food drive earlier this month.
Workers at Group Health Collective in Madison are demanding union recognition from GHC management amidst charges of union busting, Meriter nurses have set a strike date and discuss that state of negotiations with Labor Radio, Voces de la Frontera and organized labor rally for indicted Milwaukee judge Hannah Dugan while federal ICE terror continues, Madison Starbucks workers join a nationwide unfair labor practice strike over a Starbucks dress code imposed outside of collective bargaining, Wisconsin state workers and their supporters rally in defense of the civil service and of diversity programs, the State of Wisconsin has launched an online jobs portal to aid federal workers fired under the Trump-Musk cuts, and the annual SCFL Bean Feed is coming up on Wednesday, May 21.
Labor Radio speaks to workers affected by federal cuts in the Americorps program and in public broadcasting, how US Labor Department cuts will affect workers, there are new directors of the Social Security system and of the postal service, a federal judge orders the release from ICE captivity of graduate student and SEIU member Rumeysa Ozturk and her union is there for her, the Rick Smith Show remembers the anniversary of the death of UAW leader Walter Reuther, and the United Way of Dane County is hiring.
Multiple May Day marches and rallies in Milwaukee, Madison, and around the state continue in Madison on May 2, the South Central Federation of Labor holds its annual Workers Memorial Day remembrance, Marquette University faculty and staff and staff are demanding recognition of their union, proposed changes to Wisconsin's unemployment insurance system pose serious risks to workers' rights, we play an excerpt from Walt Whitman's 'We Hear America Singing,' a community services position has opened in Dane County, postal workers prepare for their annual food drive, and Rick Smith speaks on the origins of May Day.
Protests are quickly called in Milwaukee as the federal government arrests Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan for not submitting to ICE, UFCW members at a Minneapolis food co-op stand up for freedom of expression while that freedom comes under attack across the country, May Day and May 2 marches and rallies include a May 1 high school student-organized event in Madison that is supported by many union teachers, the AFL-CIO has announced a new initiative to help fired federal workers organize and fight back legally against the Trump-Musk purges, a federal judge pushes back on a Trump administration claim that unions 'threaten national security,' and many events are coming up in Madison and Wisconsin, including Workers Memorial Day on Monday April 28, marches and rallies on International Workers Day (Thursday, May 1) in Milwaukee, Appleton, and Madison, and a corresponding march and rally in Madison on Friday afternoon, May 2. Also, Labor Radio remembers Tom Kozlovsky.
Madison holds rallies for a union-sponsored call to support higher education and another for child care providers on Child Care Advocacy Day, UAW Local 291 holds a rally and march in Oshkosh as its strike against Cummins continues into its second month, about a third of Internal Revenue Service workers may be gone by the end of this year, a whistleblower at the National Labor Relations Board showed how Musk's DOGE is accessing privileged data on workers and unions, and we play a performance of the labor standard Bread and Roses.
UnityPoint-Meriter nurses and their supporters rally for a fair contract and promise to strike if hospital management doesn't come through in bargaining, Labor Radio speaks to folks marching at Madison's version of the national Hands Off rally, a local worker wins a wage theft case but the company has yet to pay up, UAW President Shawn Fain address the union and the world about support for Trump's tariffs, the president of the University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty and staff union speaks on a recent resolution of the UW Faculty Senate condemning the UW administration's violent response to pro-Palestinian protests last year and on the union response to the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and the NLRB comes to a decision on the size of the Group Health Cooperative voting unit and sets an early May date on the union election.
Labor Radio previews the April 5 Hands Off rally against the Republican administration in Washington and talks to a local organizer, the results of the April 1 Wisconsin statewide election are in with union-backed victories, how tariffs can be expected to affect the working class, union members are prominent among some high-profile ICE detention and deportation cases, employers at religion-funded groups are looking to get exemptions from unemployment taxes, and Madison protests the Trump executive order against museums, “improper ideology,” and the teaching of history.
While Trump takes away collective bargaining rights from even more federal workers, rallies are held at the Madison Labor Temple and at the main post office, and we speak to American Federation of Government Employees Local 1732 President William Townsend. The AFL-CIO has endorsements for the April 1 election in Wisconsin, we talk to the president of UAW Local 291 in Oshkosh about their strike at Cummins, Inc., UAW International President Shawn Fain speaks out against NAFTA, Florida's answer to its purge of immigrant workers is to bring back child labor, and an arbitrator awards the National Association of Letter Carriers a win.
The Wisconsin Education Association Council talks endorsements for the April 1 statewide election, postal workers in Madison take to the street after the threatened Trump-Musk takeover, UAW Local 291 strikes Cummins Drivetrain and Braking Systems in Oshkosh, the Trump-Musk administration says that the federal collective bargaining agreement with the Transportation Security Administration just doesn't count any more so TSA workers with AFGE Local 777 and supporters speak up in Madison, the Flight Attendants Association has a nationwide Day of Action at airports around the country, Trump-Musk says the Department of Education is no more because they say they can, and Labor Radio remembers noted troublemaker Lucy Parsons.
The President of the United States or the world's richest man or somebody orders the US Postal Service to become part of the Commerce Department or even more of a private company or something, and they say that the collective bargaining agreement with workers of the Transportation Security Administration doesn't count any more because they say they can, and they keep firing people because they say they can and cutting federal programs because they say they can, while rank-and-file federal workers are organizing with their unions to fight back. Meanwhile, the fight for the right to organize at the workplace is highlighted in the struggle or the largely immigrant workforce at a Madison screen printing shop, labor voices speak to us at a rally for Palestinians at the University of Wisconsin-Madison following the capture and detainment by ICE of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, US Senator Bernie Sanders is touring the US including Wisconsin to speak against the ruling capitalist oligarchy, and University of Wisconsin faculty and staff demand to meet and confer with university administrators and chancellors over workplace conditions and issues like the protection of freedom of speech.
Hundreds including union members rallied and spoke at the state capitol for reproductive health rights and for electoral support of a labor-endorsed candidate in the April 1 Supreme Court race, some Democratic state legislators are holding "listening sessions" on the intricacies and problems of state budget proposals and some others have sponsored a labor-supported bill that could cover state budget gaps due to Trump-Musk federal funding cuts, and SEIU health care workers in contract talks at Columbus Health and Rehab are asking for community support in their wage proposals, THIS IS A WORT-FM PLEDGE WEEK EDITION.
A federal judge backs a union lawsuit for now and issues a temporary restraining order halting a Trump-Musk order to fire about 200,000 US government workers, people march on US Senator Ron Johnson's Madison office to protest Medicaid cuts, Wisconsin teachers and public school advocates rally at the state capitol to demand that state legislators fund education, an early childhood education worker talks about the effects of a funding freeze on Head Start programs, the Oregon Nurses Association has a new contract after settling its statewide strike on Providence Health, and East Coast longshore workers represented by the International Longshoremen's Association hear from their president about their new contract. THIS IS A WORT-FM PLEDGE WEEK EDITION.
