Podcasts about municipal employees afscme

On a day dedicated to honoring civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the America's Work Force Union Podcast dove into the intertwined history of labor rights and civil rights. We welcomed Lee Saunders, President of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), to discuss the union's pivotal role in the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers' Strike and the ongoing fight for workers' rights. Continuing our special Martin Luther King Jr. episode, America's Work Force Union Podcast welcomed Sylvester Taylor, Director of Diversity and Inclusion for the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus (EWMC) and 34-year member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1 in St. Louis. Taylor shared his experience and journey in the trades and how the union has led him to be a leader in the IBEW's efforts to improve diversity and inclusion.

JANET DEWART BELL is a communications strategist and management consultant with a multimedia background, as well as experience in policy advocacy, strategic planning, fund development, media training, and education. She is a social justice advocate, activist, executive coach, and motivational speaker, with a doctorate in Leadership and Change from Antioch University. She is the author of Carving Out a Humanity: Race, Rights, and Redemption. Among her accomplishments are an Emmy® for outstanding individual achievement (CBS-TV affiliate in Washington, DC) and programming for National Public Radio honored with a Peabody award, considered the highest award in broadcasting. She has been a key strategist and senior executive at a number of national organizations, including The Opportunity Agenda, PolicyLink, the National Urban League, the National Committee on Household Employment, and National Public Radio (NPR). She was Director of Communications and Public Relations for District Council 37, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), in New York City. As a Visiting Research Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, she developed and taught a course on Effective Advocacy and co-taught a constitutional law course with her husband Professor Derrick Bell. She developed and managed The Opportunity Agenda's acclaimed Communications Institute, a four-day, intensive multi-media training for social justice advocates. As Director of Communications at PolicyLink, Bell was instrumental in developing the organization's collaborative approach to advocacy and communications and developed the trademark “Lifting up what works.”® As Director of Communications at the National Urban League, she was the League's chief communications strategist and editor of The State of Black America. As part of AFL-CIO delegations, she has taught trade unionists in Morocco and Tunisia. She was the Chairperson of the District of Columbia Commission for Women and represented the District at the International Conference of Women in Nairobi, Kenya. Bell established the Derrick Bell Lecture Series on Race in American Society at the New York University School of Law, now in its twenty-sixth year. Along with other lead donors, she helped establish in 2012 the Derrick Bell Fund for Excellence at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Professor Bell's alma mater, to honor his memory and legacy.

DAVID OSBORNE OF COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION JOINS DAWN LIVE! HE EXPANDS ON THE REPORT CLAIMING THAT GOV SHAPIRO WAS THE LARGEST RECIPIENT OF PUBLIC UNION MONEY IN THE NATION...  Government Unions Spent Over $708 Million on Near-Exclusively Leftist CausesNew research shows public-sector unions have become cash cows to advance progressive politics. Harrisburg, Pa., December 7, 2023 — The four largest public-sector unions—the National Education Association (NEA), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU)—spent $708.8 million on political activities across the country during the 2021-22 election cycle, according to a new report from the Commonwealth Foundation. The research combines campaign finance data at the state and federal levels with union tax filings to paint a complete picture of public-sector union political activity. The report, titled "The Battle for Worker Freedom: How Government Unions Fund Politics Across the Country," exposes the substantial influence that public-sector union executives have in shaping the national political landscape and advocating for a progressive agenda in red and blue states. Its findings, moreover, challenge the typical union narrative that membership dues are not used for politics. Government union political action committee (PAC) contributions accounted for just 40 percent of political spending, with union membership dues accounting for the remaining 60 percent. In many states, union dues are deducted automatically through taxpayer-funded public payroll systems, raising serious questions about union executives' accountability to membership, who may be unaware of their role in funding executives' political projects. David R. Osborne is the Senior Fellow for Labor Policy with the Commonwealth Foundation. David is an attorney with on-the-ground experience advocating for teachers, firefighters, and other public employees mistreated by union officials. Before joining the Commonwealth Foundation, David was the CEO of Americans for Fair Treatment, a nonprofit organization that supports, educates, and empowers public employees to exercise their First Amendment rights. He also served as President & General Counsel of the Fairness Center, a nonprofit, public-interest law firm providing free legal representation to those hurt by public sector union officials, and as a Presidential appointee to the Federal Service Impasses Panel, which resolves labor impasses between federal agencies and federal employee unions. Tune in 10 AM - 12 PM EST weekdays on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT; or on the Audacy app!

