Podcasts about commercial workers

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.

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.

THE FOUNDER and longtime leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, was eliminated Friday by an Israeli airstrike on a suburb of Beirut. This means that ten of the eleven top military commanders in Hezbollah have been eliminated by Israel, along with the leader of Hamas, within the last two months. Apparently, it does not pay to be on the wrong side of history in a conflict with Israel. A senior commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps was also killed in that strike, and a report from Iran revealed that supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini has moved to a secure facility, apparently worried that his life might soon be forfeit. We also discuss a new revelation in the ongoing scandal of human trafficking for big business: The United Food and Commercial Workers union charged that a JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colorado has been exploiting workers from Haiti and Benin, alleging dangerous working conditions, substandard wages, unfair treatment, and housing them in deplorable conditions at a local motel. Also: Tensions between Japan and China ramp up as the neocons apparently want to expand Western influence to the Asian Pacific. NOTE: The audio for this week is different because we had to come up with a quick workaround for our usual setup. A word of advice: If you a Mac user working with Adobe products like Audition or Premiere, don't upgrade to Mac OS 15 (Sequoia) until Adobe gets its act together and makes its products compatible with the OS upgrade. Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible! Follow us! X (formerly Twitter): @pidradio | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert | @gilberthouse_tvTelegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunkerYouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelationFacebook.com/pidradio ——————Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square foot pole barn has a new HVAC system, epoxy floor, 100-amp electric service, new windows, insulation, lights, and ceiling fans! If you are so led, you can help out by clicking here: gilberthouse.org/donate. Get our free app! It connects you to this podcast, our weekly Bible studies, and our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at pidradio.com/app. Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site: gilberthouse.org/video! Check out our online store! GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials! And check out our new line of T-shirts and mugs! Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store/.——————WE'RE GOING BACK TO ISRAEL! Our 2025 tour features special guests Dr. Judd Burton and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel. PLEASE NOTE: Due to security concerns, our Solidarity Mission planned for November 6–13, 2024 has been canceled.