Absence of Madison bus drivers on February 20 looks like a labor action from drivers and mechanics working without a contract, SWIU Wisconsin rallies for Meriter nurses during their contract talks and for UW Health and GHC workers who are organizing, chaotic federal funding cuts affect Head Start, US Forest Service workers facing Trump purges speak at the Madison Labor Temple, the National Treasury Employees Union pushes back on the Trump-Musk cuts, the Labor Temple has a workshop on fighting back against corporate power, Amazon workers vote against a union in Carolina, and Costco raises non-union wages,
Absence of Madison bus drivers on February 20 looks like a labor action from drivers and mechanics working without a contract, SWIU Wisconsin rallies for Meriter nurses during their contract talks and for UW Health and GHC workers who are organizing, chaotic federal funding cuts affect Head Start, US Forest Service workers facing Trump purges speak at the Madison Labor Temple, the National Treasury Employees Union pushes back on the Trump-Musk cuts, Amazon workers vote against a union in Carolina, and Costco raises non-union wages,
UW Health System nurses and supporters speak up before a Wisconsin Supreme Court hearing on their union's status under the Wisconsin Employee Peace Act, Labor Radio holds interviews before the Tuesday election for Wisconsin Director of Public Instruction, workers at a North Carolina Amazon facility are voting on whether they will be represented by Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment (CAUSE), Oregon nurses at eight hospitals run by Providence Health voted down a tentative agreement and their strike enters its second month, United Food and Commercial Workers grocery store employees of Kroger in Colorado and Wyoming vote to strike, labor and civil rights fighter Coleman Young becomes Mayor of Detroit, and there are a number of labor-sponsored events this week in the Madison area.
A march and rally in Madison protests the Trump and Musk takeover of the government, Trump goes after the National Labor Relations Board, federal workers discuss the fear and uncertainty as Trump and Musk swing their axes, the National Association of Letter Carriers has voted against its tentative agreement with the US Postal Service, as their strike approaches one month 5000 nurses of the Oregon Nurses Association at Providence Health facilities across Oregon vote on a tentative agreement, the Teamsters and Costco reach a deal, Labor Radio profiles Amazon warehouse worker and union organizer Chris Smalls, Rich Smith looks at a 1913 massacre in West Virginia, and early voting opens for a February 18 election in Wisconsin.
The South Central Federation of Labor and Worker Justice Wisconsin plan trainings on workers rights and organized labor joining with immigrant workers ahead of expected Trump administration assaults, the Madison Labor Temple will be sold, a Mexican professor speaks on immigration and the US economy, Wisconsin construction giant Findorff is now under a full employee stock ownership plan, Trump goes after not only the NLRB general counsel but also a term-protected board member, Wisconsin Second Congressional District Representative Mark Pocan holds a post-election Town Hall at the Madison Labor Temple, a Whole Foods store in Philadelphia joins the United Food and Commercial Workers, Amazon doesn't like union organizing so it is ending operation across the Province of Quebec, and unionized stores and Starbucks management announce contract mediation.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers gives his State of the State speech and we have excerpts on the budget, President Trump goes after the federal civil service starting with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion administrators and those who work from home, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul talks about the lawsuit filed by Wisconsin and other states against Trump's attempt to remove birth citizenship, a Peoples March was held in Madison and labor voices were there, Iowa considers rolling back child labor standards, Act 10 is kept on the books for now as the implementations demanded to make it constitutional are stayed pending appeal, and for now Stellantis is back to keeping its promise that it won't send jobs overseas.
Labor Radio looks back at the close ties between the Reverend Martin Luther King and the labor movement and tells what is happening in the Madison area this holiday weekend, a nurse discusses the Oregon Nurses Association strike against Providence Health in that state, the SEIU rejoins the AFL-CIO, workers and community members rally at an Amazon-owned Whole Foods store in Philadelphia ahead of a unionization vote later this month, and South Central Federation of Labor President Kevin Gundlach talks about labor and the April election in Wisconsin, which includes an important state Supreme Court race.
Labor Radio talks to workers and labor leaders as SEIU Wisconsin works to organize Group Health Collective while a GHC management complaint on the voting unit heads to a regional National Labor Relations Board hearing in Madison, South Central Federation of Labor President Kevin Gundlach tells what workers he talked to had to say during his recent trip to South Africa, an organizer discusses how the documentary "Union" shows the grassroots organizing of the first Amazon facility and talks about how subsequent organizing led to December's nationwide strike, there is a tentative agreement in the East Coast longshore strike, and Democratic Party leaders say they have decided to ask unions and workers what they think is important.
Labor Radio reporters Carol Weidel, Keith Steffen, Jeannine Ramsey, and Greg Geboski, and engineer Joann Powers sit down in the studio to discuss stories aired in 2024 and what happened in the year in labor.
The WORT News Department has more on its investigation of University of Wisconsin payouts to consultants, particularly Huron Consulting, an arrangement that has long been under critical scrutiny by university unions. Also, Labor Radio interviews strikers as Madison joins the Christmas Eve unfair labor practices strikes held at Starbucks stores across the country.
This broadcast show has a music portion. The full show will be available for a limited time under Friday, December 27, on the WORT archives for a limited time at https://archive.wortfm.org
In the wake of a shooting at Madison's Abundant Life Christian School, Labor Radio speaks to the Madison public teachers union president and to a former teacher about what it's like working where school shootings have become normalized. Also, workers at Amazon and Starbucks get into the holiday spirit with unfair labor practice strikes across the country, with New York City cops busting Teamster Amazon picket lines. Also the faculty and academic staff union president explains how a software update at the University of Wisconsin system can cover for an attack on administrative labor, an analyst details what will happen in a few weeks when states and municipalities across the US (but not in Wisconsin) institute minimum wage increases, and we rerun a segment on last year's elf labor action at the North Pole.
An attorney addresses the immigrants rights group Voces de la Frontera ahead of the second Trump administration, the Wisconsin legislature wants to end work-at-home for state workers, the US Senate refuses to re-confirm National Labor Relations Board chair Lauren McFerran as an NLRB regional office rules that some reality show workers are employees, the Canadian government orders it striking mail employees back to work, US railroad workers promise tough negotiations after years of company- and government-enforced givebacks while Trump looms ahead, the Department of Labor is investigating child labor at an Illinois food processing facility of the food delivery company Hello Fresh, and union electricians present Madison's annual Holiday Fantasy in Lights.
This week Dane County Circuit Court Judge Jacob Frost has ordered sweeping changes to Act 10, the Wisconsin law severely restricting the rights of the state's public sector unions, and Labor Radio spoke to Jeff Mandell, an attorney for the union plaintiffs who brought the successful lawsuit, and to Barrett McIntosh of the Teaching Assistants Association, one of the seven unions filing the suit. Also, Donald Trump has designated a Secretary of Labor who isn't hated by everybody in organized labor, and we hear from labor supporters of a protest for the people of Palestine at a University of Wisconsin Board of Regents meetings that led to 19 arrests on Thursday, December 5. THIS IS A WORT BIIRTHDAY BOOST PLEDGE EDITION.
AFSCME Local 1 has a workshop on the Wisconsin state budget, Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee is organizing a union, a Greek worker discusses the state of labor in Greece, the UE considers an independent way forward for labor after the Democrats' big presidential election loss, Whole Foods workers file for a union, a major expansion of overtime coverage ordered this year has been shot down by a federal judge, and average daycare costs now outstrip average rents.
