Unions: Giving Workers a Voice

The PoliticsGirl Podcast

MeidasTouch Network, Leigh McGowan

News Commentary, Politics, News

4.9 • 3.3K Ratings

🗓️ 5 September 2023

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In honor of Labor Day we’re going to talk about the importance of the American worker, but more specifically about the importance of union work. American workers have clearly had enough. The majority of us know we can’t carry on like this. That the wealth inequality and the growing chasm between workers and owners is leading this country down a dark path. At their peak, 40% of American workers were part of a union, now that number is under 7%, and look what’s happened - the rich got richer while the poor got poorer and the middle class has all but disappeared. People can’t afford homes, food or health care, and the majority of us have to take a side hustle or gig work on top of our regular jobs just to make ends meet. It’s unsustainable, and the workers of America are beginning to stand in solidarity against it. To talk about the importance of union voices in the fight for our future we are joined by AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler whose federation includes 60 unions and 12.5 million working people across all sectors of the U.S. economy as she gives us a hopeful path to a better future. As always, if you enjoy what we do, please consider SUBSCRIBING to PoliticsGirl Premium. You’ll get this podcast ad free, along with a bunch of other perks, and the knowledge that you’re allowing us to keep bringing you the best content possible. That’s https://www.politicsgirl.com/premium Thank you for caring! xoPG MERCH STORE NOW OPEN: Check it out at: https://www.politicsgirl.com/store Guest social: https://aflcio.org/ As always, please RATE and SUBSCRIBE so we can grow the show, open the dialogue, and inspire change moving forward! All show links here!: https://linktr.ee/politicsgirl A big thank you to our other sponsors!! https://michaelsteelenetwork.com/ https://moshlife.com/politicsgirl https://trymiracle.com/politicsgirl

Transcript

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0:00.0	So I think that workers' rights angle to the future of work, to technology, how it's running
0:05.9	away from us with no protections or guardrails is the issue of our time.
0:20.9	Hello and welcome to the Politics Girl podcast. I'm your host,
0:24.0	Lee McGowan. Let's get into it. This has been the summer of strikes. American workers from
0:28.6	coast to coast have clearly had enough and have been standing in solidarity for better wages,
0:32.9	better working conditions, and increased benefits. The majority of us know we can no longer carry
0:37.6	on like this. The wealth inequality in this country and the chasm between the workers and the
0:42.0	owners is leading us down a dark path. Back in the day when unions were at their peak, 40% of American
0:47.9	workers were part of a union. Now that number is under 7%. And look what happened in the meantime.
0:53.6	The middle class is all but disappeared. The rich got richer while the poor are poor.
0:57.6	And people can't afford homes, food, healthcare. The majority of people have a side hustle or take
1:02.7	gig work on top of their regular job just to make ends meet. And statistics tell us that 40% of
1:08.4	Americans are one missed paycheck away from poverty. So in honor of Labor Day, we're going to talk
1:14.0	about the workers of America. But more specifically, we're going to talk about the importance of unions,
1:18.8	where teams of people come together to speak up for the workers of America. And to help us do that,
1:24.0	we're going to be joined by Elizabeth Schuler, the president of the American Federation of Labor
1:28.8	and Congress of Industrial Organizations, or the AFL-CIO. The AFL-CIO is a federation of 60 unions
1:36.8	that includes 12.5 million working people across all sectors of the U.S. economy.
1:42.0	Miss Schuler is the first woman to hold the Office of President in the history of the Labor
1:45.9	Federation. A visionary leader and longtime trade unionist, Liz sees the labor movement as a
1:51.3	powerful vehicle for progress, and unions as the leading force in societal transformation.
1:56.8	Her leadership is focused on the future of work, the clean energy economy, workforce development,
	...

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