Ralph speaks to law professor, Barbara McQuade, who specializes in national security issues and has written a book that outlines the very real threat to American democracy, “Attack From Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America.” Also, Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson sums up Israeli goals in its war on the Palestinians with three words “eradication, elimination, and expulsion.”Barbara McQuade is a professor from practice at Michigan Law School. Her interests include criminal law, criminal procedure, national security, data privacy, and civil rights. From 2010 to 2017, Professor McQuade served as the US attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. As US attorney, she oversaw cases involving public corruption, terrorism, corporate fraud, theft of trade secrets, civil rights, and health care fraud, among others. She also serves as a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. Barbara McQuade is the author of Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America.I think people are still bewildered about how to respond to Donald Trump. I think the media is bewildered because we've never seen anything like him—he's an absolute disruptor of how our system works. And so, he's a big bully who runs around and says all kinds of mean things and nobody knows how to deal with it. I think the media still struggles to decide how do you cover someone—when we've been trained to get both sides of an argument which presumes that both sides are engaging in good faith—when instead you have someone who is not engaging in good faith, engaging in lies, making inconsistent statements.Barbara McQuadeWe need to demand truth. We can't allow ourselves to engage in fiction, even if we believe it is to advance our ends. The ends can never justify the means. Our country is built on integrity in the rule of law and we need to demand truth if we are going to have a democracy and effective self-government.Barbara McQuadeYou don't want to go down in the mud with people. But when the national press begins and continues to be [Trump's] bullhorn, verbatim, repeating it, repeating it, giving no right of reply, there's no way you can simply say, “I don't want to go to his level,” because the press has raised it to a level that is devastating to our democracy.Ralph NaderLawrence Wilkerson is a retired U.S. Army colonel. Over his 31 years of service, Colonel Wilkerson served as Secretary of State Colin Powell's Chief of Staff from 2002 to 2005, and Special Assistant to General Powell when he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993. Colonel Wilkerson also served as Deputy Director and Director of the U.S. Marine Corps War College at Quantico, Virginia, and for fifteen years he was the Distinguished Visiting Professor of Government and Public Policy at the College of William and Mary. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Eisenhower Media Network, senior advisor to the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, and co-founder of the All-Volunteer Force Forum. The media is an Israeli agent when they do give some kind of deference to “the other side,” as it were, it's always in words and terminology and short sentences that make you know that “they are balanced.” “They are fair and balanced.” They're about as fair and balanced as my left foot. That's the way it is. The purpose here is eradication, elimination, or expulsion, period. Eradication, elimination, or expulsion.Colonel Lawrence WilkersonWe all need to wake up, and we need to start taking actions such as we can locally—whatever's within our purview and power to do. Because we're losing this country. We're losing it to the moneyed oligarchy. We're losing it to the unprecedented amount of money, because of Citizens United, that's pouring into the political coffers of people who have no interest in what you want…These people are basing their decisions on money. Money—not you. They're not the people's representatives… They're the representatives of the deep state, which is the oligarchy. Colonel Lawrence WilkersonIt's all these people with these unprecedented amounts of money who can influence anything, anytime they want to with a few telephone calls. That's what's running your country. And the predatory capitalism that they're advancing is running the world into the ground.Colonel Lawrence WilkersonIn Case You Haven't Heard with Francesco DeSantisNews 3/6/241. Just before the Michigan primary, President Biden implied that a ceasefire in Gaza was imminent. However, many believed at the time that Biden was simply trying to blunt the potency of the “Uncommitted” vote in that contest. The promised ceasefire never materialized, apparently confirming those suspicions. Yet, with “Uncommitted” winning over 100,000 votes in Michigan, the administration has begun using ceasefire language – a major rhetorical shift, but seemingly one without much corresponding action. Phyllis Bennis, writing in Al Jazeera, argues that “Whatever the language of Washington's proposed UN Security Council resolution and likely the possible temporary truce deal as well, the words of National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby continue to resonate as a better reflection of the Biden administration's policy: ‘We're going to continue to support Israel… and we're going to continue to make sure they have the tools and the capabilities to do that.'”2. Following the self immolation of Aaron Bushnell, activist Talia Jane has shared a letter from active duty U.S. Military personnel calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. In this letter, the anonymous signatories write “it is undeniably evident that the Israeli Defense Forces are repeatedly and systematically committing war crimes in Gaza. Support for the conduct of the IDF is unacceptable and inconsistent with our values in the US Armed forces.” Talia Jane reports that “over 100 active duty military across Air Force, Navy, Army, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, as well as reservists and National Guard, and their families, have endorsed this open letter.”3. J Street, the preeminent liberal Zionist group, has finally begun using the word ceasefire – while still only supporting a temporary truce. In a note to their members, J Street wrote "This move is not a change in policy. It is a decision to begin using a word that is fraught with meaning and implications in the context of the Gaza War," Daniel Marans of the Huffington Post reports. J Street has deep ties to the administration, so whether they are taking their cues from the administration in characterizing a temporary truce as a ceasefire – or vice versa – it is significant that this is the new line from mainstream liberal Zionists.4. Max Tani of Semafor reports that the NewsGuild of New York has sent a letter to the New York Times accusing the ‘Grey Lady' of racially profiling their staff as they seek to hunt down the source of a leak exposing their shoddy – possibly completely false – reporting on sexual violence committed by Hamas. Per the letter, “Management's investigators have questioned employees about their involvement in The Times' internal Middle Eastern and North African Times Employee Resource Group (known as the MENA Collective), ordered them to hand over the names of all of the MENA Collective's active members involved in group discussions, and demanded copies of personal communications between colleagues about their shared workplace concerns…The Guild intends to vigorously defend our members and their rights, and ensure that all our members are protected in a workplace free from harassment and racial profiling.”5. According to NBC News, “The biggest labor union in Washington state endorsed voting ‘uncommitted' in the state's Democratic presidential primary next month, citing concerns about President Joe Biden's political strength and his support for Israel's war in Gaza.”  UFCW Local 3000 has over 50,000 members, making it the largest state chapter of the United Food and Commercial Workers union. NBC also reports that “The Stranger, a prominent alt-weekly publication based in Seattle, also endorsed the idea of voting ‘uncommitted,' expressing disappointment in the options of  Trump and Biden, whom it referred to as the ‘two genocidal geriatrics leading the polls.'”6. Amid humiliatingly low poll numbers, Democratic-turned-Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema has dropped out of the 2024 Arizona Senate race, the Arizona Republic reports. Senator Sinema, you will not be missed.7. In Manhattan, over two-thirds of houses sold last quarter were purchased in cash, rather than via mortgage, per the Financial Times. In other words, the preponderance of homes were purchased by the very rich. Pamela Liebman, the chief executive of real estate brokerage firm Corcoran, told the paper “High mortgage rates are creating a real void for people who don't have the strong finances that are required to buy in cash…It's driving people who would be home buyers in New York into renting.” This piece further notes that “rents rose to an all-time median high of $3,950 [per month].”8. West Virginia News reports “Kroger union members have voted in favor of authorizing a strike at 38 stores in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio.” As this piece notes, this vote gives the bargaining committee authorization to call a strike at any time, but the workers are not currently on strike. In a statement, UFCW Local 400 said “This vote has sent a powerful message to Kroger that they must do better if they expect us to ratify a contract…Now, we are ready to sit down with the company and negotiate an agreement that we can recommend for ratification. If not, we are ready to continue to do whatever it takes to get a fair contract. By sticking together, we will win.”9. Family Dollar has been hit with a $42 million fine in a food safety case after the company was found to have been “storing food, drugs, and cosmetics in a rodent-infested warehouse in Arkansas,” according to More Perfect Union. An FDA investigation revealed “live rodents, dead and decaying rodents, rodent feces, urine, and odors, and evidence of gnawing and nesting throughout the facility.” Family Dollar had been aware of the infestation since 2020, and continued shipping merchandise – often eaten into by the rodents – to 404 stores throughout the region. This is the largest ever criminal fine in a food safety case.10. Finally, on February 27th MyHighPlains.com reported that a nuclear weapons factory in Texas was forced to cease operations in light of the state's massive wildfires. According to Hans Kristensen, Director of the Nuclear Information Project of the Federation of American Scientists, “This is America's main nuclear weapons factory. Nearly 20,000 plutonium cores are stored there [and] full-scale production of B61-12 bomb & W88 Alt370 warheads are underway.” While this critical situation was resolved without injury, it highlights the interrelation between climate change and national security. We urge military and civilian leadership to view this near-miss as a chance to finally take the climate crisis seriously.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Ralph welcomes leaders from two grassroots groups advocating against the war on Gaza. First, from Tel Aviv, we are joined by Ido Setter of “Standing Together” a movement aimed at mobilizing Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel in pursuit of peace, equality, and social and climate justice. Then, here in America, Stefanie Fox, executive director of Jewish Voice For Peace, reports on their work taking action in Congress, on the streets, and in the press to stop the ongoing genocide in Gaza.Ido Setter works on Standing Together's digital mobilization team. Standing Together is a grassroots movement mobilizing Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel in pursuit of peace, equality, and social and climate justice.For the last two decades, the Israeli government and Israel as a state didn't offer any kind of hope for the Palestinian. There wasn't another serious peace process, no serious talks, and basically the Israeli government said to Palestinians, “Listen, this is how things are going to be. Deal with it.” And when you don't offer any hope, people will go to extreme places. So what happened on October 7th was, of course, a strategic collapse. But it was also an accumulation of the past two decades, where Israel didn't think that moving forward with a peace treaty or some kind of a peace agreement with the Palestinian people was an imperative.Ido SetterNothing stays on one side of the border. Everything that happens on the Palestinian side of the border eventually comes back to the Israeli side of the border… We need to stop right now what's happening at the current moment in Gaza, have compassion, and move in the opposite direction that Benjamin Netanyahu and his hawkish government is trying to lead us.Ido SetterStefanie Fox is Executive Director of Jewish Voice for Peace, which is one of the largest Jewish anti-Zionist organizations in the world.There is a large and growing community of faith leaders, of rabbis, of synagogues, of many, many Jews who are working to build a Judaism liberated from Zionism. And so there's probably 10 synagogues across the country that are anti- or non-Zionist. There are dozens of independent spiritual communities we call Chavurot that are connected (or not) to Jewish Voice for Peace. There's a burgeoning and growing movement to fight for the soul of Judaism, to fight for the future of our communities. And we have millennia of Jewish tradition—that predate the founding of the state of Israel and the movement of political Zionism—to lean on and to extend into a future where we are not bound up and made complicit in support for a genocidal ethno-state.Stefanie FoxThe term ‘semite' comes out of 19th century scientific racism. It's not really something in any moment in history that anybody has actually used to describe themselves. It's only a racist term. And so, the term ‘antisemitism' does refer to the bigotry and discrimination that emerged out of that racist classification system. And at its root it comes from the same white supremacy in which anti Palestinian racism and erasure and Zionism itself were born… And of course, antisemitism is real. There's real hatred and bigotry and discrimination against Jews. The point is that antisemitism and white supremacy and Zionism emerge from the same root of exclusionary ethno-nationalist racialized state building.Stefanie FoxIn order for [President Biden and the US Congress] not to ask for a ceasefire, they are engaged in hostilities now—the U.S. that is—against the Houthis in Yemen. They are bombing in Iraq and Syria. It's quite a price the U.S. is paying…because if there were a ceasefire, there'd be no Houthi assailing of shipping in the Red Sea. There would be no missiles with Hezbollah in Lebanon.Ralph NaderIn Case You Haven't Heard with Francesco DeSantisNews 1/24/241. Just Foreign Policy reports that there is dissent brewing among Obama foreign policy alumni regarding President Biden's air war on the Yemeni Houthis. Former Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, considered Obama's foreign policy guru, called the campaign “a dangerous escalation,” and further stated "We have no legal basis to be doing that.” Rhodes, joined by former National Security Council Spokesman Tommy Vietor, are thus aligned with the dozens of groups – including the Friends Committee on National Legislation, the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, and World BEYOND War, among many others – which signed a letter calling for an end to the campaign. Representative Ro Khanna, writing in the Nation, argues that “President Biden has both the constitutional obligation and a political imperative to seek congressional authorization for proposed hostilities,” but is quick to note that “ it is…not too late to pursue a more effective approach…which happens to be wildly popular with voters—regional diplomacy and statesmanship.” Asked "Are the airstrikes in Yemen working?" President Biden himself replied “are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they gonna continue? Yes," per Just Foreign Policy.2. Following Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's statement ruling out a two-state solution, more Senate Democrats are warming up to the idea of imposing conditions on military aid to Israel. Yahoo! News reports that 18 Senate Democrats now support “an amendment that would require that any country receiving funding in the supplemental [aid package] use the money in accordance with U.S. law, international humanitarian law and the law of armed conflict,” with five Senators – Tina Smith, Tammy Baldwin, Laphonza Butler, Jon Ossoff, and Raphael Warnock – adding their names after Netanyahu's comments, per Jewish Insider. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has been non-committal, with the Times of Israel reporting that he said “the Democratic caucus is still discussing the best way forward, regarding conditioning aid to Israel.”3. The Huffington Post reports controversial Biden Middle East advisor Brett McGurk may have earned a target on his back from Congressional Progressives. A draft letter from Congressional Democrats to Biden demanding McGurk's resignation is already circulating, with sources saying frustration with McGurk “has reached a boiling point.” McGurk's signature Middle East policy has been his attempted marriage of Israel and Saudi Arabia, even going so far as to push “U.S. officials to tie the future of the Palestinian enclave of Gaza to the prospective Saudi-Israel deal.” Other officials, speaking anonymously, called the plan “delusionally optimistic.” However, while Progressives may well claim McGurk's political scalp, some worry that he could become a scapegoat for administration-wide policy on Palestine.4. Harvard, caving to attacks from the likes of Larry Summers and billionaire Bill Ackman, has established an “Antisemitism taskforce.” However, this has not stopped the bad-faith attacks on the university, with that same coterie now alleging that the co-chair of the task force – Professor of Jewish History Derek J. Penslar – is insufficiently Zionist, per the Crimson. Penslar has previously signed a letter stating “‘Israel's long-standing occupation' of Gaza [has] resulted in a ‘regime of apartheid,'” and rejects the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which includes anti-Zionism. Summers wrote that Penslar is “unsuited” to lead the task force; meanwhile the American Academy for Jewish Research writes “Professor Penslar is a prolific scholar with a stellar international reputation, whose numerous books address the historical development of many of the topics raising rancor at our universities today: antisemitism, Zionism, Jews and the military, and the history of Israel.” Responding to Summers, Professor Steven Levitsky, who is Jewish, said “Larry Summers…is not representative of a majority of Jews at Harvard,” adding “That guy is batshit crazy — and you can quote me on that.”5. U.S. District Judge William Young has blocked the planned merger of Spirit Airlines and Jetblue Airways, arguing the acquisition would “‘substantially lessen competition' in violation of the Clayton Act, which ‘was designed to prevent anticompetitive harms for consumers,'” per the Hill. President Biden praised the decision in a statement, saying “Today's ruling is a victory for consumers everywhere who want lower prices and more choices. My Administration will continue to fight to protect consumers and enforce our antitrust laws.” The Department of Justice has been fighting this merger since March 2023.6. The New Republic reports “Earlier this month, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released an explosive report documenting that Donald Trump's businesses pocketed at least $7.8 million in payments from foreign governments during his presidency.” Yet, House Democrats are powerless to subpoena witnesses to further investigate this report because Republicans hold the majority. Ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Jamie Raskin, has been pushing Senate Democrats – who hold the gavels in that chamber – to issue subpoenas. Yet these Senate Democrats have hesitated to do so. We urge these powerful Democratic committee chairs to use their subpoena power. The American people deserve to know if their president profited from foreign dealings at their expense.7. Public Citizen reports “the [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau] plans to crack down on banks charging ridiculous overdraft fees. Their proposal would cap overdraft fees at $3 and close the loophole that allows banks to take advantage of Americans who are already struggling.” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra is quoted saying “Decades ago, overdraft loans got special treatment to make it easier for banks to cover paper checks that were often sent through the mail…Today, we are proposing rules to close a longstanding loophole that allowed many large banks to transform overdraft into a massive junk fee harvesting machine." According to the CFPB's statement, “The proposed rule would apply to insured financial institutions with more than $10 billion in assets… The CFPB estimates that this rule may save consumers $3.5 billion or more in fees per year.”8. California Senate candidate Barbara Lee has picked up the endorsement of the statewide McClatchy editorial board, including major Golden State papers like the Sacramento Bee. In their announcement of the endorsement, the Bee wrote “Barbara Lee stood out from the rest. Her independence, her perseverance in fighting for the underdog and her life experiences set her apart.” Confirming this assessment, just this week Congresswoman Lee was kicked out of a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing on Cuba for arguing in favor of normalizing diplomatic relations.9. The National Labor Relations Board has filed a complaint against Trader Joe's for the company's attempted union busting. Based on a 2022 unfair labor practice charge, the complaint alleges the company shuttered their New York City wine store in order to avoid impending unionization, in addition to “subject[ing] employees to interrogation, threaten[ing] to cut their benefits and [telling] them deciding to join a union would be ‘futile,'” Grocery Dive reports. The United Food and Commercial Workers union praised the decision, writing “Trader Joe's shamelessly and illegally engaged in union busting to scare Trader Joe's workers across the region and stop these workers from having a voice on the job. We applaud the NLRB's decision …and look forward to holding Trader Joe's accountable for their egregious anti-worker behavior.” Possible remedies the board could utilize include compelling the company to reopen the store.10. Finally, he Intercept reports Republicans Glen Grothman and Marco Rubio have put forward a bill to provide pensions to citizens who worked for Air America. But just what was Air America? The generically named airline was in fact a CIA cutout which “has been accused of running weapons and even…drugs in Southeast Asia.” The faux airline also played a key role in the CIA's operations in Laos and Cambodia, among the darkest chapters in American covert ops history. Tim Weiner, author of Legacy of Ashes told the Intercept “The whole point of Air America was to kill Communists.” Ironically, as the piece points out, these are the same Republicans who decry the so-called “deep state.”This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