An Iron River, Wisconsin, pizza parlor is busted by the Department of Labor for multiple child work violations, a member of Build a Fighting NALC talks about rank-and-file efforts in that union and disagreements over the national NALC tentative contract agreement, more University of California system workers sign up to join the UAW, the Teaching Assistants Association of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has a new initiative to improve the lot of UW bioscience workers, the National Labor Relations Board has ruled against employer 'captive audience' anti-union meetings, AFSCME Local 1 will help show how the state budget works at a November 21 event, and November 15, 2024, is the tenth anniversary of a deadly chemical leak at a Dupont insecticide plant in Texas.
Kevin Gundlach of the South Central Federation of Labor looks at the November 5 election results, Lambeau Field workers get their first contract, Los Volcanoes worker-owned cooperative kicks off, the president of Machinists District 751 discusses the end of the Boeing strike and the new contract, California keeps prison labor as a punishment, and the Rick Smith Show looks back on the anniversary of some early interracial union solidarity in the US.
A panel at the University of Wisconsin gives the good and bad news on organized labor in Wisconsin since Act 10, the SEIU Wisconsin president discusses endorsements and AFGE tells how a crisis in Social Security Administration staffing could get even worse under Project 2025, pension plans look to divest from investments in fossil fuels, rank-and-file letter carriers push back on a proposed contract, southeast Pennsylvania transit workers have authorized a system-wide strike for this week after contract talks break down, and nurses in Hawai'i won contract staffing ratio language even after Honolulu's leading hospital locked out nurses and arrested grandmas.
Letter carriers rally in Madison and call for legislative help against recent assaults, the policy director of the American Federation of Government Employees talks on Trump's proposed Project 2025, representatives of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2304 and of the Wisconsin Education Association Council talk about their political endorsement processes and their political priorities, the Teaching Assistants Association at the University of Wisconsin in Madison talks about its response to the UW crackdown on supporters of Palestinians, the SEIU 1199 megalocal calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and an arms embargo on Israel, Massachusetts voters get to act on the subminimum "tipped wage" in November, striking machinists at Boeing again reject a proposed agreement, and a Wisconsin chicken dinner chain is fined for overtime violations.
The annual Wisconsin Association of Retired Americans Power Lunch focuses on social Security and social programs, Machinists union negotiator Jon Holden talks to Labor Radio about the ongoing Boeing strike and the history that led to it, the International Association of Firefighters endorses neither presidential candidate, the National Labor Relations Board is swamped but funding and staffing isn't keeping pace, the State of Wisconsin reports good jobs numbers, a new book looks at American labor involvement in sketchy Cold War programs to undercut progressive unions overseas, the family of a worker killed in Tennessee during Hurricane Helene has filed a wrongful death suit against the company, and we remember Wisconsin womens pay rights activist Lily Ledbetter.
After a weeklong strike, Molson Coors repair workers with Machinists Lodge 66 in Milwaukee ratify a new contract. The immigrant-founded workers co-op Los Volcanoes launches in Madison, Tennessee factory workers are ordered to their death during Appalachian storms, a UAW striker is killed on a Michigan picket line, Boeing management talks tough as the West Coast Machinists strike ends its first month, South Central Federation of Labor AFL-CIO president Kevin Gundlach explains the SCFL electoral endorsement process, a Malaysian contractor of the multinational Kimberly-Clark is found to use forced labor, a Kansa City tenants union has called a strike, and photographer Dorothea Lange is remembered on the anniversary of her death.
Teachers and staff at Toad Hill Montessori schools in Madison voted overwhelmingly to join OPEIU Local 39, immigrant workers talk about how employers target them for wage theft, picketing workers speak to Labor Radio as Machinists Council 66 strikes Molson Coors in Milwaukee, the UAW prepares nationwide strikes if Stellantis doesn't meet contract demands, the Wisconsin Association of Retired Americans announces this year's agenda ahead of its October 14 power lunch, and a member of the Madison Professional and Supervisory Employees Association discusses the importance of this November's local funding referendum.
East Coast and Gulf longshore workers could strike this week, the Machinists reject Boeing management's latest "best and final" offer, the UAW says it will push back against announced layoffs at Stellantis, United Electrical workers nationally condemn Israeli attacks on Lebanon and a UE 1186 member describes an action in the Madison area, the gender wage gap lives on, Mitchell Johnson of IBEW Local 159 is the Wisconsin AFL-CIO Organizer of the Year, a November ballot measure would change voting rights in Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin South Central Federation of Labor-AFL-CIO has events planned ahead of the November election.
Teachers and staff at Toad Hill Montessori in Madison are organizing with OPEIU Local 39, the UAW says it will strike Stellantis if company management doesn't live up to its contract agreements, unions and community organizations are joining to oppose construction emplyees being misclassified as 'independent contractors', Wisconsin Teamsters break with the national union over a presidential endorsement, the AFT Wisconsin is looking for a political organizer, and voting rights will be on the ballot. Thank you to donors to WORT during our just-completed pledge drive.
A view of the Harris-Trump debate from the Labor Temple bar, yet another proposed constitutional change on the Wisconsin November ballot, 33,000 member of the Machinists are on strike at Boeing, and flight attendants at United Air are two weeks into their strike authorization. THIS IS A PLEDGE WEEK EDITION.
Voices from LaborFest 2024 at the Madison Labor Temple, a steamfitter describes the trade, rank-and-file workers oganize to move their unions to support Palestinians, and workers speak at the Havens-Wright Center at the University of Wisconsin. THIS IS A PLEDGE WEEK EDITION.
The South Central Federation of Labor president speaks on LaborFest and other upcoming events around Madison, why US Labor Day is at the beginning of September and not May Day, a first-time attendee looks forward to Socialism 2024 in Chicago, UAW pushes back as Stellantis rewrites its agreement on jobs, the Association of Flight Attendants passes a strike authorization vote as United Airlines contract talks drag, US Representative visits the Labor Temple to talk on Trump's Project 2025, and both Chipotle and Starbucks get slapped by the NLRB.
University of Wisconsin unions show up at the university system's Board of Regents meeting with actions and demands, striking University of Illinois Hospital nurses speak to Labor Radio at the picket line, the federally-appointed "neutral" monitor tries to make the UAW do his bidding on Gaza policy, unions strike across Cornell University, and we hear voices of organized labor at the Democratic Party convention.
Expiris in Milwaukee says its job cuts have nothing to do with the union drive, Harley in Milwaukee says its threatened job moves overseas have nothing to do with its union shop, an AFSCME Madison city worker testifies in support of putting a budget referendum on the November ballot, Nick Ramos of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign gives an analysis of the recent election and the labor-supported defeat of the constitutional changes, and we have an extended look at the American Federation of Teachers lawsuit against the student loan servicing company MOHELA.
The president of the South Central Federation of Labor-AFL-CIO talks endorsements and urges against the constitutional cahnges on Tuesday's ballot, UW Health nurses demand better family leave, a Rally for Democracy in Madison includes calls for working people, a health care apprenticeship program gets funding in South Central Wisconsin, and the staff at the nation's largest union end up in a tough union struggle of their own.