In the wake of the pandemic, our healthcare system's vulnerabilities were laid bare, exposing a pressing need for affordable medical care, particularly as the Baby Boomer generation continues to age. The escalating costs of healthcare have pushed countless Americans to the edge of financial ruin and beyond. The crucial question that arises is whether there exists a solution to address these systemic issues. Join me in this captivating podcast as I engage in an enlightening conversation with the esteemed Dr. Bill Bronston, delving into the depths of our healthcare system's challenges and exploring potential options for a brighter future. Dr. Bronston, a passionate advocate for healthcare reform and social justice, has dedicated his life to serving others. Born in 1939 in Los Angeles, he grew up in a family connected to the film industry and had a deep-seated desire to care for people from an early age. In 1961, he enrolled at USC Medical School, drawn to its reputation for clinical medicine and a desire to serve the underprivileged. However, he soon became disillusioned with the mechanistic and impersonal approach to medicine he encountered in his studies. Inspired by the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War protests, Dr. Bronston became an activist and organized medical, nursing, and dental students across the nation under the banner of the "Student Health Organization." Their goals included advocating for a socialized healthcare system, supporting the civil rights movement, and demanding curriculum changes in professional schools to incorporate a culture of care and progressive medical values. As a conscientious objector, Dr. Bronston pursued his psychiatric residency at the Menninger School of Psychiatry in Topeka State Hospital. During this time, he played a pivotal role in organizing an American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union, leading to a union job action that gained administrative control of all Eastern mental health hospitals in 1968. Relocating to New York, Dr. Bronston immersed himself in various activist movements, including the Black Panther Party, the women's movement led by Gloria Steinem, and the struggle against the Vietnam War. He also became involved with disability rights activists, working to connect their cause with the broader anti-institutional agenda. In 1970, he served as a clinical physician at Willowbrook State School, an institution for individuals with intellectual disabilities, where he exposed and helped shut down inhumane conditions through a federal class action lawsuit. Returning to California in 1975, Dr. Bronston assumed the role of medical director for the Department of Developmental Services and Department of Rehabilitation Services for the state, a position he held for over two decades. In the present day, Dr. Bronston remains committed to the ongoing pursuit of justice. He expresses deep concern over the current state of medical education, emphasizing the corporate influence, mounting costs, and burdensome debt that hinder doctors from engaging in community service. He strongly believes that healthcare should not be a commodity for sale, denouncing the current system as one that prioritizes profit over personalized and affordable care. Despite the opposition from the insurance industry, pharmaceutical companies, and hospital cartels, Dr. Bronston is confident that the single-payer movement will prevail. He argues that people are increasingly aware of these entities being adversaries and the need for universal access to the remarkable advances in healthcare and medical research. Dr. Bronston envisions a radical change occurring within the next decade, driven by a transformational shift in the pursuit of human rights throughout history, rather than a gradual evolution. Related websites for more information www.ourhealt.pub and www.publichostagepublicransom.org --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/vibelivingpodcast/message

Jane Billinger, Senior Advisor for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the work of library workers. She discussed the fight for a first contract in Missouri and shared the issues created by a recent state budget proposal that would defund libraries, in the state.   Joining the America's Work Force Union Podcast is Labor Attorney and General Counsel for the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, Joyce Goldstein. She discussed the difficulties unions face once they get to the negotiating table for a first contract. Many factors can come into play that determine negotiation timetables, and Goldstein discussed some of the practices used by employers to help slow progress.

