Labor Lines

Steve Cassidy, the president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association discusses why tier 5 firefighters and police officers can only recieve $27 a day in disability and how to fight it. Charlene Obernauer, executive director of the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH), discusses initiatives they have taken in her first year, including preparation for disasters and contagious disease, preserving the Scaffold Safety Law and more. 

we discuss the changing role NLRB on its 80th anniversary. A major conference will happen at weeks end to celebrate the NLRB and we’ll share the details.  At the same time, workers in low wage jobs continue a full-court press for a $15 per hour minimum wage. This week they we will be rallying throughout the City on April 15th, we’ll speak to workers and to a policy analyst involved in the campaign.

From The Lion King to the Rockettes to Billy Joel at the Garden, these shows all have one thing in common:  their stage hands are members of a union. Get to know IATSE local 1. The union’s members move the sets, handle the sound and work the lights and make actors fly above the crowd while keeping performers, the audience and themselves safe in the process. Next we will learn about the “Workers’ Justice Project,” an organization devoted to mobilizing low wage migrant workers for better work conditions, with the assistance of Cornell.

Reluctant as we have always been to air dirty union laundry, the turmoil at Suffolk County’s AME is no secret. Newsday recently had an extensive article exploring the positions taken by several of the factions in an upcoming union election. We’ll speak with embattled Union President Dan Farrell to give him an opportunity to respond to the allegations swirling about.  After all the $60,000 question asked by many within labor circles of late has been “what the heck is going on with AME?” We’ll get the incumbent’s perspective, and it’s not pretty.   Discrimination in the workplace is a lose-lose proposition. Potentially great workers  lose good job opportunities for which they may be more than capable. Employers lose potential talent that could possibly take them to the next level. More lamentable is how creative discrimination is becoming. Corporations increasingly use credit ratings to guide their hiring decisions, a strategy that tends to disparately im

Walmart’s cataclysmic announcement that it would give its workers a raise is truly a sign of the changing tide. Question is, will legislators in Albany follow the tides? Darius Gordon a young organizer with Citizen Action of New York tells us about the campaign to raise wages in New York. Next, we hear from members of the Street Vendors Project, an organization that advocates for workers who are often overlooked in city policy. Sean Basinski, Esq., a former street vendor himself is the founder and executive director of the Street Vendors Project; Basma Eid, is an organizer and Constantine Moratos, is a member of the Street Vendors Project who sells coffee and bagels from his cart.

Our guest this week is John R. Durso, President of the LI Federation of Labor, President of RWDSU Local 338, and Chair of LI United Way. We discuss the effect of the recent elections on labor as a cataclysm or opportunity; dealing with new members of Congress and labor. Durso goes on to talk about labor's excellent relationship with NY State and Local Republicans. You can subscribe to Labor-Lines Newsletter here, listen on I-Tunes / Stitcher or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@LaborLines) Labor-Lines can be heard Saturday at 1:00 pm in NYC on AM-970 “The Answer” — 6:30 pm in Nassau County on AM -1240 WGBB — Sunday at 7:00 am in Suffolk County on WJVC 96.1 FM “My Country” – and at 8:00 am in Suffolk on WRCN “LI News Radio” 103.9 FM

Fair trade or Free trade agreements are rarely what their titles imply. Basically, they are little more than complete giva-a-ways to corporate interests. Hey, this is not just “tax breaks,” this is far worse. Free trade agreements represent a government’s relinquishment of its sovereign power. They make our laws meaningless, because any foreign entity can sue our country, for loss of trade profits if they feel our environmental or other laws somehow impeded their ability to “do business.” This is not good friends. Listen and Learn. “Moral Mondays” originally the brain-child of the Reverend William Barber, Director of the North Carolina NAACP, represent the social justice movement’s availing itself of economies of scale. Learn how civic and social activists are banning together to advocate for another cause or important social justice issue, one issue at a time, on Mondays. Every Monday. Labor-Lines can be heard Saturday at 4:00 pm in NYC on AM-970 “The Ans

Scott Stringer, the Comptroller in New York City views his position as a bully pulpit to advocate real change in New York City and as a forceful place from which to effectuate such change. Then, learn dirty truth about where your food comes from. Sanjay Rawal, the director of Food Chains, discusses how the film documents farm worker organizing efforts in Florida, overcoming “right to work” attitudes to create better working conditions.