The Poor Peoples Campaign has an upcoming march and a meeting in Madison, Madison-area union members in the APWU and UE speak on their unions signing a letter to President Biden demanding an arms cutoff of Israel, new slates win elections at the United Federation of Teachers and at the Amazon Labor Union, Disney workers get a contract soon after a strike authorization vote, drastic industry changes are pushing union organizing at Microsoft-owned video game companies Activision and Blizzard, a recent Supreme Court ruling is likely to slow implementation of new federal workplace heat standards, and Wisconsin was once a workplace civil rights enforcement leader.
South Central Federation of Labor organizer Issy Bilek talks to Labor Radio, a worker talks about worker security during the Republican convention in Milwaukee, an education advocate talks ballot questions, seven unions representing around 6 million workers call on President Biden to end arm sales to Israel, there's a new farmer-labor podcast, the Economic Policy Institute has reports on unionization and on the myth of 'flexibility', and SpeceX can blow up labor law like it blows up spaceships.
A Madison city worker talks about the budget battle, 28,000 United Airlines flight attendants are moving to a strike authorization vote, Trump is with us, fellow workers! if you believe Teamster President Sean O'Brien and Harvard Law hillbilly/Vice Presidential candidate J. D. Vance from the GOP convention stage in Milwaukee, a former major league umpire recalls the disastrous 1999 mass registration attempt that ended up sinking the union, and the SCFL president talks about the constitutional amendment questions on the August ballot.
OSHA introduces new heat standards amid worker deaths, a jusge says ballot drops are back in Wisconsin and the Leauge ofWomen Voters explains the impact, the APWU convention will have a Wisconsin-initated call for a workers' party, the GOP comes to Milwaukee and brings a right-wing platform all laid out, a left coalition makes waves in French elections, and Labor Radio remembers the late Jane McAlevey.
President Joe Biden visits Madison and is met by supporters and protesters, a Dane County judge says Act 10 looks unconstitutional, migrant agricultural workers get some visa protections, the 'Chevron rule' and Trump decisions at the US Supreme Court and what it could mean for workers, a lawsuit says Milwaukee Tool uses work gloves made by slaves, and some Teamster hopeful drivers in Skokie have an unfair labor practice strike as for some reason Amazon keeps ending the contracts of "partner" companies that might unionize. The show ends with more recorded tributes to Labor Radio co-founder and fighter for labor Frank Emspak, who died on June 14.
Rock Energy gas workers with IBEW 965 have a contract, some states are pushing back on child labor expansion, more on the August referenda vote, and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul has weighed in on ellection worker hiring. Today's show has tributes from friends and comrades of the late Frank Emspak, co-founder of Labor Radio.
In this show, we remember Labor Radio co-founder Frank Emspak, who died June 14 at the age of 80. In a 2023 interview at WORT, Frank tells the story of Workers Independent News, which for a brief time brought union news into mainstream commercial radio. In labor news: It's the annual birthday celebration of the embattled Wisconsin civil service system, Amazon workers ratify a switch to the Teamsters, SEIU Wisconsin has thirteen new member nurses at UnityPoint-Meriter in Madison, public school teachers see victory in Virginia, and the Poor Peoples Campaign holds an online rally ahead of its June 29 gathering in DC.
If you want Family Velues @ Work, shouldn't you welcome your own union? Also: Wisconsin organized labor fights for Juneteenth recognition, the new Fair Maps ruling and the August ballot in Wisconsin, an Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee project of the UE and the DSA comes to the Madison area, the Supreme Court rules for Starbucks and against its union and the NLRB, a look at the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics figures, and worker organizing makes Waffle House raise wages... a litte.
Utility workers fix things up after a big Madison-area storm, more on state contitutional amendments that will be on the August ballot, voices from the eighth trades-sponosred Take Kids Fishing Day, the Amazon Labor Union votes to affilitate with the Teamsters, and the final numbers are in on the letter carriers' Mothers Day food drive. THIS IS A PLEDGE WEEK EDITION.
Madison is telling workers 'No money for you,' progressive organizatiosn team up to wipe out student food debt, labor argues against Act 10 in court, Teamster locals 695 abd 120 join forces, it's Take Kids Fishing weekend, and the South Central Federation of Labor speals out against repression of protest at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The South Central Federation of Labor holds its annual COPE Bean Feed, a worker in SEIU Wisconsin gives details on the UnityPoint-Meriter Hospital support staff contract that was approved this week, Voces de la Frontera calls for increased immigrant work permits, get the union side of the Madison schools teacher pay and staffing crisis, a worker from UAW 4811 at the Unviersity of California talks about the strike action there following pro-Palestinian protest crackdowns, and hear how constitutional amendments on this August's Wisconsin ballot will affect workers.
Negotiators have a tentative agreement for support staff at UnityPoint Health Meriter in Madison, the UAW comes up short in a union recognition vote at Mercedes-Benz in Alabama, voices from Madison's Faith-Labor Breakfast, the results of the letter carriers' Mothers Day weekend food drive is in, some third graders learn what a union is, 48,000-strong University of California local authorizes a strike vote over the administration's violent response to Palestine protests, prepping for a vote in August, and a call for a general strike in Argentina.
SEIU Wisconsin pickets for a support staff contract at UnityPoint Meriter Hospital in Madison, the letter carriers union has its annual food drive, the student encampment at UW-Madison goes down but not before getting union support, it's State Employee Appreciation Week and Nurses Week across the country and in Wisconsin, Madison's annual Faith-Labor Breakfast is coming up, and the UAW and the German government take on Mercedes-Benz in the South.
May Day marches in Milwaukee and Madison, labor support for protests for Palestine at the University of Wisconsin, an informational picket by SEIU Wisconsin at UnityPoint Health-Meriter, AFSCME and AFT state workers meet to talk pay and hiring, the UAW gets another win in the South, a blood drive is coming up in Madison for Nurses Week, and Teacher Appreciation Week arrives.
The US labor movement gets a big win at Volkswagen, we hear reports from the Labor Notes conference in Chicago and listen in on the Workers Memorial Day ceremony in Madison, 'No Tech for Apartheid' Google workers are fired after Israel arms AI protests and South Africa's largest labor federation calls for Palestine solidarity, the president of UAW Local 180 talks about the announced layoffs of the Case New Hollard plant in Racine County, and organizers discuss two May Day marches in the area, one in Milwaukee and and a high school student-led march in Madison.
Madison school workers rally and march for inflation pay, staffing levels, unions fight threats to Social Security, a recenlty fired worker at an Apple Store in Chicago talks about the unionization drive and worker solidarity with Palestine there, a look at the right-wing love of constitutional amendments, Sauk County steps in for UW-Baraboo campus, local grocery store Metcalfes is bought out by a Michigan firm, and Workers Memorial Day and a state worker event are coming up.
Madison's public shool union will rally for staffing and funding on Monday, Wisconsin Governor Evers vetoes an expansion of child labor in the state, President Bidenis was in Madison to announce student loan forgivemes but faced a protest over Gaza, the UAW will represent non-tenured faculty at Harvard, rats are on the run from the Operating Engineers, union representatives talk jobs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and pharmacy workers organize.