In a public letter, a group of 60 workers at the Art Institute of Chicago announced plans to unionize. Reset talks to a museum employee and a spokesperson for the regional council of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). GUESTS: Anders Lindall, AFSCME Council 31 spokesperson Anna Feuer, acquisitions and collections manager at Art Institute of Chicago Ryerson and Burnham Libraries

We're joined by Kelly Benjamin with the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) to discuss Ron Desantis' anti union bills here in Florida.

Let’s talk about rising health care costs for T-minus five seconds—costs, by the way, that bear little if any correlation to the quality of care delivered or the outcomes that patients attain. Getting what you pay for and no less is a rallying cry. That rallying cry should unify pretty much everybody who is writing checks for health care services. That includes taxpayers; it includes employers; it includes patients. When I say taxpayers and patients, by the way, I also could mean unions. When health care costs too much and bosses resort to cost shifting, nobody wins. Businesses or public sectors with sick employees do not perform very well. Nor do businesses win when extraordinary health care costs push down wages—dollars disappear that were formerly used to innovate or reduce class sizes or any of a myriad of other things that money could be better spent on besides overly expensive health care. In this health care podcast, I speak with Mark Blum from America’s Agenda. When I was talking with Mark, I kind of pictured him bearing a flag with a peace sign on it. His point for unions and employers alike is this: Instead of ripping each other into shreds at the bargaining table over health care, maybe work together proactively. Clip the reasons for rising health care costs in the first place. These reasons include, but certainly are not limited to, excess middleman profits that do not contribute to patient value, private equity earning profits on the backs of patients and payers, a health care system that rewards volume over value … I could go on and on. But here’s a way out of this tangled web we’ve been forced into: Instead of bowing and scraping at the boots of special interests driving up the costs of health care for Americans—and when I say Americans, I mean bosses or labor alike—instead of flailing at the mercy of these forces, change the game. Gang up together and proactively demand to get what you pay for. Mark and I talk about two very concrete examples on how to do this. Mark and the team at America’s Agenda, for example, saved New Jersey $1.6 billion (that’s billion with a B) over the past three years on pharmacy benefits alone. That’s a whole lot more shekel than could have been generated by haggling over who pays for what of a pharmacy bill that is $1.6 billion too high. We also talk about direct primary care and how much direct primary care—not owned by a private equity, by the way—how much direct primary care can improve patient outcomes while, at the same time, reducing costs. Mark has some learnings here, too. You can learn more at americasagenda.org and solidaritus.net.  Mark Blum is executive director of America’s Agenda, an alliance of labor unions, businesses, health care providers, and government leaders with a common mission of guaranteeing access to affordable, high-quality health care for every American. Under Mark’s direction, America’s Agenda has defined widely adopted principles of high-value care delivery design and achieved an unrivaled record of success in building winning statewide health care reform campaigns. Managed Care magazine recently featured an America’s Agenda–designed strategy that netted more than $1 billion in prescription drug savings for New Jersey’s public workers during 2018 and 2019 and is projected to save the state nearly $2.5 billion over five years without cutting public employee prescription benefits. Mark serves also as president and CEO of SolidaritUS Health, a leading-edge, labor-owned direct primary care provider whose innovative approaches to relationship-based care delivery were featured recently in Modern Healthcare magazine. SolidaritUS Health has revolutionized patient experience and improved quality of care while reducing employer health costs substantially and helping save thousands of US industrial jobs from being offshored. Mark, who has served as a special adviser on hospital finances to leadership of the California legislature, serves currently as an appointee of Governor Phil Murphy to the New Jersey State Health Benefits Value and Quality Task Force. Mark was the first male ever elected to the board of directors of the American Medical Women’s Association. Internationally, he has served as adviser to Cambodian textile workers organizing the first labor unions in their country’s history. 03:17 Employers and unions—combining forces. 04:04 Rising deductibles at eight times the rate of inflation. 04:40 Creating and sharing savings, rather than fighting over cost shifting. 