Two issues on the front burner for New Yorkers are quality education and good business standards.  We discuss those issues, this week, on Labor-Lines.  First, Paul Pecorale, Vice President for the New York State United Teachers, and Christine Vasilev of the Port Washington Teachers Association, discuss NYSUT’s campaign to curtail Governor Cuomo’s so-called education reforms.  Next, meet Mike Vitoria, a successful investment advisor and venture capitalist, and die-hard Republican, who castigates low wage employers for being unpatriotic and deleterious to our national economy. You can subscribe to Labor-Lines on I-Tunes / Stitcher or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@LaborLines)

Organizing for better working conditions doesn't just happen over-night. Successful campaigns take years of base building work that eventually turns into the visible campaign to pressure public officials for support. In this week's program we focus on two campaigns that started small and have grown large. First, we talk with of two LaGuardia Airport's baggage handlers together with a  Communications Specialist from 32 BJ SEIU,  about  ongoing activity to improve working conditions in the airports, for low wage workers. Next, we hear about the history of "Moral Monday" from North Carolina NAACP President, Reverend William Barber, who will preview his address to the  Long Island  community on February 18th, at Stony Brook University. SB Economics Professor Michael Zweig, who extended the invitation to Reverend Barber, is certain the  Reverend's message will resonate on Long Island.

Our guest, John Samuelson, is embarking on his fifth year at the helm of TWU local 100. We will learn about his challenges and triumphs; what the union has done to go to bat for its members; the ever present issue of job safety and some recent victories in organizing.  We next interview a young attorney and two staff members from MFY Legal services. They’re on strike - quite reluctantly, but out on the picket line never-the-less. They assert the failure of the MFY’s management to provide adequate working conditions, decent pay and benefits for support staff members has forced the issue. 

A united voice in the workforce is the last remaining bulwark against the influx of corporate dollars in our politics. In this week’s program we first focus on a recent report from the Fiscal Policy Institute that deals with the economics of prevailing wage laws. Our guests, Shirley Aldebol, Vice President of 32 BJ SEIU and Mathew Bogovich, a rank and file member who is detrimentally effected by the lack of prevailing wages in his job classification, graphically describe how workers are exploited when there is no prevailing wage law. Then, on a more macro-economic level William Spriggs, Professor of Economics and  Chief Economist for the AFL-CIO describes how the economy can be better structured to benefit working people, and what unions can do to further the economic interests of workers.  You can subscribe to Labor-Lines Newsletter here, listen on I-Tunes / Stitcher or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@LaborLines) Labor-Lines can be heard Saturday at 1:00 pm in NYC on AM-970 “The Ans

Unions are made up of a wide variety of trades and occupations. How can union leaders ensure that those diverse labor voices are united around the common goals: maintaining the middle class, combatting income disparity; raising minimum wages; promoting safe workplaces, and more. Vincent Alvarez, President of the NYC Central Labor Council, describes how the Central Labor Council fought in 2014 for better labor standards and gives a preview of the the major challenges in 2015. Then, Demos Demopoulos, Executive Director of Teamsters Local 553 and Secretary Treasurer of Teamsters Joint Council 16 updates us on battle to save the horse carriage industry. He reminds us that the Teamsters union evolved from representing members in the horse drawn vehicle era and expanded their ranks to the diverse membership of today. We learn the significance of the horses “Thunder” & “Lightening” in the Teamsters logo, and why the horse drawn carriage battle is one of special significance to Local 553.

This week we focus on Staten Island. Although the conventional wisdom is that Staten Island goes against the grain of New York City politics, it has been a stronghold of suburban organizing in New York City. Robert Holst, is a member of IBEW local 3 and one of the founders of the Middle Class Action Project, he’s a knowledgeable spokesperson about labor issues and has been a guest on our program many times. Now, he is asking for support to convince the Staten Island Democratic leader to select him to run in the special election to fill the Congressional seat vacated by Michael Grimm. Next, Steve Lawton, President of Staten island based CWA Local 1102, and two shop stewards join us discuss  the challenges CWA local 1102 faces in contract negotiations with EZ- Pass. You can subscribe to Labor-Lines Newsletter here, listen on I-Tunes / Stitcher or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@LaborLines) Labor-Lines can be heard Saturday at 1:00 pm in NYC on AM-970 “The Answer” — 6:30 pm in Na