Wisconsin utility companies make an agreement with unions, UW Health nurses begin a new recognition push, labor endorsements come through in the April 2 elections, some union members buck Biden, the University of Wisconsin has a family leave plan, the UAW files at Mercedes in Alabama, the latest from the Worker Justice Center, and Labor Spring and stewarditraining opportunities this week.
We look at how labor sees the Tuesday elections with a focus on schools, state worker unions are still fighting despite Act 10, UE 1186 workers at Willy Street Co-op have a new contract, the Wisconsin Supreme Court hits Amazon and its "contractor" policy and a Tennessee company is hit for child labor violations, a key member of Joe Biden's campaign team visits Madison and meets the mayor (scheduled) and a worker opposing Biden Gaza policy (unscheduled), and AI wants your job.
Madison area Starbucks workers who won elections or filed for one this week speak out, the International Labor Organization reports how forced labor and trafficking grows worldwide, two Republican-led Wisconsin constitutional amendments are on the April 2 ballot, UnityPoint-Meriter support staff contract talks drag on, unions advance in Tennessee and face reporession in Georgia, and the male-female pay gap persists. Plus how 52 years ago an Equal Rights Amendment seemed just around the corner.
A worker-organizer talks about the drive that got two Madiison-area union elections coming up Monday, a negotiator gives a update on talks at UnityPoint Meriter, Dollar General employees walk out in Mineral Point, UWM to walk out of Waukesha, more unions join a call for a Gaza ceasefire, the South Central Federation of Labor Community Services Conference is arriving, Minnesota mobilizes dontcha know, and a think tank releases a report on immigration, .
Madison Sourdough workers get first contract, city unions talk Madison budget troubles, it's Women in Construction Week, VP Kamala Harris visits Madison to talk union jobs and meets a protest over Palestine, and poor people march. THIS IS A PLEDGE WEEK EDITION.
Meriter workers begin bargaining, Starbucks agrees to talk to the union, Madison schools and its teachers union sees a new superintendent, Poor People’s Campaign marches Saturday 3/2, the Teamsters and Anheuser-Busch reach a tentative agreement, and more. THIS IS A PLEDGE WEEK EDITION.
Students and workers in Madison and across the US announce new Starbucks union fights, Operating Engineers picket in downtown Madison, upcoming Moral March on state legislators with the Wisconsin Poor People’s Campaign, tenants’ rights struggle in Madison, Webcrafters leaving town, new legislative maps signed into law, the legacy of Frederick Douglass.
What's happening in the Minnesota labor movement, labor wins in Michigan, child labor losses in Wisconsin, a President' Day rally coming to Milwaukee, Purple 4 Palestine, Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement for the undocumented, jury gives time to Cambria explosion mill managers, the Velma Hopkins story, and more.
We talk to workers about the union victory at a Starbucks store in Milwaukee, share news of organizing at Planned Parenthood and contract talks at UnityPoint Meriter, get the latest on the UW Oshkosh budget cuts, learn about a Las Vegas union leader and activist and more.
We learn what’s been going on at the Schoeps ice cream factory in Madison, hear from the organizing drive at Ocean Spray in Wisconsin Rapids, get an update on a major teachers strike in Massachusetts, learn about organizing in the Wisconsin Farmers Union, dig deeper into how workers are affected by the UW budget cuts, explore the history of Right to Work laws and more.
We take a look at how Wisconsin unions are doing now after years of Act 10, discuss demands for a ceasefire from all over the world and from our unions here at home, discuss the impacts of budget cuts in the UW system, catch up on labor struggles near and far, look at teh National Farmers Union, and more.
Today, we commemorate the Flint sitdown strike of 1937 and look at UAW organiizing today, talk to a South African trade unionist about that country's legal and social actions in support of Palestine, look at the US Supreme Court and its taking up of a Starbucks labor case, hear from a longtime union activist on the state of unions today, see how child labor is growing in the 21st century, and more.
We look at the labor legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., learn about budget cuts affecting the UW system, get an update on bargaining at UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital, hear what is happening in Alabama as the UAW organizes, look at the battery plant closure in Portage, get a look at a tech union legal win, and more.
On this show ww'll look at Madison labor's preparation for the Martin Luther King Community dinner, hear about organzing at a Marquette University Starbucks, learn about the efforts of letter carriers to protect themselves in Milwaukee, check out the status of fair district maps after last month's favorable state Supreme Court ruling, hear about lcoal plans for education and youth outreach, get a rundown of upcoming union contracts, look at some of last year's high points, and more.
In our end-of-the year show, Labor News reporters discuss this year in labor news and give a shoutout to workers who help us report it. We also remember Labor Radio co-founder Ellen LaLuzurne.
In this show, we have an get an exclusive report from the North Pole. Also we take a look at the year for workers in Wisconsin and across the nation, report on calls from labor for a ceasefire in Gaza, look at Wisconsin retirees, report on some government rulings affecting workers and consumers, and more.
In this show, we get late-breaking details of the newly-ratified OPEIU Local 39 contracts with MG&E andTruStage, hear union leadership’s reaction to the state legislature’s underhanded move to force culture war changes at UW, check in with postal workers during this stressful holiday season, tell more about the UAW’s organizing strategy, look at labor solidarity with Palestine in Wisconsin, offer our annual Fantasy in Lights feature, and more.
We get an update on not one but two labor tenative agreements by OPEIU Local 39, check out tmorrow's march for Palestine in Madison and delve into the labor reaction, look at a new union at Lambeau Field, learn about UAW’s ongoing organizing efforts in non-union auto plants, hear from a union leader about what Act 10 has done--and the lawsuit that labor hopes will undo it, and more.
We learn about a lawsuit by unions against Act 10, talk to a union worker at Amazon in New York, look at the postal worker contract and the holiday season, announce the start of bargaining at Meriter, explore the new organizaing campaign by UAW, and more.THIS IS A BIRTHDAY BASH PLEDGE EDITION.
This week, we have extended interviews with UAW Local 12 auto worker Dawnya Ferdinandsen and labor journalist and activist Jane Slaughter. They discuss the 'stand-up' strike against the Big 3 autmakers and the contract agreement that resulted from it.
We report on the Madison response to the nationwide Starbucks strike, a lawsuit over school vouchers, jobs getting slashed at a University of Wisconsin system school, the Madison city budget and what it means for city workers, a local labor response to the attack on Gaza and a company that arms it, a Department of Labor finding in a worker death in Prairie du Chien, and more.
We bring you on-the-ground-reporting from the rally for union solidarity, learn what SEIU nurses have to say about patient care concerns, hear what teaching staff and parents have to say about low wages in Monona schools, look at the SAG-AFTRA agreement, hear about an international and a local resolution on the destruction in Gaza, learn about a strike authorization by IBEW 2150 at We Energies, hear about an upcoming Starbucks strike and more.
Today, we bring you news of Saturday's union solidarity march and rally in Madison, celebrate UAW’s victory for all workers, look at the organized labor response to the crisis in Palestine, talk to a worker about the new contract at Oakwood Village, get an immigrants rights look at Wisconsin's districting battles, look at the University of Wisconsin's teaching assistant union in historical context, hear worrying news on the state of workers in the Midwest, and more.