05:45 Working with New Jersey unions to have meaningful reduction in pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) spend—New Jersey Education Association (NJEA); Communications Workers of America (CWA); American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association (PBA); among others. 07:57 Finding the next PBM to serve all these people in New Jersey using a “reverse auction.” 09:04 Designing a purchaser contract to eliminate hidden pricing in PBM contracting. 16:20 “There is no reason other PBMs couldn’t participate in reverse auctions like this.” 16:35 How reverse auctions like America’s Agenda’s auction in New Jersey are possible in virtually every state. 17:58 “The big obstacle to doing this … is that the PBM industry is remarkably profitable.” 19:25 Tactics among PBMs—Vinay Patel discusses in EP241.20:26 Why PBMs don’t want to see this change. 21:51 “What stops them from reducing reimbursements to community pharmacies?” 22:05 “Best-in-class terms can build in requirements that PBMs may not spread price.” 24:37 America’s Agenda’s transformation of direct primary care. 26:56 America’s Agenda’s biggest innovation in labor direct ownership of direct primary care. 28:24 Aligning the interests of patients and physicians. 29:46 The big crisis in American health care—rising costs. You can learn more at americasagenda.org and solidaritus.net.  Check out our latest #healthcarepodcast episode with @Mark_Blum of @AmericasAgenda. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthcosts #healthcarecosts #hcmkg #Employers and #unions—combining forces for the betterment of health care. @Mark_Blum of @AmericasAgenda discusses in this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthcosts #healthcarecosts #hcmkg How rising #deductibles are surpassing #inflation. @Mark_Blum of @AmericasAgenda discusses in this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthcosts #healthcarecosts #hcmkg Sharing savings instead of #costshifting. @Mark_Blum of @AmericasAgenda discusses in this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthcosts #healthcarecosts #hcmkg Meaningful reduction in #PBM spend in New Jersey. @Mark_Blum of @AmericasAgenda discusses in this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthcosts #healthcarecosts #hcmkg What is a #reverseauction, and how is it useful in finding the right #PBM? @Mark_Blum of @AmericasAgenda discusses in this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthcosts #healthcarecosts #hcmkg Purchaser contracting in place of #PBM contracting. @Mark_Blum of @AmericasAgenda discusses in this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthcosts #healthcarecosts #hcmkg “There is no reason other #PBMs couldn’t participate in #reverseauctions like this.” @Mark_Blum of @AmericasAgenda discusses in this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthcosts #healthcarecosts #hcmkg “The big obstacle to doing this … is that the #PBM industry is remarkably profitable.” @Mark_Blum of @AmericasAgenda discusses in this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthcosts #healthcarecosts #hcmkg Tactics among #PBMs. @Mark_Blum of @AmericasAgenda and Stacey, our host, give a callback to EP241 with @RphVinay of @SIPNpbm in this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthcosts #healthcarecosts #hcmkg Why don’t #PBMs want to see this change? @Mark_Blum of @AmericasAgenda discusses in this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthcosts #healthcarecosts #hcmkg “What stops them from reducing reimbursements to community pharmacies?” @Mark_Blum of @AmericasAgenda discusses in this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthcosts #healthcarecosts #hcmkg How can purchasers stop #PBM #pricespreading? @Mark_Blum of @AmericasAgenda discusses in this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthcosts #healthcarecosts #hcmkg Transforming #directprimarycare. @Mark_Blum of @AmericasAgenda discusses in this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthcosts #healthcarecosts #hcmkg Aligning #patient and #physician interests. @Mark_Blum of @AmericasAgenda discusses in this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthcosts #healthcarecosts #hcmkg What’s the biggest crisis in #Americanhealthcare? @Mark_Blum of @AmericasAgenda discusses in this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthcosts #healthcarecosts #hcmkg

When the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) last summer, some predicted it would be a nail in the coffin for labor unions. But Lee Saunders, the president of AFSCME—the largest trade union for public sector employees—joined the pod this week to tell us that the state of labor unions is, in fact, strong. Despite constant attacks from wealthy special interests working to lower wages for working people and decimate public sector unions, unions have defied their expectations and are enjoying a bout of popularity not seen in years among Americans. The son of a union member in Cleveland, Ohio, Saunders discusses with Ed and Daniella the challenges unions have faced to their viability and membership over the past decade, as well as about the hopeful future of unions with younger generations embracing the power of collective bargaining.