International Vice President and Director of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union's Cannabis Division, Ademola Oyefeso, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to talk about their success organizing in the Cannabis industry and the importance of organizing workers in a new industry. Labor lawyer Andrew Strom joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board in the case against CeMex. Strom explained the decision's impact on organizing efforts and how it helps provide workers with a way to fight illegal activities by their employer.

Original Air Date: March 3, 2023 As Americans faced soaring food prices, a proposed $24.6 billion dollar megamerger between Kroger and Albertsons was announced on October 14, 2022. These are two of the largest grocery chains in the country, accounting for more than 5,000 locations and employing over 700,000 people across its banner.  The United Food and Commercial Workers and Rocky Mountain Farm Workers Union- two of the nation's largest and oldest unions- are opposed to the merger citing its potentially monopolizing effects on the grocery industry and America's food system.    Back in 2015, Carol McMillian, a King Soopers groceryworker and a member of UFCW 7, remembers when Albertson's acquisition of Safeway impacted her personally. Today, she joins us along with Dan Waldvogle, Director of Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, to talk about why they are a part of a broad coalition to ‘stop the merger.' They spoke with The Takeaway about how this potential megamerger impacts some of America's most vulnerable workers and consumers. Editor's Note: We reached out to a Kroger's Spokesperson for comment. If interested, read below. “Our proposed merger with Albertsons is about growing jobs and careers, and we expect the merger to create meaningful and measurable benefits for our associates. We will invest an additional $1 billion to increase wages and expand our industry-leading benefits starting on Day one following close, and we expect to provide new and exciting career growth opportunities for many associates. This commitment builds on our track record of supporting associates, including the incremental $1.9 billion we have invested in wages and comprehensive benefits since 2018. The Kroger Family of Companies is one of America's largest unionized workforces and this merger also secures the long-term future of union jobs by establishing a more competitive alternative to large, non-union retailers. Kroger is a customer-focused organization, and our ability to deliver value to customers is rooted in providing lower prices and more choices. This is of critical importance to us, and we have a long track-record of investing in prices to lower costs, including investing more than $5 billion in lowering prices since 2003. As we have in past mergers, we will hold ourselves accountable to our customer commitments. This includes investing $500 million to lower prices starting on day one post close. With Albertsons, we will also offer customers a broader selection of fresh products and expand Our Brands portfolio to deliver more value without compromise.” 

Original Air Date: March 3, 2023 As Americans faced soaring food prices, a proposed $24.6 billion dollar megamerger between Kroger and Albertsons was announced on October 14, 2022. These are two of the largest grocery chains in the country, accounting for more than 5,000 locations and employing over 700,000 people across its banner.  The United Food and Commercial Workers and Rocky Mountain Farm Workers Union- two of the nation's largest and oldest unions- are opposed to the merger citing its potentially monopolizing effects on the grocery industry and America's food system.    Back in 2015, Carol McMillian, a King Soopers groceryworker and a member of UFCW 7, remembers when Albertson's acquisition of Safeway impacted her personally. Today, she joins us along with Dan Waldvogle, Director of Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, to talk about why they are a part of a broad coalition to ‘stop the merger.' They spoke with The Takeaway about how this potential megamerger impacts some of America's most vulnerable workers and consumers. Editor's Note: We reached out to a Kroger's Spokesperson for comment. If interested, read below. “Our proposed merger with Albertsons is about growing jobs and careers, and we expect the merger to create meaningful and measurable benefits for our associates. We will invest an additional $1 billion to increase wages and expand our industry-leading benefits starting on Day one following close, and we expect to provide new and exciting career growth opportunities for many associates. This commitment builds on our track record of supporting associates, including the incremental $1.9 billion we have invested in wages and comprehensive benefits since 2018. The Kroger Family of Companies is one of America's largest unionized workforces and this merger also secures the long-term future of union jobs by establishing a more competitive alternative to large, non-union retailers. Kroger is a customer-focused organization, and our ability to deliver value to customers is rooted in providing lower prices and more choices. This is of critical importance to us, and we have a long track-record of investing in prices to lower costs, including investing more than $5 billion in lowering prices since 2003. As we have in past mergers, we will hold ourselves accountable to our customer commitments. This includes investing $500 million to lower prices starting on day one post close. With Albertsons, we will also offer customers a broader selection of fresh products and expand Our Brands portfolio to deliver more value without compromise.” 