Get this week's update on the ongoing UAW-Big 3 strike, hear about the brand new union contract at Oakwood Village and preparation for negotiations at Meriter Hospital, hear voices at a rally at the capitol for fair electoral maps, get an update on union organizing at a Milwaukee game company, learn about preparations for the upcoming solidarity rally, hear about OSHA’s crackdown on dishonest bosses and more.
We bring you this week's update on the ongoing UAW strike, learn about an upcoming unity rally to support OPEIU Local 39 in their struggle with Madison Gas and Electric, learn more about how cuts at UW Oshkosh will affect workers, hear about a proposed union resolution on Palestine, check a report on Madison failure on equity over the last ten years, learn about the new union at Workers Justice Wisconsin, and more.
Today, we bring you the latest update on the UAW strike, details of the win by healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente, news of a rally by Wisconsin state workers, the good word on bosses with fines and bosses in handcuffs, the bad word on teacher pay, the latest on Wisconsin districting battles, and more.
We bring you the latest on the UAW strike still holding strong against the Big 3 automakers and talk to picketers, give details on the largest healthcare workers strike ever in the US, hear about a worker-led petition at a Madison Starbucks, get news of actions by state workers and more. THIS IS A PLEDGE WEEK EDITION.
We bring more news on the historic UAW strike against the Big 3 automakers, including coverage of a solidarity rally in Milwaukee and an analysis of the strike's impact by Frank Emspak, along with news of struggles at TruStage, UW-Oshkosh and more. THIS IS A PLEDGE WEEK EDITION.
Today, we hear about Week Two of the United Auto Workers in the words of UAW President Shawn Fain, get an update on negotiations at Noble Knight Games and at Madison Sourdough, hear how a proposed national grocery merger affects workers, get the latest info on state worker compensation, hear about some good proposed labor standards changes, find out what happened on this day in labor and pizza history, and more.
We bring you the full message from UAW President Shawn Fain and more on the history-making strike against the Big 3 automakers, along with news of struggles at Crushin’ It, MG&E, and UW Oshkosh, get a reminder that social spending actually works, hear how Republicans are going after Justice Protasiewicz, learn about actions for Medicaid this Sudnay, and more.
Today, we get news on a walkout at a local Starbucks, hear about teachers and supporters switched a school board vote in Monona, catch up on the potential UAW strike, get news from the union at Noble Knight Games and catch up on other area labor actions, hear what happened at this year's LaborFest and at NAACP Labor Week, and more.
Today, we report on new contact settlements ;OPEIU local 39 negotiations with Madison Gas and Electric; the challenges faced by the teaching Assistants Association; hospital workers speak out in Appleton, Laborfest ’23, the NLRB moves on overtime rules, look bakc on teh March on Washington 60 years on, and more.
We take look at opportunities for young workers including a new SCFL committee and an IBEW apprenticeship. We take a look at a protest during the recent Republican debates in Milwaukee, get ready for Laborfest ’23, hear a UAW update and some labor legal rulings, and more.
Today, we take a look at the latest for OPEIU 39 and IBEW 2304 with negotiations at MG&E, discuss the crisis caused by a lack of affordable housing in Dane County, hear from a worker at Madison Sourdough, hear the president of the UAW take on Big 3 execs, hear excerpts from a report on farm labor, and more.
Today, we have an update on negotiations involving OPEIU Local 39, who are dealing with both TruStage and MG&E, and also the IBEW's negotiations with MG&E. We hear about what newly-unionized workers at Starbucks and Madison Sourdough are fighting, take a closer look at gerrymandering in Wisconsin, hear about the Yellow Corporation bankruptcy and how some animators are working to be union superheroes, and more.
Today, we have an update workers’ fight for a fair contract at TruStage, learn what to expect from changes in the Wisconsin State Supreme Court, get an update on the writers and actors strike, look at a report showing the tie between unions and improved civil rights, hear about the action at Leinkugel's brewery, learn what the feds have said about child labor at McDonald's and safety at Dollar General, hear about a proposed national day of action at Starbucks this Monday.
Today, we review the recent UPS contract agreement, get an update on OPEIU at TruStage, hear about a new contact at Kohler, discuss workplace heat standards or lack thereof, discuss the civil rights issues around the teacher firing in Waukesha, hear about a big restaurant wage theft finding, and more.
Frank Emspak comments on “Strike Summer.” Today, we share the latest news on the Teamster-UPS negotiations, the OPIEU-TruStage battle, the actors and writers strikes in Hollywood, and a successful organizing drive at Stanford University. We also take a look at a teacher firing in Waukesha, a local call to end the horrors of US border policy, right-wing efforts to lower the working age, and more.
This week we have a message direct from a worker at Madison Sourdough. We also take a look at the latest in OPEIU-TruStage and Teamsters-UPS negotiations, learn about an NLRB finding on Madison's Crushin' It Apparrel, see where the labor-endorsed Juneteenth resoluton is at in Madison, and--actors join writers on the picket line in Hollywood.
Today we take a look at what’s next in contract negotiations between the UPS and Teamsters, the IBEW and MG&E, and at Colectivo Coffee; hear from a worker on a nationwide Starbucks strike that came to Madison, get details on a child workplace death, get the background on how Governor Evers made a move on education in Wisconsin, hear about how Juneteenth is advancing as an official hoilday here, and more.
Today we take a look at the state budget and how it effects education in Wisconsin, discuss a demand by Freedom Inc. for protection for workers during air quality alerts, get the latest word on the OPEIU-TruStage stalemate, learn about workplace safety and child labor violations at a Green Bay meat packer, hear union voices for universal health care, get a local take on the UPS-Teamster negotiations, learn about a Pennsylvania strike, and more.
Today we discuss recent legislation and how it will effect children and families in our state include cuts to childcare, potential changes in child labor laws, and a long look at the state school funding deal. We also share updates on the struggle of workers at Trustage (formerly CUNA) and Teamster-UPS negotiations, celebrate a win for Madison teachers and a birthday for the state civil service system, look at a pay discrimination settlement in Verona, and more.
Today we take a deep dive into noncompete clauses and how they effect workers, hear from a Teamsters negotiator on today's UPS strike authorization vote, find out about plans to celebrate Juneteenth in a big way, get an update on the strike at Trustage (formerly known as CUNA Mutual), contrast Wisconsin's state budget with that neighbor's to the west, and more.
Today we take a long look at a Supreme Court decision that will undermine union power, get an update on the strike at TruStage (formerly known as CUNA Mutual), check in the new leadership in the TAA, get word on the impat of AriensCo layoffs in Brillion, hear about the new IBEW contract at Colectivo Coffee, share the latest US jobs report and more.
We do an update on the strike at TruStage (formerly CUNA), hear about yesterday's union election at the State Street Starbucks, look at a walkout at Amazon, take a look at the recent debt ceiling deal and how it will affect workers, learn about a rally for workers at the recently closed MasterLock plant in Milwaukee and much more. THIS IS A PLEDGE WEEK EDITION. You can donate this week and always at wortfm.org/donate/
Today we’ll get an update on the strike at CUNA, learn about how the NALC negotiates a contract, hear from SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin about their new bargaining agreement, talk public education, join the SCFL Bean Feed, remember Gary Mitchell, and more.