SUPREME COURT ROUNDUP: Charles, Tarik, Adam, and Mike discuss the window into the upcoming apocalypse that the end of most recent Supreme Court term opens (including Janus, Trump v. Hawaii, and NIFLA) and then laugh at the world's dumbest smart man, Jordan Peterson, and his silly lawsuit (and suits). 0:00 (Cold open) Jordan Peterson 5:15 Supreme Court: Janus vs. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) 32:30 Trump v, Hawaii (on travel ban; executive order 3) 54:05 National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra SCOTUS case addressing the constitutionality of California's FACT Act, which mandated that crisis pregnancy centers provide certain disclosures about state services. 1:21:05 Lindsy Shepherd and Jordan Peterson vs. Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, Canada. Find us on twitter at: Mic Dicta twitter.com/Mic_Dicta Charles twitter.com/Ugarles Tarik twitter.com/muhmentions Adam twitter.com/AllezLesBoulez Mike twitter.com/ancientcarelord Sound engineering courtesy twitter.com/CurtisRemarc

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown interviews Lee Saunders, President of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and Jeana Campolo, an Ohio AFSCME worker, about the importance of workers having a seat at the table and a voice in the decisions that are made about their lives and their work. They discuss the Supreme Court case Janus vs. AFSCME, which is the latest attempt to chip away at workers’ power in the workplace. If the Supreme Court rules against the union in this case, it will limit workers’ freedom to organize and to advocate for themselves.

Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is scheduled for oral argument in the Supreme Court on February 26. This important case will determine whether it is constitutional for public sector unions to require all employees to pay union fees regardless of their membership under the First Amendment. The ruling in Janus will also clarify whether the Court’s decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education to uphold these requirements will remain good law. Ray J. LaJeunesse of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation joins us to discuss his impressions of oral argument.Featuring: Raymond J. LaJeunesse, Jr., Vice President and Legal Director, National Right to Work Legal Defense and Education Foundation, Inc. Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up here. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.

Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is scheduled for oral argument in the Supreme Court on February 26. This important case will determine whether it is constitutional for public sector unions to require all employees to pay union fees regardless of their membership under the First Amendment. The ruling in Janus will also clarify whether the Court’s decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education to uphold these requirements will remain good law. Ray J. LaJeunesse of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation joins us to discuss his impressions of oral argument.Featuring: Raymond J. LaJeunesse, Jr., Vice President and Legal Director, National Right to Work Legal Defense and Education Foundation, Inc. Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up here. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.

Alicia Hickok and Eugene Volokh join National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to discuss a major Supreme Court case about public-union dues. The Supreme Court is considering arguments in a case that could have a huge effect on public-section unions and their membership. The case of Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) will be heard on February 26 at the Court. The question in front of the nine Justices is if public-sector “agency shop” arrangements -- payments that workers represented by a union must pay even if they are not dues-paying members -- should be invalidated under the First Amendment. The Supreme Court said in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education (1977) that government employees who don’t belong to a union can be required to pay for union contract negotiating costs that benefit to all public employees, including non-union members. The Abood decision has been challenged in court several times, and an evenly divided Court couldn’t decide a similar case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, in 2016.  This time, a full Court will consider the issue. Alicia Hickok is a Partner at the law firm Drinker Biddle and a Lecturer in law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She wrote an amicus brief in the Janus case on behalf of the Rutherford Institute, siding with Janus’s position. Eugene Volokh is Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law at UCLA Law School. He co-wrote an amicus brief in Janus with Will Baude siding with the union. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at podcast@constitutioncenter.org And don't forget to take our new podcast survey at constitutioncenter.org/survey The Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