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the world in many ways. People all around the globe had to adapt to this new reality, and it was no different for informal workers leaders that struggle to improve their organizational strength. Capacity building, one of the key aspects to increase the voice and visibility of workers, also had to be done differently. Traditional, in person events, such as exchanges, field visits or in person training sessions had to be pushed back to give room to this virtual learning environment. And new tools were created to enable better experiences, and bring people closer, despite of the social distancing. In this context, StreetNet International and WIEGO rolled-out, last year, a 7 week-pilot training on social protection with informal workers leaders from 11 anglophone and francophone African countries. The course enabled these workers to increase their grasp on social protection issues to keep improving their advocacy efforts on the ground, while there were still travel restrictions in place. To talk about the potential and challenges of online training for informal workers – and to tell us more about this online course on social protection for informal workers – we invited three guests. First, you will listen to our talk with Sandra van Niekerk. Sandra is an Independent Education Management Professional and she worked closely with StreetNet and WIEGO in the development of the online materials for both the English and French courses. In the second part, I talked to Maira Vannuchi. Maira is StreetNet organizer for the Americas and responsible for the workers education strategy of StreetNet. And finally, I have talked to Venance Majula. Venance is an informal worker and Media and Communication officer at TUICO, the Tanzania Union of Industrial and Commercial Workers, and he was one of the participants of the course. *** References Report: Enabling Social Protection within the Informal Economy: Lessons from Worker-led Schemes in Nigeria, Uganda and Togo – by StreetNet and WIEGO https://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/resources/file/Enabling%20Social%20Protection%20within%20the%20Informal%20Economy%20for%20web_0.pdf VIDEO: Learning about State-sponsored social protection in Kenya https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOpBIERW3Fg Blog: Worker's Story: Sizakele Ncube's new sewing machine brings both improved income and new worries, by Annie Devenish https://www.wiego.org/blog/worker%E2%80%99s-story-sizakele-ncube%E2%80%99s-new-sewing-machine-brings-both-improved-income-and-new-worries

Members of several locals of the United Food and Commercial Workers union said the proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger could cost thousands of supermarket workers their jobs. In a press conference ahead of a Senate hearing about the merger, several store-level workers detailed their past experiences with industry consolidation—including the impact of the 2015 Albertsons-Safeway merger—and their concerns about the impact of the pending deal. Supermarket News spoke with Jonathan Williams, communications director for United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400, about the details of those concerns—as well as what lies ahead. Take a listen. **Have a pitch for the podcast? Contact SN Executive Editor Chloe Riley at chloe.riley@informa.com, or reach out and say hi on LinkedIn. Thanks very much for listening.

This week on RadioLabour, we explore how to fight for social justice globally. To meet the climate crisis the world needs teachers to help educate the next generation of young people. Marc Bélanger also shares the LabourStart report about union events. Finally, we share “Everyday People.”  “Everyday People” was produced by the United Food and Commercial Workers' Union – UFCW-Canada. 

Polish Federation safeguards Ukrainian migrant worker rights. Today's labor quote: Piotr Ostrowski. Today's labor history: Founding convention of the United Food and Commercial Workers.   @wpfwdc #1u #unions #LaborRadioPod @AFLCIO @UFCW400 @UFCW1994 @UFCW Proud founding member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network.

Polish Federation safeguards Ukrainian migrant worker rights. Today's labor quote: Piotr Ostrowski. Today's labor history: Founding convention of the United Food and Commercial Workers.   @wpfwdc #1u #unions #LaborRadioPod @AFLCIO @UFCW400 @UFCW1994 @UFCW Proud founding member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network.

The Industrial and Commercial Workers' Union (ICU), Ghana has charged government to provide distressed businesses with stimulus package to recover from Covid-19. According to the Union, the ravages of the pandemic is still having a serious ripple effect on the ability of businesses that were affected to bounce back to business, and on the ability of workers who lost their jobs to make ends meet.

Today in cannabis news: In Kansas, there is a revived campaign for statewide medical cannabis legalization; in Georgia, two proposals are passed by the state House and Senate focused at resuming a stalled medical cannabis system; and in Connecticut, the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union hopes to aid in organizing cannabis employees.   It's Thursday, March 17 and TRICHOMES.com is bringing you the top cannabis news from around the web. You can also listen on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify–search TRICHOMES and subscribe.  

Oral argument argued before the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on or about 03/16/2022

In this episode of The Silent War:Wisconsin Spice Company Loses 40,000 Customers After its CEO Called All Republicans “Racist”. FDA Grants Moderna Full Approval to its COVID-19 Vaccine. Reuters even changed a headline to make it less obvious that Ivermectin is an effective antiviral cure for Covid. Biden Regime RESCINDS Deportation of Illegal Alien Who Killed 19-Year-Old Girl in New Program to Reduce Removals. Commie Pope Says Taxation is important Tool for “Wealth Redistribution”. Members of Congress are seeking to pass H.R. 899 and S. 323, which would terminate the unconstitutional and Deep State-controlled Department of Education (DoE). Canadian farmers break through police barricades to support Truckers who blocked the US CANADA highway. Quebec Scraps Planned Tax On Unvaccinated Residents Amid Growing Backlash. Joe Biden: “The Constitution is Always Evolving Slightly”. Outraged Citizens Surround Pfizer Headquarters In Paris: ‘Assassins!'. Vaccine Registry and Forced Quarantine bills being discussed in Illinois. PayPal Crashes Most On Record After Shutting Millions Of "Bad Actor" Accounts, Abandons Long-Term User Goal. The Hershey Company has begun to purge the unvaxxed as well. And The United Food and Commercial Workers union is reportedly forcing grocery story workers to publicly disclose their "clear" status when they come to work.All of this, and more.For breaking news from one of the most over the target and censored names in the world join our 100% Free newsletter at www.NemosNewsNetwork.com/newsAlso follow us at Gabhttps://gab.com/nemosnewsnetworkNemos News is 100% listener funded. Thank you for your support in our mission to Break the Cycle of Fake News.If you value our work please consider supporting us with our vetted patriot sponsors!www.NemosNewsNetwork.com/sponsorsShop Patriot & Detox the Deep State with www.RedPillLiving.com, Home of Sleepy Joe - the world's most powerful all natural sleep formula & The Great Awakening Gourmet Coffee for Patriots."Our Specialty, is Waking People Up."Other LinksJoin our Telegram chat: https://NemosNewsNetwork.com/chat

This week on Down to Business, law professor Veena Dubal speaks about what Uber's deal with United Food and Commercial Workers means for the company, its workers and other similar businesses in Canada.

Amid mass labour shortages in the restaurant industry, some businesses are testing out possible solutions. We visit Mantra on Fort Street, Victoria's Indian buffet with "Robbie" the robot support staff. Then, we speak to Kim Novak, the President of the Union of Food and Commercial Workers to learn more about the labour shortages and discuss if there is a place for robots that wouldn't threaten the employment of already struggling workers in the sector.   Get more stories like this in your inbox every morning by subscribing to our daily newsletter at CapitalDaily.ca Check our membership opportunity at CapitalDaily.ca/MemberAnd subscribe to us on our socials! Twitter @CapitalDailyVic  Instagram @CapitalDaily  Facebook @CapitalDailyVic

The Southern Poverty Law Center this week released their annual Year in Hate and Extremism report. Bill talks to the Center's Chief Investigative Reporter and Spokesperson, Michael Edison Hayden. He paints a scary picture of anti-democratic and racist right wing organizations. And discusses the radicalization of people not part of these organized groups. Oh, and yes, Trump made it worse. Today's Bill Press is supported by The United Food and Commercial Workers. More information at UFCW.org.

Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI is one of the three drafters of The Articles of Impeachment. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) has lived in what she calls Trump's "Hate Tunnel" for over 2 years. They give Bill the inside info on the 25th Amendment and the all but certain second impeachment of Donald Trump.Today's Bill Press Pod is supported by the United Food and Commercial Workers. More information at UFCW.org.

The United Food and Commercial Workers union says it will continue to demand Kroger grocery stores give workers hazard pay during the pandemic. That comes as the company report earnings grew more than 14 percent in 2020 compared to this time last year.

Catch up on what you missed on The Rush Hour. Hosts Elvira Caria and John Scholes speak to Kevin Shimmin of the United Food and Commercial Workers union about why the Indigo at Square One mall is getting unionized. James Rilett of Restaurants Canada on the latest Ontario government restrictions in the restaurant industry. Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru on whether or not unions are always a good thing. Greg Carrasco on car buying fallacies & Kelvin Rampersad of Carte Wealth Management Inc. talks about the five financial moves to make in your 50s.