Today we hear from CUNA workers as they walk the picket line, learn about the settlement between SEIU and Meriter, hear about a visitor to a unionizing Starbucks store, get an update on talks at MGE, hear how to join the teachers for a rally for public educaton and more.
Today we celebrate Nurses Week, learn about the upcoming NALC food drive, learn about the latest on community support for CUNA Mutual workers, appreciate our teachers, hear about organized labor support for Palestinians, and more.
Today we learn about an IBEW project for homeless people in hospice, visit the Faith Labor Breakfast, get a report on May Day in Milwaukee and Madison, learn about an infection at a Michigan wood mill, get the latest on the Hollywood writers strike, get ready for a rally for public education, celebrate Nurses Week and more.
In this show we hear from OPEIU workers who have authorized a strike vote CUNA Mutual, hear from speakers at Workers Memorial Day, check in on negotiations at Meriter, learn about the latest Madison Starbucks to organize a union, look ahead to May Day, share info on the Faith and Labor Breakfast and more.
Ellen LaLuzerne, co-producer of Madison Labor Radio, passed away this Friday, April 14th. Ellen had many aspects to her life, and those organizations will be telling her story as we will here at Madison Labor Radio.
For more than 30 years, Ellen was a mainstay of the Madison labor movement and Madison Labor Radio. She passionately fought for workers at the work place. Ellen believed that workers must have their own voice in the media. Labor Radio is dedicating this commemoration to those aspects of her life.
But first, we bring you two stories about labor struggles that were important to Ellen.
This week hear a reproductive rights rally and discuss labor participation, learn of a victory for Raven Software workers, discuss Get Out the Vote efforts for union members and labor supporters, get an on-the-ground report from France with Labor Radio’s Frank Emspak, hear about union power in Minnesota and Chicago, share our statistic of the week and much more!
This week take a look at good news for Madison school district support staff, get an update on negotiations for Red Cross workers, hear support for UW student activists from the COSATU congress in South Africe, learn how Starbucks managers are backing down to workers (and the law), and more! THIS IS A PLEDGE WEEK EDITION!
This week we take a look at the most recent Center for Wisconsin Strategy Report, learn about a walkout at a restauraant in Madison, get an update on the aftermath of the Minnesota nurses strike, get details on how the US postal system treasts its workers, hear a report on labor’s presence in last week’s reproductive rights march, and much more! THIS IS A PLEDGE WEEK EDITION!
Big labor action updates this week, with nurses strikes in Madison and Minnesota off, national rail workers back to work, Wisconsin Red Cross workers reaching an agreement, For Our Future's new union settling in, Noodles and Co workers in Madison walk out, CUNA workers still demanding movement on negotiations, and more!
This week the top story is the upcoming strike by nurses at UW Hospitals and Clinics. An update on the Minnesota Nurses strike; a report from Labor Fest;. OPEIU local 39 workers continue to mobilize to win a new contract, changes in labor and much more.
This week we have a big local Labor Day roundup marking the return of LaborFest this Monday, hear some Labor Day history, learn more about the strike vote by UW nurses, get the decision in the City of Madison vs. Teamsters Metro workers, get background to the attacks on teacher pay, learn abourt a successful union recognition vote at a Michigan Chipotle restaurant, and more.
This week hear about the UW Nurses decision to issue a 10-day strike notice, learn about compensation for teachers here and a teachers action in Ohio, get more on the fight by AFSCME Red cross workers for a contract; hear from the American Postal Workers Convention and hear about some postal service hiring changes, celebrate the return of LaborFest, and more.
This week we hear from the Dane County NAACP on their support for UW nurses, , hear more on fights for contracts at CUNA and at the Red Cross, learn about strikes by health workers in Minneapolis and California, hear about the latest anti-labor outrages from Starbucks management and at Amy's organic foods, learn how the IRA affects a local business, find out about an offering from Voces de la Frontera, share our statistic of the week and much more!
This week we get the latest on negotiations at Colectivo Coffee and CUNA Mutual, learn more the about ongoing strike action at CASE, hear from the Dane County NAACP on their support for UW nurses, discuss labor and the elections, remember local labor activiist Steve Mazar, and much more!
This week we learn about an important labor action by UW nurses, discuss the impact of the abortion rights decision on labor, learn about lorganized labor support for Red Cross workers, explore the impact of the teacher shortage on Wisconsin schools, learn about IBEW’s recent organizing win, hear about a worker-led effort to bolster UW health policies, and much more!
his week we learn about changes in COVID rules for Wisconsin immigrants, take a look at the upcoming primary election, get updates on negotiations at CUNA, the strike at CASE, and a pay cut for MTI teachers, discuss a recent action demanding Joe Biden keep a promise to immigrants, hear about child labor at an Alabama factory, present our statistic of the week and much more!
This week we continue our coverage of how the recent Supreme Court decision on abortion affects working families, hear how workers are dying for Prime Day, learn more about a potential rail strike, take a look at contract negotiations across our area and across the country, present our statistic of the week and much more!
This week we walk the picket lines with the Carpenters and with OPEIU, take a look at recent Wisconsin Supreme Court decisions, explore the political movement in South America, look at non-funding of the NLRB, present our statistic of the week and much more!
This week we hear about the Red Cross worker negotiations, discuss the impact of the right-leaning Supreme Court decisions on workers, learn about an important CUNA picket coming up, catch up with labor actions by the Red Cross, Starbucks workers, cannabis workers, and others, share a new statistic of the week and much more!
This week we have a report on the union voite at a Madison Starbucks, hear what Madison Teachers Incorportaed says about the school district budget, find out how the decision to overturn Roe impacts union contracts and women's economic standing, hear from participants in lat month's Poor People’s March in Washington, DC, get a new statistic of the week and much more!
This week we are exploring the impact of today’s Supreme Court decision overturning Roe versus Wade, sharing a report from a successful Labor Notes conference, learning about an action in Illinois in support of 'essential' workers who are treated as dispensible, celebrating Juneteenth in Madison, getting an update on OPEIU negotiations at CUNA Mutual, and much more!
This week we have a live report from the 2022 Labor Notes Conference, and hear a report ahead of the Saturday June 18 Poor People’s March in DC. We bring you updates on the UAW strike in southeast Wisconsin and on organizing at Starbucks and among video game workers, celebrate and hear warnings on the 117th anniversary fo the Wisconsin civil service system, get a new statistic of the week and much more!
This week we bring you news of important mobilizations including marches against gun violence in Madison, and for the Poor People’s campaign in DC. We learn the latest on the nurses’ fight to organize at UW Hospital and Clinics, get an update on organizing at CUNA Mutual, hear about a foreign policy initiative at the AFL-CIO, learn about organizing drives in the video game industry and a major retail chain, share a new statistic of the week and much more!
This week we learn more about a walkout at Madison schools over low proposed raises, hear about the significance of the strike at Trachte, catch up with a union victory in Milwaukee and organizing at Apple Stores across the country, get news of a racial discrimination settlement in Waukesha, and much more! THIS IS A WORT PLEDGE WEEK EDITION OF LABOR RADIO.
