#1452 Worked to Death: Pandemics Expose the Power of Labor

Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy

Air Date 11/3/2021

Today we take a look at the current wave of strikes and labor movements through the lens of pandemic economics and the history of businesses abuse of the worker.

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Transcript

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SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: Striketober: Labor Militancy Grows, U.S. Workers Walk Off the Job & IATSE Members Get Tentative Deal - Democracy Now! - Air Date 10-20-21

Jacobin writer Alex Press says the averted strike is part of a “broader moment” of labor militancy across the United States, including workers at Amazon, Kellogg’s and elsewhere. “Workers are willing to fight back,” she says.

Ch. 2: Take Your Job and Shove It Part 1 - In The Thick - Air Date 10-26-21

Maria and Julio are joined by Luis Feliz Leon, writer and educator with Labor Notes, and Lauren Kaori Gurley, labor reporter for Vice Magazine’s Motherboard to talk about the labor strikes happening across the country.

Ch. 3: A Look at the Worker Shortage in the Food Service Industry - The Takeaway - Air Date 10-28-21

The Takeaway also looks at how Covid exposed the systemic inequalities in the restaurant industry with Saru Jayaraman, President of One Fair Wage and Director of the Food Labor Research Center at University of California, Berkeley.

Ch. 4: Take Your Job and Shove It Part 2 - In The Thick - Air Date 10-26-21

Maria and Julio are joined by Luis Feliz Leon, writer and educator with Labor Notes, and Lauren Kaori Gurley, labor reporter for Vice Magazine’s Motherboard to talk about the labor strikes happening across the country.

Ch. 5: Nice work week, if you can get it - Planet Money - Air Date 10-27-21

The 40 hour work week has been the standard for 80 years. What will it take to lower that?

Ch. 6: Right-to-work is bad for workers (with Shane Larson) - Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer - Air Date 9-24-21

Shane Larson from CWA joins Goldy to explain why right-to-work laws are so harmful, how they came to be, and why it’s so important to pass the PRO Act to fight for workers’ rights.

Ch. 7: "Worked to Death": IATSE Film Crew on "Rust" Walked Off Set to Protest Conditions Before Shooting - Democracy Now! - Air Date 10-26-21

We speak with Dutch Merrick, prop master and armorer for over 25 years. Despite safety protocol and expertise, he says, Hollywood crews are getting “worked to death” with 80- to 100-hour workweeks, which he suggests played into the accidental shooting.

MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)

Ch. 8: Economic History: The Black Plague — The Great Economic Leveler - Strange World of Econ - Air Date 5-26-17

While undeniably gruesome and tragic, the black plague had a silver lining: the unprecedented lost of life made labour scarce, while infrastructure and other capital were left relatively unharmed.

Ch. 9: Nice work week, if you can get it Part 2 - Planet Money - Air Date 10-27-21

Origins of the 40 hour work week.

VOICEMAILS

Ch. 10: Please clarify various stats on law enforcement and incarceration - Bud from Boise New

FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 11: Final comments on the details behind the stats of criminal injustice and incarceration plus why flat-earthers haven't trekked to the edge and looked over

TAKE ACTION

5 Ways to Support Workers on Strike (Teen Vogue)

MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):

• Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr
• Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
• Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent

SHOW IMAGE:

Description: Photo of men holding blue and white protest signs in the air that say "UAW On Strike". The photo is from a recent strike by John Deere workers.

Credit: "20211020-OSEC-LSC-1195" by U.S. Department of Agriculture, Flickr | Public Domain

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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