Listen to the full radio report here, first aired September 24, 2020: https://kpfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/BOONE-Prop-22-Explainer.mp3 jQuery(document).ready(function($) { var media = $('#audio-344185-52'); media.on('canplay', function (ev) { this.currentTime = 0; }); });   By Ariel Boone (@arielboone), KPFA elections reporter OAKLAND, CA – Ride-hailing and delivery companies Uber, Lyft, Doordash, Postmates and Instacart have spent at least $182 million in support of Proposition 22, which California voters will decide in November.  At issue is the basic question: are drivers independent contractors, or should they be guaranteed all of the rights of employees, like minimum wage, overtime, workers compensation and unemployment insurance? Proposition 22 would permanently classify drivers for app companies as independent contractors. “What Prop 22 would do is protect the ability of app based drivers to choose to work as independent contractors, with control over where, when, how long and for whom they wanna work,” says Geoff Vetter, a spokesperson for the Yes on 22 campaign. “What we know from speaking with rideshare and delivery drivers is that more than 70 percent say that they want the ability to remain independent contractors.” Driver John Mejia disagrees. He drove for Uber and Lyft for just over four years, and he says the flexibility is a myth. He wants to be treated as an employee, in accordance with AB 5. For years, Mejia recalls, he would log into the Uber and Lyft apps to drive, and see a notice informing him his pay rate would decrease. Each time, he pressed “accept” — that was the only way to continue working. “They've always controlled how much I make when, when I get paid the most and under their algorithms,” Mejia says. “Is that independence? Not really. Is that, is that flexibility? Not really.” The workplace rights of John Mejia and thousands of other app drivers became a state policy fight in 2018, when the California Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision called Dynamex. It created a simple test to determine if a worker is an employee or an independent contractor.  To pass the Dynamex ABC test and classify their its drivers as independent contractors, Uber, Lyft, Doordash and their industry would have to prove that, A – Their drivers are “free from the control and direction of the company”; B – that the driving they do would is “outside the usual course of the company's business”; And C – That the driver is engaged in an independent trade or small business. Though lawsuits are currently making their way through courts deciding the matter, labor experts tell KPFA that multiple federal judges have agreed that app companies fail the ABC test — and that drivers are employees. Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, the author of AB 5, a bill that incorporated the Dynamex decision into state law, agrees. “There is no way for a delivery driver, an Uber driver, to fit into this idea of being a small business,” she says. “They don't set their own rates. They don't make their own decisions. they're told where to go, when to go. there there's just a lot of control in the entire aspect of it.” “What I realized after driving with them almost for four and a half years, was that it was never about the relationship with the driver. It was really about their relationship to making money.” – John Mejia, driver for Uber and Lyft Six weeks after Governor Newsom signed AB 5 in 2019, delivery and ride-hailing companies filed paperwork to put Proposition 22 on the ballot, and exempt themselves from the law. Proposition 22 has support from police unions, multiple chambers of commerce, and the California Republican Party. In fact, the Yes on 22 campaign this month transferred $2 million to the California Republican Party to support campaigning efforts for the measure. It's opposed by labor unions, including the Teamsters, SEIU, United Food and Commercial Workers and the California Labor Federation as well as high-profile Democrats, like presidential nominee Joe Biden and senators Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren. What's inside Prop 22? Prop 22 would would permanently classify drivers for the app companies as independent contractors, not employees. It also contains some things that look like worker protections: It bars companies from stealing tips from drivers, a practice which is already illegal for employers to do to employees. It mandates drivers rest after working for 12 hours — though drivers could easily flout the law by switching to a second app.  It makes app companies pay a healthcare subsidy for drivers to buy insurance through Covered California. But the subsidy is based on the price of a “bronze” plan, known for high deductibles and fees.  Plus, Prop 22 creates a minimum pay system, something drivers have long demanded, which the app companies say is a historic wage guarantee. The initiative promises 30 cents a mile and 120 percent of minimum wage for hours worked. But there's a catch: labor attorneys say the companies found a way to undercount work hours. “The ballot proposition would only pay drivers for about two-thirds of the time that they're actually working, because it only pays them for engaged time,” says Rey Fuentes, a legal fellow at the Partnership for Working Families.  “The companies funded research that clearly indicates drivers spend about a third of their time waiting, logged on, engaged to work — or essentially engaged to wait. And that time is compensable. Under California law, you should be paid for that time.” Another study by UC Santa Cruz researchers suggested the unpaid waiting time for San Francisco gig drivers could be closer to 20-24 percent of their working time. Whatever the proportion, under Prop 22, waiting time would remain uncompensated.  The Yes on 22 campaign told KPFA that they intentionally limited driver pay to this so-called “engaged time” to prevent drivers from double dipping, earning money to wait on two apps at the same time. But two drivers told KPFA they feel the apps keep them waiting without pay on purpose to “maximize profits” and increase the availability of instant rides and deliveries for customers. Another thing Proposition 22 does: restrain lawmakers. If the state legislature wants to give app drivers a legal right to unionize or collectively bargain, they have to amend Prop 22, and that requires a seven-eigths supermajority vote. The part of the measure that makes drivers independent contractors could never be amended, Rey Fuentes says. Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez says she's “never” seen a ballot initiative with a seven-eighths threshold. “Sometimes it requires a three fourth vote of the legislature, but seven-eighths is almost laughable.” Geoff Vetter, the Yes on 22 spokesperson, says it's intentional. “We think it's important that the voice of drivers and voters be protected, so that if Proposition 22 passes in November, the legislature can't come back in January and completely undo it.” No sick leave, and a raging pandemic Another impact Prop 22 might have: keeping drivers on the job while they're sick. Independent contractors don't get the paid sick leave that state and local laws require for employees.  Labor rights lawyer Rey Fuentes says this means Proposition 22 would even override more generous local laws in places like San Francisco, where employees are currently guaranteed access to up to nine days of paid sick leave. “The ballot proposition would make that law inaccessible to workers for companies like Doordash and Uber and Lyft, and leave them with zero paid sick leave,” he says. KPFA spoke with a driver named Edan Alva, who had no legal protections or sick leave when he fell seriously ill with the flu in January. Driving has been Alva's primary source of income since 2018, and seeing a doctor would have cost him $120, which he could not afford.  “I had to work sick, putting myself and my passengers at risk,” he says. “And I hated myself for doing that. But the choice was between working sick and losing the roof over my head. I worked as much as I could just until I earned enough money to pay my rent. And then I just physically couldn't work or really move much anymore.”  Edan Alva now volunteers for a group called Gig Workers Rising, which is campaigning against Prop 22. He stopped driving when the pandemic started, and says he won't go back unless he feels safe. The CDC currently recommends companies pay for worker sick leave — so they don't go to work sick, and possibly spread a deadly disease. Thousands of drivers have also struggled to access pandemic unemployment insurance, because Uber and Lyft have declined to report driver earnings to the state. John Mejia filed for pandemic unemployment insurance, but the companies wouldn't confirm to the state that he worked for them, even though he had his earnings documented on a 1099. “They made it difficult for me,” Mejia says. “I actually got some unemployment insurance, but it took me just under six months before I saw any money from them.” The UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education conducted analysis that found Uber and Lyft would owe the state of California's unemployment insurance fund $413 million, if they had classified their drivers as employees. For now, California is continuing to pay out, despite the companies not paying in. Rebecca Smith of the National Employment Law Project says, “if you are an employee, you're entitled to all of those things. You're entitled to minimum wage, and overtime, and health and safety protections, and paid sick days. And in California, paid family leave and unemployment benefits when you lose your job and workers' compensation when you're injured, much of that is taken away by this initiative and it's taken away permanently.” A 2020 study from UC Santa Cruz of gig drivers in San Francisco said 45% of the workers couldn't handle a $400 financial emergency without having to borrow money. The study also estimates that up to 1 in 5 drivers might be earning nothing at all once expenses are accounted for.   The post What's inside Prop 22, Uber and Lyft's $182M ballot measure on the fate of gig drivers? appeared first on KPFA.