This week we hear about the wins of Trachte and Raven software workers, get news on the negotiations at CUNA Mutual group, get details on NLRB actions against Starbucks, learn about negotiation difficulties for Red Cross and Case workers, speak with Madison teachers on their bargaining efforts, share a new statistic of the week and much more!
This week we delve deeper into the SMART strike at Trachte, look at the demands of Madison teachers, learn way Red Cross talks are stalled, check in on negotiations at CUNA Mutual, get an update on the Case strike, check out state and national actions around Starbucks unionization, and much more!
This week we share un update on the SMART Local 565 strike in Sun Prairie, learn more about a the struggle for a contract for Red Cross workers, check in on negotiations at CUNA Mutual, find out the latest on an investigation into a deadly workplace explosion from 2017, get updates on union actions across the state and the country, and much more!
This week we get breaking news of a local sheet metal workers union strike, learn more about a strike by UAW workers at Case, get a report on what happened for immigrant rights and other labor actions on May Day, get updates on contract negotiations and union drives locally and across the country and much more!
This week we share how Madison is celebrating May Day, hear voices from yesterday's Workers Memorial Day, learn about a union blood drive for National Nurses Week, catch up with organizing at Raven Software, CUNA and Starbucks, learn about a national union drive this week for single payer healthcare, and much more!
This week we have breaking news of an NLRB win for union organizers at Raven Software, prepare to honor fallen workers on Workers Memorial Day; share the inside scoop on May Day events, get a review of the latest on Wisconsin’s voting maps, celebrate National Nurses Week, and more
This week we honor a local labor historian and activist, learn about organizing across our listening area, learn about changes proposed by the National Labor Relations Board, share updates on Starbucks and CUNA, talk to a local farmer, get a first look at some May Day events and much more.
This week we bring you organizing updates at MIT and Amazon--and also learn how Amazon is getting sued for a worker's death, check out the strike at Vollrath in Sheboygan, take a look at a Medicare privatization scheme, analyze a proposal by NLRB attorneys to ban 'captive meetings', get a quick update on contract negotiations at CUNA, look at the results in school board races, see how Milwaukee students are organizing for themselves and for cafeteria workers, share the COVID report and much more.
This week we share updates on organizing at Amazon, Starbucks and Collectivo, learn about an event celebrating the life and work of Joe Hill, discuss Labor endorsements for the upcoming election, check in on contract negotiations at CUNA, visit an event by the Poor Peoples' Campaign, share the COVID report and much more.
This week we share Labor’s perspective on the Ukraine war, learn about an event celebrating the life and work of Joe Hill, discuss issues behind Madison Metro’s efforts to break up a bargaining unit, check in on contract negotiations at CUNA, learn about the new contract with SEIU at Unity Point-Meriter Hospital, do deep on voting maps, share the COVID report and much more.
This week we get an update from teachers on the Minneapolis Public Schools strike, hear from actions in Madison for Colectivo Coffee workers, examine the challenges facing rural schools, listen in on a discussion of working women in Wisconsin, discuss a night shift walkout by Amazon employees, share the COVID report and much more.
This week we learn what the Minneapolis public schools strike is about, explore the employee handbook process for UW workers, take a look at the Major League Baseball agreement, hear about a state law for gig workers and Teamsters and a national law for postal workers, get an update on the Poor Peoples Campaign, share this week’s COVID report. PLEADGE WEEK EDITION, go to wortfm.org.
This week learn about the historic US Women’s Soccer pay equity settlement, get an update on the baseball pockout, explore the new union contract at Willy Street Co-op, check in with nurses’ union activities at UW Hospital, get the latest on Wisconsin’s legislative maps, get info on a McDonald's racial bias settlement, learn the latest from the Poor Peoples' Campaign, share this week’s COVID report and much more. THIS IS A PLEDGE WEEK. Visit www.wortfm.org/donate
This week hear from UW nurses rallying for recognition of their union, get the background on a tentative agreement between union workers and Willy Street Co-op, attend a rally at a Starbucks near Milwaukee, learn more about the union for backstage workers, hear UW workers demand a safe response to COVID, get our weekly local COVID report and much more.
This week take a look at the move to expand school vouchers in the state, learn about organizing at a Milwaukee Starbucks, get an update on a lawsuit against Voces, revisit organizing efforts by game workers in Middleton, hear the latest from UW Nurses, share the COVID report and much more.
This week we catch up with labor issues in Madison, celebrate an organizing victory in Mexico, discuss the push for worker input on Covid policy at UW, take a look at reform at USPS, share the latest COVID report and much more.
This week we learn about an innovative program by nurses in Dane County, follow up with organizing efforts at Starbucks, Amazon and Raven, take a look at union density reports, share the latest COVID report and much more.
This week we hear how pay discrimination is alive and well for certain teachers in the Verona Area school district, find out more about the legislative map process in Wisconsin, discuss a recent GOP move against Voces de la Frontera take a look at union density reports, share the latest COVID report and much more.
This week we get an update on UW nurses’ fight for a union, learn about organizing at a local software company, discuss attempts by the City of Madison to shrink a Teamsters bargaining unit, take a look at unemployment disparities, catch up with job actions across the country, and much more.
This week we check in with workers at Colectivo in their fight for a contract, continue our exploration of changes in UW compensation, find out about job actions the UW nurses have planned, sit down with Wisconsin AFL CIO President Stephanie Bloomingdale, share the latest COVID report and much more.
This week we get the latest on fair maps in Wisconsin, hear from MTI on Madison Public School delayed return, discuss changes OSHA’s COVID regulations in the workplace, learn about changes in UW compensation, share the latest COVID report and much more.
Happy New Year! This is our annual end of the year roundup, with Labor Radio folks sitting in the studio and speaking wisdom, or some approximation thereof.
This week we have a review of this year’s Fantasy in Lights, learn about conditions for workers hit by the recent tornado, take a look at the Major League Baseball lockout, explore highlights of the new contract for postal workers, and more.
This week we’ll check in on the ongoing Kelloggs strike, hear about what's being done with staffing and a lack of a voice for K12 educators, learn about UW nurses organizing efforts, find out about upcoming actions for the ProAct, share the latest COVID report and much more.
This is a pledge week! And we’ll get details on the Kelloggs agreement, learn about a call for a second Amazon union election in Alabama, check in with the postal service, discuss how union leadership changes may effect contract negotiations for UAW and for the Teamsters, find out what a recent Wisconsin Supreme Court decision on voting district maps means, and more.
This week we’ll discuss the end of the strike at John Deere, get funky with VO5 and the UW nurses, share an update on the strike against Kellogg's, learn about the new stagehands contract, learn how West Coast workers are taking on Kaiser Permante, and more.
This week we continue our coverage with an update on the John Deere and Kellogg’s strikes and learn about a union drive at Starbucks in Buffalo. We also get on-the-ground coverage of a Poor People’s Campaign action calling out Senator Ron Johnson, celebrate the upcoming Apprenticeship Week, learn about a new membership program for Worker Justice Wisconsin, and more.