2021 was an energizing year for a labor movement that has had its back against the wall for a long time. From record numbers of American workers voluntarily quitting their jobs to publicly supported strikes and unionization drives in different sectors of the economy, more and more working people are taking action and standing up for themselves. But this is just the beginning—there’s still a lot of work to do, and 2022 will provide a crucial test for the labor movement and its supporters. In this special panel episode of Working People, originally published in November as a bonus episode for patrons, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez talks to three full-time union organizers—Puja Datta (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees), Margaret McLaughlin (United University Professions), and Diana Hussein (UNITE HERE)—about what Striketober and 2021 in general have meant for the labor movement. They also discuss the day-to-day work of being a union organizer and what people around the country can do to build working-class power.
Additional links/info below…
- Puja’s Twitter page
- Margaret’s Twitter page
- Diana’s Twitter page
- Luis Feliz Leon & Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “Beneath Striketober Fanfare, the Lower Frequencies of Class Struggle Need to Be Heard“
- Marc Steiner, The Real News Network, “Can Today’s Labor Militancy Become a Transformative Political Force?“
- Labor Notes, Secrets of a Successful Organizer
- AFL-CIO, “Know Your Workplace Rights“
Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)
Jules Taylor, “Working People Theme Song”
Transcript
The transcript for this podcast is still processing and will be made available as soon as possible.
This post was originally published on The Real News Network.