Listen to the full radio report here, first aired September 24, 2020: https://kpfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/BOONE-Prop-22-Explainer.mp3 jQuery(document).ready(function($) { var media = $('#audio-344185-19'); media.on('canplay', function (ev) { this.currentTime = 0; }); });   By Ariel Boone (@arielboone), KPFA elections reporter OAKLAND, CA – Ride-hailing and delivery companies Uber, Lyft, Doordash, Postmates and Instacart have spent at least $182 million in support of Proposition 22, which California voters will decide in November.  At issue is the basic question: are drivers independent contractors, or should they be guaranteed all of the rights of employees, like minimum wage, overtime, workers compensation and unemployment insurance? Proposition 22 would permanently classify drivers for app companies as independent contractors. “What Prop 22 would do is protect the ability of app based drivers to choose to work as independent contractors, with control over where, when, how long and for whom they wanna work,” says Geoff Vetter, a spokesperson for the Yes on 22 campaign. “What we know from speaking with rideshare and delivery drivers is that more than 70 percent say that they want the ability to remain independent contractors.” Driver John Mejia disagrees. He drove for Uber and Lyft for just over four years, and he says the flexibility is a myth. He wants to be treated as an employee, in accordance with AB 5. For years, Mejia recalls, he would log into the Uber and Lyft apps to drive, and see a notice informing him his pay rate would decrease. Each time, he pressed “accept” — that was the only way to continue working. “They've always controlled how much I make when, when I get paid the most and under their algorithms,” Mejia says. “Is that independence? Not really. Is that, is that flexibility? Not really.” The workplace rights of John Mejia and thousands of other app drivers became a state policy fight in 2018, when the California Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision called Dynamex. It created a simple test to determine if a worker is an employee or an independent contractor.  To pass the Dynamex ABC test and classify their its drivers as independent contractors, Uber, Lyft, Doordash and their industry would have to prove that, A – Their drivers are “free from the control and direction of the company”; B – that the driving they do would is “outside the usual course of the company's business”; And C – That the driver is engaged in an independent trade or small business. Though lawsuits are currently making their way through courts deciding the matter, labor experts tell KPFA that multiple federal judges have agreed that app companies fail the ABC test — and that drivers are employees. Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, the author of AB 5, a bill that incorporated the Dynamex decision into state law, agrees. “There is no way for a delivery driver, an Uber driver, to fit into this idea of being a small business,” she says. “They don't set their own rates. They don't make their own decisions. they're told where to go, when to go. there there's just a lot of control in the entire aspect of it.” “What I realized after driving with them almost for four and a half years, was that it was never about the relationship with the driver. It was really about their relationship to making money.” – John Mejia, driver for Uber and Lyft Six weeks after Governor Newsom signed AB 5 in 2019, delivery and ride-hailing companies filed paperwork to put Proposition 22 on the ballot, and exempt themselves from the law. Proposition 22 has support from police unions, multiple chambers of commerce, and the California Republican Party. In fact, the Yes on 22 campaign this month transferred $2 million to the California Republican Party to support campaigning efforts for the measure. It's opposed by labor unions, including the Teamsters, SEIU, United Food and Commercial Workers and the California Labor Federation as well as high-profile Democrats, like presidential nominee Joe Biden and senators Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren. What's inside Prop 22? Prop 22 would would permanently classify drivers for the app companies as independent contractors, not employees. It also contains some things that look like worker protections: It bars companies from stealing tips from drivers, a practice which is already illegal for employers to do to employees. It mandates drivers rest after working for 12 hours — though drivers could easily flout the law by switching to a second app.  It makes app companies pay a healthcare subsidy for drivers to buy insurance through Covered California. But the subsidy is based on the price of a “bronze” plan, known for high deductibles and fees.  Plus, Prop 22 creates a minimum pay system, something drivers have long demanded, which the app companies say is a historic wage guarantee. The initiative promises 30 cents a mile and 120 percent of minimum wage for hours worked. But there's a catch: labor attorneys say the companies found a way to undercount work hours. “The ballot proposition would only pay drivers for about two-thirds of the time that they're actually working, because it only pays them for engaged time,” says Rey Fuentes, a legal fellow at the Partnership for Working Families.  “The companies funded research that clearly indicates drivers spend about a third of their time waiting, logged on, engaged to work — or essentially engaged to wait. And that time is compensable. Under California law, you should be paid for that time.” Another study by UC Santa Cruz researchers suggested the unpaid waiting time for San Francisco gig drivers could be closer to 20-24 percent of their working time. Whatever the proportion, under Prop 22, waiting time would remain uncompensated.  The Yes on 22 campaign told KPFA that they intentionally limited driver pay to this so-called “engaged time” to prevent drivers from double dipping, earning money to wait on two apps at the same time. But two drivers told KPFA they feel the apps keep them waiting without pay on purpose to “maximize profits” and increase the availability of instant rides and deliveries for customers. Another thing Proposition 22 does: restrain lawmakers. If the state legislature wants to give app drivers a legal right to unionize or collectively bargain, they have to amend Prop 22, and that requires a seven-eigths supermajority vote. The part of the measure that makes drivers independent contractors could never be amended, Rey Fuentes says. Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez says she's “never” seen a ballot initiative with a seven-eighths threshold. “Sometimes it requires a three fourth vote of the legislature, but seven-eighths is almost laughable.” Geoff Vetter, the Yes on 22 spokesperson, says it's intentional. “We think it's important that the voice of drivers and voters be protected, so that if Proposition 22 passes in November, the legislature can't come back in January and completely undo it.” No sick leave, and a raging pandemic Another impact Prop 22 might have: keeping drivers on the job while they're sick. Independent contractors don't get the paid sick leave that state and local laws require for employees.  Labor rights lawyer Rey Fuentes says this means Proposition 22 would even override more generous local laws in places like San Francisco, where employees are currently guaranteed access to up to nine days of paid sick leave. “The ballot proposition would make that law inaccessible to workers for companies like Doordash and Uber and Lyft, and leave them with zero paid sick leave,” he says. KPFA spoke with a driver named Edan Alva, who had no legal protections or sick leave when he fell seriously ill with the flu in January. Driving has been Alva's primary source of income since 2018, and seeing a doctor would have cost him $120, which he could not afford.  “I had to work sick, putting myself and my passengers at risk,” he says. “And I hated myself for doing that. But the choice was between working sick and losing the roof over my head. I worked as much as I could just until I earned enough money to pay my rent. And then I just physically couldn't work or really move much anymore.”  Edan Alva now volunteers for a group called Gig Workers Rising, which is campaigning against Prop 22. He stopped driving when the pandemic started, and says he won't go back unless he feels safe. The CDC currently recommends companies pay for worker sick leave — so they don't go to work sick, and possibly spread a deadly disease. Thousands of drivers have also struggled to access pandemic unemployment insurance, because Uber and Lyft have declined to report driver earnings to the state. John Mejia filed for pandemic unemployment insurance, but the companies wouldn't confirm to the state that he worked for them, even though he had his earnings documented on a 1099. “They made it difficult for me,” Mejia says. “I actually got some unemployment insurance, but it took me just under six months before I saw any money from them.” The UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education conducted analysis that found Uber and Lyft would owe the state of California's unemployment insurance fund $413 million, if they had classified their drivers as employees. For now, California is continuing to pay out, despite the companies not paying in. Rebecca Smith of the National Employment Law Project says, “if you are an employee, you're entitled to all of those things. You're entitled to minimum wage, and overtime, and health and safety protections, and paid sick days. And in California, paid family leave and unemployment benefits when you lose your job and workers' compensation when you're injured, much of that is taken away by this initiative and it's taken away permanently.” A 2020 study from UC Santa Cruz of gig drivers in San Francisco said 45% of the workers couldn't handle a $400 financial emergency without having to borrow money. The study also estimates that up to 1 in 5 drivers might be earning nothing at all once expenses are accounted for.   The post What's inside Prop 22, Uber and Lyft's $182M ballot measure on the fate of gig drivers? appeared first on KPFA.

Cresco Labs Union OFFICIALLY Joins The United Food & Commercial Workers Cannabis News https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQcI3nV8b5g --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lmc-cannabis-news-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lmc-cannabis-news-podcast/support

United Food and Commercial Workers local 1445 wants customers to be required to wear masks when they go to the grocery store. WBZ NewsRadio's Laurie Kirby reports.

United Food and Commercial Workers local 1445 wants customers to be required to wear masks when they go to the grocery store. WBZ NewsRadio's Laurie Kirby reports.

