8 O'Clock Buzz

A recent study found that over 80% of the milk produced in Wisconsin was done so with the hands of migrant workers. A bill, the “Farm Workforce Modernization Act“, designed to protect the rights of these workers against deportation by employers and provide a path to permanent legal status is being pushed forward in the lame duck Congress. Rebekah Entralgo, Managing Editor at Inequality.org, talks about what this would mean for workers and the economy.

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It’s the holiday season, which means that it’s time for one instrument’s yearly return back into America’s Top 40 hits—the pipe organ! Suggesting that it’s a seasonal thing might be somewhat offensive to Buzz guest Greg Zelek, Principal Organist of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and curator of the massive and beautiful Overture Concert Organ. On this episode of the Friday 8 O'Clock Buzz, Zelek talks to host Andy Moore and friend of the show Jason Joyce about his journey as an organist, what's special about the Overture's organ and what it's like to lead the MSO's annual Free Community Carol Sing.

Greg Zelek is currently the Principal Organist of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Curator of the Overture Concert Organ. He has played with world-class ensembles like the Canadian Brass and the Miami Symphony, and he recently released his debut album, "Greg Zelek at Overture Hall." He'll be hosting the Madison Symphony Orchestra's annual Free Community Carol Sing at the Overture Center this Saturday, December 3rd at 11:00 AM.

“Love is love. And Americans should have a right to marry the person they love.”

Those were the words of President Biden this week. The right he mentions is a mandate of the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill passed by the U.S. Senate Tuesday. The legislative effort was tirelessly led by Wisconsin Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin and Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine. In all, 12 Republicans joined Democrats in the Senate for a 61-to-36 passage. The bill now heads to the House where it’s expected to pass and move on for the President’s signature as soon as next week. On this edition of the Friday 8 O'Clock Buzz, Senator Tammy Baldwin joins host Andy Moore to discuss negotiating with Republicans to secure the bipartisan vote, her reaction to the bill's success and the bill's implications for LGBTQ+ Americans in today's political climate.

Tammy Baldwin has served as the junior United States Senator from Wisconsin since 2013. She was the first openly LGBTQ+ woman to be elected to U.S. Congress and is a staunch advocate for LGBTQ+ rights in Wisconsin and the United States as a whole.

Image courtesy of Ted Eytan via Flickr

Jonathan Melrod, labor activist and organizer, joins 8 O’Clock Buzz host Tony Castañeda to discuss his book Fighting Times-Organizing on the Front Lines of Class War, his anti-war activism in Madison in the 1960s, and his work as a labor organizer and activist in Milwaukee and Kenosha. Jon is currently living in California where he works with young activists also committed to battling injustice.

Photo courtesy of Max Bender on UnSplash.

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Yasin Mahdi, President of UAW Local 180, talks with 8 O’Clock Buzz host Tony Castañeda about the reasons Union workers at CNH remain steadfast in their opposition to concessions and even negotiating in the 8 month long dispute with the farm equipment manufacturer. A rally to support the striking workers will be held on December 17 in Racine. Contact the South Central Federation of Labor or the Madison Labor Temple for information on the caravan from Madison that’s heading to Racine for the rally to show solidarity with the striking workers.

Photo courtesy of Ahsanization on UnSplash.

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Despite years of insistence by some lawmakers that Social Security is “failing”, and present threats by Kevin McCarthy and others to block budget borrowing until Social Security is reduced or tied to annual monetary review by legislators, Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works, says that the Social Security (and Medicare) programs are popular and efficient programs that “just work”. Efforts to privatize these (to the benefit of wealthy) are just “a disinformation campaign by billionaires”.

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Despite the closing of Voices for Creative Nonviolence due to COVID restrictions and the U. S. withdrawal form Afghanistan and the ensuing dangers to U. S. peace volunteers in Afghanistan, peace activist Kathy Kelly has continued efforts to find safe havens for Afghan girls to escape their Taliban controlled persecution. Kelly talks about some of their stories. Donations can be set to Fellowship of Reconciliation, attention: Afghan Generations

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WORT 89.9FM Madison · Food Pantries Struggle To Keep Up With Demand

The Dane County area has long had a reputation as having a generous welfare safety net, particularly when it comes to food.  Accessible and well-stocked community food pantries have typically served as the last stopgap for those unable to afford commercial groceries.  This year, that system is showing signs of fraying around the edges.  A coalition of five Dane County food pantries reports record demand for food so far this year, all while donations have dropped.  Chris Kane, Senior Director of Client Services, Saint Vincent de Paul Madison and Ellen Carlson, Executive Director, Middleton Outreach Ministry joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on November 28, 2022.

Dane County area food pantries:

* Badger Prairie Needs Network

* Middleton Outreach Ministry

* The River Food Pantry

* The Society of Vincent de Paul – Madison

* Sun Prairie Emergency Food Pantry

 

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WORT 89.9FM Madison · UW Election Symposium 2022

According to Open Secrets, state and national political parties, political action committees and outside groups spent some 16.7 billion dollars on the 2022 elections, making them by far the most expensive midterms in history.  Aside from a bonanza for political marketing agencies, commercial media outlets and internet and cell providers, all that spending produced little in terms of dramatic change.  After the dust settled, the political balance in Washington shifted only slightly, with the GOP clinging to an 8-seat majority in the House of Representatives, and the Democrats retaining control of the U.S. Senate.  Are there lessons still to be learned from the 2022 elections?  Political scientist Barry Burden thinks so.  Burden directs the University of Wisconsin Elections Research Center, which will hold a public, multi-disciplinary symposium on the 2022 elections on Friday, December 2nd.  Barry Burden joined the Monday Buzz on November 28, 2022.

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WORT 89.9FM Madison · Madison C.A.R.E.S. Program One Year In

In most places in the United States, if you call 911 and say that someone’s having a heart attack, a trained Emergency Medical Technician team soon arrives.  If, on the other hand, you say someone’s having a mental health episode, a police squad, with no particular mental health training, arrives instead.  That was true in Madison, too until September of 2021, when the Madison Fire Department and Madison/Dane County Public Health launched the Community Alternative Response for Emergency Services, or C.A.R.E.S. program.  The program came in the wake of several high-profile police shooting incidents, all of which involved victims in a state of mental or emotional impairment.  On the occasion of its first anniversary, the C.A.R.E.S. program has issued its first annual report.  Ché Stedman is the Assistant Chief of Medical Affairs for the Madison Fire Department and heads up the C.A.R.E.S. program.  Stedman joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on November 28, 2022.

 

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