From Public Employees to Auto Workers, working people need to coalesce to address common problems. This means lobbying in Albany (and DC) as well as working within the labor movement.  Peter  Meringolo, Chair of the NYS Public Employee Conference, discusses current issues PEC faces and the challenges he deals with to try to keep public employees on the same page. Then, Brian Schneck, President of UAW local 259, discusses issues affecting UAW 259 workers within the context of the national and local economies. You can subscribe to Labor-Lines Newsletter here, listen on I-Tunes / Stitcher or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@LaborLines)   Labor-Lines can be heard Saturday at 1:00 pm in NYC on AM-970 “The Answer” — 6:30 pm in Nassau County on AM -1240 WGBB — Sunday at 7:00 am in Suffolk County on WJVC 96.1 FM “My Country” – and at 8:00 am in Suffolk on WRCN “LI News Radio” 103.9 FM

Governor Cuomo recently announced an attempt to eliminate 2,500 workers from the protection of Public Employee Federation by reclassifying their job titles to non-union positions.  Needless to say, neither the workers, nor their union, are rather unhappy.    Guests, Susan Kent, President of the Public Employee Federation and Connie Batts, the Long Island Regional Coordinator, tell us how PEF is handling the issue.   Next, Anita Halasz, who just celebrated her first year on the job as Executive Director of Long Island Jobs with Justice, recaps organizations the major campaigns for 2014 plans for 2015.   You can subscribe to Labor-Lines Newsletter here, listen on I-Tunes / Stitcher or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@LaborLines) Labor-Lines can be heard Saturday at 1:00 pm in NYC on AM-970 “The Answer” — 6:30 pm in Nassau County on AM -1240 WGBB — Sunday at 7:00 am in Suffolk County on WJVC 96.1 FM “My Country” – and at 8:00 am in

Healthcare and the Economy have been the major political themes of 2014. In final of 2014 we discuss both. Former New York Times columnist Jeff Madrick is the author of Seven Bad Ideas: How Mainstream Economists have Damaged America and The World. He tells us about widely accepted “bad ideas” that continue to be “rule of thumb” for many economists and argues these dangerous to our economic security. Then, we explore a program called Benefits-USA that has the potential to help everyone improve their existing healthcare plan. Lee Gerber and Jerry Turney of Benefits-USA elaborate on two innovative programs that help with the cost of prescription medicine to 24/7  accessibility to physicians. You can subscribe to Labor-Lines Newsletter here, listen on I-Tunes / Stitcher or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@LaborLines) Labor-Lines can be heard Saturday at 1:00 pm in NYC on AM-970 “The Answer” — 6:30 pm in Nassau County on AM -1240 WGBB — Sunday at 7:00 am in

In September, throngs crowded the streets of New York City and marched to Time Square where they challenged world leaders to address climate change with action rather than words. On December 15th, labor and community groups convened to release a report prepared by the Alliance for a Greater New York (ALIGN) detailing steps New Yorkers  should initiate to address the challenges presented by climate change. Labor-Lines guests Matt Ryan, Executive Director of ALIGN and Reverend Brian Ellis-Gibbs, of the Queens Baptist Church in Queens Village describe this comprehensive report and the ten recommended steps that labor, community and government, together, can  take to ameliorate some of the effects of climate change.  Next, from “Working America,” three staffers describe the organization’s campaign to help working people sign up for health insurance on state and federal exchanges . Working America’s objective is to insure that every American has access to health  insuran

Politics is a world of “you scratch my back and I scratch your back”, but Mayor De Blasio’s attempt to eliminate the horse drawn carriages in Central park may be “one scratch” too many. This week we talk to Christina Hansen, a horse carriage driver and member of the teamsters, about the campaign to save the horses in central park. She was joined by our allies in labor media Marc Bussanich and Joe Maniscalco, from Labor Press, who shed light on the backroom deals that instigated the campaign to eliminate the horse drawn carriages and the jobs of 300 drivers. Next, we learn about  issues affecting the Writers Guild of America East. These are the writers who write many of the comedy and reality shows that you see on TV. Their Executive Director Lowell Peterson and Organizing Director Justin Molito discuss their difficulties about a British TV production studio that is trying to take advantage of the American writers.   You can subscribe to Labor-Lines Newsletter here, list

On a rainy day it can be pretty frustrating trying to find a taxi, but have you considered how challenging it is for the taxi drivers to just break even? This week we speak with Bhairavi Desai, Executive Director of the New York Taxi Worker Alliance, Bill Lindauer, Organizing Committee Member and Victor Salazar, the outreach coordinator, three people who are intimately familiar with the challenges of driving a taxi in New York City. Next we talk to Irv Miljoner, the Area Director for the US Department of Labor Wage and Hour, Long Island Division, for an update on the agency’s effort to stem the ever increasing tide of wage and hour violations. You can subscribe to Labor-Lines Newsletter here, listen on I-Tunes / Stitcher or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@LaborLines)