This is the full 4-19-2020 episode of the Labor Express Radio program. On this episode of Labor Express Radio, we continue to look at how the labor and other social movements are responding to the coronavirus crisis. The COVID-19 crisis is sparking worker's self-activity in a way not seen in generations. How are unions responding to this exciting development? Along with the theme of social solidarity in the time of physical distancing, this theme of the rise of grassroots working-class action is something I seek to explore on Labor Express and its starts tonight. Moises Zavala, Director of Organizing for Local 881 of the United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW) talks about the Raymundo Foods workers walk-out. Erek Slater, bus driver, elected board member of ATU Local 241 and founding member of Transit Workers Unite and Eric Basir train motorman and member of ATU Local 308 discuss Transit Workers Unite's petition calling for workers action in the face of COVID-19 and the job action of the CTA train cleaners. And Carl Rosen of UE discusses his letter in In These Times entitled... “We Need the Labor Movement To Organize Worker Fightback in the Face of the COVID-19 Crisis”. Labor Express Radio is Chicago's only English language labor news and current affairs radio program. News for working people, by working people. Labor Express Radio airs every Sunday at 8:00 PM on WLPN in Chicago, 105.5 FM. For more information, see our Facebook page... laborexpress.org and our homepage on Archive.org at: http://www.archive.org/details/LaborExpressRadio

ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl has a great new book on the inside stories of the Trump administration. Karl quotes one senior aide, on officials thwarting Trump's crazy ideas, "that happened all the time." You can get Karl's book in hardcover at Barnes and Noble, and KIndle at Amazon.Today's Bill Press Pod is sponsored by the heroic members of the United Food and Commercial Workers. The men and women who work in our supermarkets, drug stores and food processing plants. More information at UFCW.org.

Coronavirus and the crisis of poverty.  How to put people over profits. Plus, Bill Press on what we owe our front line workers in the midst of a pandemic.   Building a moral response to COVID-19.  An extended conversation with Reverend Liz Theoharis, Co-Chair of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. Plus Bill Press talks with Marc Perrone, President of the United Food and Commercial Workers. Liz Theoharis - Pt. 1 It's been two years since Reverend William Barber and Reverend Liz Theoharis started  a modern day Poor People’s Campaign to confront the ongoing crisis of poverty in America.  In the midst of a devastating pandemic, that work is even more critical . Reverend Theoharis says if we don’t do more now to help poor people, the entire nation is at greater risk.  Liz Theoharis - Pt. 2 And now Part Two of our conversation with Reverend Liz Theoharis, Co-Chair of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.   Marc Perrone Millions of workers are putting themselves at risk to make sure we have food and supplies through this pandemic. Are we doing enough to protect them?  Bill Press talks with Marc Perrone, President of the United Food and Commercial Workers   Jim Hightower Wimpy leaders ignore strong people.

Labor unions got us: The 40-hour work week. The Weekend. Pensions. Employer Health Coverage. Vacations. But the sustained GOP jihad on Unions has hurt. Bill talks to former NYT Labor reporter Steven Greenhouse about his new book, Beaten Down, Worked Up: The Past, Present, and Future of American Labor. Plus Bill's take on the Nevada Caucus and how the party needs to think, not about stopping Bernie, but figuring out how to win with him. Today's Bill Press Pod is sponsored by all the fine labor unions that support the Bill Press Pod: LIUNA, (LIUNA.org) The Ironworkers, ( Ironworkers.org) Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, (smart-union.org) The Steelworkers, (USW.org)The United Food and Commercial Workers, (UFCW.org)The Teamsters, (Teamster.org) and The American Federation of Teachers ( AFT.org ). We thank them for their support.

Big. Important. Historic. Bill breaks down the week in DC with Sabrina Siddiqui, National Politics Reporter at The Wall Street Journal, Matt Gertz, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America and Jason Dick, Deputy Editor at CQ Roll Call. The Impeachment Trial Begins. Parnas sings. Warren and Sanders call each other liars. Pelosi calls Facebook shameful.Today's Bill Press Pod is sponsored by the men and women of The United Food and Commercial Workers at UFCW.org They are grocery workers, food processors and Cannabis workers.

What does labor organizing in the cannabis industry look like? This week, Alex and Donny talk to United Food and Commercial Workers campaign coordinator Jackie Cornejo about organizing dispensaries, growing up in a mixed-status immigrant household, and UCFW's Rite Aid-medical marijuana connection. Plus: How does Boston's treatment of Drug War victims differ from cities in California?Follow Jackie at: https://twitter.com/jackiecornejog Learn more about UFCW770 at: ufcw770.orghttps://twitter.com@UFCW770 Join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/weedweek. We have thank-you gifts at every donation level. For just $2/month, you get a bonus episode of WeedWeek every month. For $25/month you get the bonus episodes, additional swag, plus an OTTO, the precision joint machine by Banana Bros ($129 value). Watch how the OTTO works here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zqq9m1Bf7U. Join now at www.Patreon.com/WeedWeek.Sign up for the WeedWeek newsletter, WeedWeek Canada, and WeedWeek California to get weekly info on the most interesting industry delivered to your inbox. www.weedweek.net/newsletterSign up for the WeedWeek newsletter, WeedWeek Canada, and WeedWeek California to get weekly info on the most interesting industry delivered to your inbox. www.weedweek.net/newsletterEmail us your comments, questions or suggestions at hello@weedweek.netFollow us on Twitter and Instagram:twitter.com/weedweeknewstwitter.com/alexhalperintwitter.com/donnyshellinstagram.com/weedweeknews

The United Food and Commercial Workers union is asking the Labour Relations Board of BC to rule that ride hailing drivers are employees, and not independent contractors. Guest: Kim Novak, President of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union 1518 branch  

Chapter 1 It's @MikeSmythNews's

Jon Pinkus, Employment Lawyer, Samfiru Tumarkin LLP talks about Toronto Uber drivers joining the United Food and Commercial Workers union in an effort to gain better pay and working conditions... will they acheive this?

San Diego County grocery workers, along with thousands of others across Southern California and parts of Central California, have voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing their union leadership to call a strike should contract talks with major supermarket chains stall in the coming weeks. The United Food and Commercial Workers announced Wednesday morning the outcome of a strike authorization vote conducted at multiple locations on Monday and Tuesday. Some 46,000 unionized workers, from north of Santa Maria all the way to the U.S.- Mexico border, are covered by the vote. Employees with Ralph's and Albertsons Companies, which owns Vons and Pavilions, are still working under a three-year contract that expired March 3.

Amy Irvin is the executive director of the New Orleans Abortion Fund and served as the first intake coordinator. She has worked at abortion clinics in New Orleans and Atlanta, and was recognized as the Volunteer of the Year by Planned Parenthood of Kentucky in 2006. She earned her Master of Science in Social Work at the University of Louisville where she researched the impact of parental consent laws for minors at the ACLU of Kentucky Reproductive Freedom Project, and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Agnes Scott College. After undergraduate school she taught English as a Second Language, coordinated World Refugee Day activities, and developed a refugee childcare program at the International Rescue Committee. She's also a former union organizer with the United Food and Commercial Workers, organizing grocery store workers in Arizona and Indiana. The New Orleans Abortion Fund challenges the inequalities of class, gender, race, and immigrant status by providing financial help to people who cannot afford the full cost of an abortion. NOAF affirms a person's right to control their body and work to ensure that everyone has access to quality medical care. Jessie Nieblas, co-founder of the New Orleans Abortion Fund, received her Master of Public Health from Tulane University in the Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Science and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Santa Barbara in Women's Studies. In her 10 years of work on sexual violence prevention and intervention, reproductive health and rights, and health care access, Jessie has designed, implemented, and evaluated programs; conducted outreach and engagement efforts with diverse communities; and raised funds through direct appeals, grants, and events. She has served as co-chair of Take Back the Night at UCSB, volunteered on RAINN's Online Hotline, and currently works at an anti-sexual violence organization. The mission of Women With A Vision is to improve the lives of marginalized women, their families, and communities by addressing the social conditions that hinder their health and well-being. We accomplish this through relentless advocacy, health education, supportive services, and community-based participatory research. The People's Assembly Protesters stage a 'die-in' over proposed abortion bill in Louisiana Maternal Mortality in Louisiana Sex Education in Louisiana Shout Your Abortion is a decentralized network of individuals talking about abortion on our own terms and encouraging others to do the same. Following the U.S. Congress's attempts to defund Planned Parenthood in 2015, the hashtag #ShoutYourAbortion became a viral conduit for abortion storytelling, receiving extensive media coverage and positioning real human experiences at the center of America's abortion debate for the very first time. SYA quickly evolved into a grassroots movement, which has inspired countless individuals to share their abortion stories through art, media, and community events all over the country. Lindy West is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman (2016, Hachette Books) as well as the upcoming essay collection The Witches Are Coming (2019, Hachette Books). In 2018 she adapted Shrill as a half-hour comedy for Hulu, set to air in 2019. Her work has also appeared in This American Life, The Guardian, Cosmopolitan, GQ, Vulture, Jezebel, The Stranger, and others. She is the founder of I Believe You, It's Not Your Fault, an advice blog for teens, as well as the co-founder of the reproductive rights destigmatization campaign #ShoutYourAbortion. Open Access is a bi-weekly web series produced by the New Orleans Abortion Fund, aims to engage advocates from local and statewide organizations about their work through casual conversation. Exploring the role of women in leadership, the possibility of collaboration between issue groups, and how reproductive rights fits into a larger framework, Open Access explores activism and advocacy in our community, and invites community members to become involved. ProFrequency on WHIV The New Orleans Abortion Fund's OutLoud is a new initiative that seeks to amplify experiences with abortion. From patients who have undergone the procedure to clinic escorts on the frontlines of anti-choice propaganda, abortion stories are everywhere.NOAF OutLoud aims to bring these narratives to the surface and ignite discussion about abortion by sharing stories at small house parties of friends. These informal gatherings utilize video, writing and conversation to explore our personal and professional experiences with abortion, and enlighten our understanding of reproductive health, rights and justice. Louisiana Abortion Stories Project: In conjunction with NOAF OutLoud, the Louisiana Abortion Stories Project seeks to address abortion stigma at the individual and community levels through recording first-person narratives. The project explores decision-making about abortion care; experiences with sex education; and the impact of community values and religious perspectives on reproductive health, education, and public policy, as well as a deeper examination of the social, logistical, and financial barriers in accessing abortion care. “1 in 4 U.S. woman will have an abortion by age 45.” Shrill is an American comedy web television series, based on the book Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West and starring Aidy Bryant, that premiered on March 15, 2019, on Hulu. Our Bodies, Our Doctors “tells the story of a rebellion in the field of medicine as a cohort of physicians faces abortion stigma within their own profession and confronts religious control over health care decisions. Their fight takes them into a larger struggle over the heart and soul of American medicine.”