On February 26, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), a case that has the potential to overturn a 40-year-old precedent (Abood v. Detroit Board of Education) that allows public-sector unions to charge nonmembers “agency fees.” Currently, half the states have laws that enable such fees. Mark Janus—an Illinois state employee but not a union member—objects generally to being required to pay AFSCME, as well as to these funds being used to support the union’s ongoing legal fight against the governor’s policy reforms. Janus sued the union for violating his First Amendment rights by compelling these payments. In addition to their responses to that constitutional claim, AFSCME and Illinois have argued throughout the litigation that stare decisis—the prudential doctrine regarding judicial respect for settled precedent—demands that Abood be maintained. Cato filed a brief discussing the historical underpinnings of stare decisis and contending that a proper understanding of stare decisis actually demands that Abood be overturned. Please join us for a discussion of a case pitting workers’ rights against union rights and state powers—one that may accomplish the rare feat of reversing Supreme Court precedent. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Charles, Tarik, Christina, Andy, and John discuss Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), an existential attack on public-sector unions before the SCOTUS; the ongoing war over immigration policy; and a famously bad lawyer, Len Kachinsky, who somehow got worse. Follow us on Twitter: Mic Dicta: https://twitter.com/Mic_Dicta Charles: https://twitter.com/ugarles Tarik: https://twitter.com/muhmentions Christina: https://twitter.com/floozyesq Andy: https://twitter.com/wyatt_privilege John: https://twitter.com/ggooooddddoogg Sound engineering courtesy https://twitter.com/CurtisRemarc

Mike Ferner is a candidate for mayor of Toledo, Ohio. See http://www.mikeferner.com Mike Ferner grew up in rural Ohio, working on farms much of his youth. After 12 years of Catholic education and a head full of John Wayne movies, he enlisted in the Navy right out of high school in 1969. During three years as a hospital corpsman he nursed hundreds of wounded soldiers returning from Viet Nam, an experience that radicalized him for life starting with his discharge as a conscientious objector. Mike has been an independent member of Toledo City Council and a candidate for mayor of his city; an organizer for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); Communications Director for the Farm Labor Organizing Committee and the Program on Corporations, Law & Democracy and has served as national president of Veterans For Peace. Just prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, he lived there for a month with a Voices in the Wilderness delegation, returning in 2004 for another two months as an independent journalist and wrote "Inside the Red Zone: A Veteran For Peace Reports from Iraq" (Prager 2006). His activism includes several arrests for “disturbing the war,” including disrupting a session of Congress. His current interest is learning how the Populists organized the largest democratic, mass movement in U.S. history and how to apply that to work he's doing with Move to Amend.

In this podcast episode, you will be introduced to Kim Mullens RN (2014 Contract Specialist), Angie Gonzalez-Acosta RN (President), Teresa Alcala RN (Steward Coordinator), and Rose Kaw (PSP Master Chair). They will discuss the new South Bay Affiliate Podcast for its members; What the big focus of 2014 is for South Bay; THIP (Total Health Incentive Plan), CAT (Contract Action Team), Attendance, and how this all affects your bonuses, and the up-coming contract negotiations and what's at stake for all members. They will also discuss how they got involved with UNAC/UHCP and how other members can get involved as well. UNAC/UHCP is affiliated with the National Union and Health Care Employees (NUHHCE), and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization (AFL-CIO).

This podcast episode is a quick introduction to The United Nurses associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP), the largest nurses' union in Southern California, representing over 22,000 Registered Nurses and other health care professionals, including Optometrists; Pharmacist; Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapist; Nurse Midwives, Social Workers; Clinical Lab Scientist; Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners. UNAC/UHCP is affiliated with the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees (NUHHCE), and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).