John Nock, President of United Food and Commercial Workers representing the bulk of the Beer Store's 7,000 employees Beer Store response to legislation.

This week, Roqayah and Kumars are joined by Donald Borenstein, a writer, journalist, and filmmaker who's been covering the Stop & Shop supermarket strike for the worker-owned streaming platform Means TV. Donald, who made the 500 mile journey across New England in order to document the 11-day strike, describes what lead approximately 31,000 workers, represented by United Food and Commercial Workers, to picket Stop & Shop locations in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Donald explains the tactics workers utilized to pressure management into conceding and to prevent anyone from crossing picket lines. Donald goes on to describes the impact of appearances by Democratic presidential candidates at picket lines—including Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren—who spoke in support of striking workers. We try to separate the tepid lip service from some candidates from what might be better faith outreach of others. The crew also examines what the success of the Stop & Shop strike means for private sector unions, specifically in the grocery sector. You can follow Donald on Twitter @Boringstein, and keep up with their Stop & Shop strike coverage on Means TV. If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!

Management at Stop & Shop and five United Food and Commercial Workers union locals have come to a tentative contract agreement, ending an 11 day strike by 31,000 workers in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Stop & Shop is New England’s largest grocery chain. Scott MacKay, political analyst for The Public’s Radio, says this strike illustrates how high the stakes are for both sides in an era when retailing is undergoing big changes.

Did you know that labor union contracts help protect slaughterhouse workers’ health and safety? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Dennis Olson, Senior Research Associate and Policy Analyst for the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union. Olson describes how labor unions in poultry slaughterhouses help uphold safer line speeds. He also describes the Center for Good Food Purchasing (https://goodfoodpurchasing.org/) which uses collective buying power to drive market shifts towards fair labor practices, local economies, environmental sustainability, sound nutrition and animal welfare. Finally, Olson discusses the demise of Country of Origin Labeling and the loopholes of the “Product of USA” label. If you support fair meat labeling, a comment period on Product of USA labels is open until August 17, 2018. Learn more through the Organization for  Competitive Markets (https://competitivemarkets.com) and American Grassfed Association (https://www.americangrassfed.org/news/ ); comment here: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=FSIS-2018-0024 Related website:  http://www.ufcw.org">www.ufcw.org

Pese a esa herencia de la Guerra Fría, el 1 de mayo es una fecha destacada por muchos sindicatos canadienses. Para saber sobre esta fecha, Radio Canadá Internacional pudo conversar con Pablo Godoy, representante nacional del sindicato United Food and Commercial Workers.

In episode #46 of Talking Radical Radio (January 8, 2014), Scott Price talks about his work with the Oral History Centre at the University of Winnipeg and with Local 832 of the United Food and Commercial Workers unearthing histories of working-class (including working-class feminist) struggles. For a more detailed description of this episode, go here: http://talkingradical.ca/2014/01/08/trr-oh_labour_feminism_manitob/

On this episode of Hear in the City, we go to the market. We sit down at the kitchen table with a 32 year veteran employee of the largest grocery chain the U.S. at a moment when the United Food and Commercial Workers union has approved a walk out if workers' demands are not met...and we hear confessions of a Costco cardholder about why he loves the sense of community that comes from being part of an elite club of deal-gatherers who frequent one of the few recession-proof companies.

In January 2006, Deconstructing Dinner was launched to fill a gap not nearly satisfied by Canada's mainstream media. But the subject matter of Deconstructing Dinner is frequently covered by other independent radio stations across the country. This broadcast will highlight four programs from campus and community radio stations that have explored how our food choices impact ourselves, our communities and the planet. In doing so, we hope to showcase the importance of independent media and the diversity of content that can be found within. Featured Programs "Redeye" - Vancouver Co-operative Radio CFRO, (Vancouver, BC) - Redeye is a 3-hour radio program broadcast live every Saturday morning on Vancouver Cooperative Radio, CFRO 102.7FM. It is produced by an independent media collective at the studios of Coop Radio in Vancouver's downtown Eastside. The show has been on the air for over 30 years, providing high-quality public affairs and arts programming to listeners looking for a progressive take on current events. Clip Jason Mark - Farmer and author based in San Francisco California. Interviewed by Peter Royce. Urban farms in Havana supply all the fresh fruit and vegetables the city's residents need. Cuba made the transition to small-scale, local, organic production following the break-up of the Soviet Union. The crisis Cuba continues to respond to, is a glimpse into the very crisis that Canadians may very well face in the near or distant future. Aired: 04.14.07 "Alert!" - University of Manitoba CJUM - (Winnipeg, MB) - Broadcast every Friday at 11 AM on 101.5 UMFM in Winnipeg, Alert radio brings you all kinds of leading-edge information they think you want to hear. The show covers politics, economics, issues of social and environmental justice; features interviews, commentaries, profiles of people in the news; has features on music, media, the arts; as well as special shows dedicated to new ideas or significant events. Clip Mustafa Koc - Former Chair of Food Secure Canada and Founding Coordinator of Ryerson University's Centre for Studies in Food Security (Toronto). Interviewed by Andre Clement. Health Canada's new Food Guide was recently released, Mustafa Koc speaks about the corporate influence on the creation of the guide. Aired: 03.02.07 "The Friday Morning After" - McGill University CKUT - (Montreal, QC) - CKUT 90.3 FM McGill Radio Inc. is a non-profit campus community radio station that provides alternative music, news and spoken word programming to the city of Montreal and surrounding areas. CKUT is made up of over 200 volunteers who work closely with a staff of coordinators. The Friday Morning After is a weekly public affairs program airing every Friday morning from 7-8am, and is produced by a collective of volunteers. Clip Alka Chandna - Senior Researcher, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) - Norfolk, VA. Interviewed by Joe Broadhurst. This segment looks deeper into the massive Menu Foods pet food recall. While the mainstream media reports on only a few deaths as a result of the recall, thousands of pets are said to have died from the tainted food. Alka Chandna speaks about Menu Foods' past and an unregulated industry where everyone has blood on their hands. Did Menu Foods hold back the recall so two weeks of evidence could be thrown away by consumers? Aired: 03.30.07 "You Are What You Eat" - Queen's University CFRC - (Kingston, ON) - CFRC provides innovative and alternative radio programming that enriches and challenges the academic and cultural life of the University and Kingston community. Tune into You Are What You Eat when Sayyida Jaffer explores nutrition, culture and politics and how they relate to food. Clip On March 22, 2007, Queen's University's Studies in National and International Development program hosted a panel of experts on the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP). The event was titled "The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program in Canada: Route to Mutual Development or Recipe for Migrant Exploitation?". with Ken Forth, Chairman of the Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Service (Lynden, ON). Stan Raper, United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW) (Toronto, ON). Dr. Leigh Binford, Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, Mexico. Aired: 03.29.07