Black Work Talk

Throughout this season of Black Work Talk, we've explored how black workers have shown up in many of the big labor wins that happened in 2023. This season finale brings the full picture into perspective as Carlos Jimenez, head of the special projects division of the AFL-CIO, joins host Jamala Rogers to analyze the longer history of labor organizing and movements that got us to this moment; as well as how organized black workers have shown up throughout that history. The conversation delves into the encouraging and growing trend of action we have seen in the labor movement over the past few years. They also discuss the complexities of influencing institutions while preserving personal self-interest to bring about positive changes within large organizations like the AFL-CIO.

If you enjoyed any portion of this season of Black Work Talk, we'd ask that you take a few moments to rate and review the show wherever you listen. Or you can help the show continue to grow by becoming a Patreon member at Patreon.com/blackworktalk

Rashaad Pritchett and Theresa Mtles of SEIU United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) join hosts Bianca Cunningham and Jamala Rogers for this episode of Black Work Talk. They delve into the challenges faced by Black healthcare support workers, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rashaad and Theresa recount their experiences of being on the frontlines during the pandemic, tackling fears amongst Black workers as they struggled to perform their duties without proper PPE or safe staffing, lacking proper respect and benefits. 

They also discuss SEIU-UHW's monumental healthcare strike in October 2023, which saw participation from 75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers across four states. After the strike, the union won a historic contract ratified by over 90% of the membership. This conversation focuses on union organizing for healthcare workers, highlighting the importance of establishing connections with workers and dissecting the tactics which they can use to navigate the landscape of fighting for basic safety in the workplace during the pandemic. 

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In this episode, United Teachers Los Angeles President Cecily Myart-Cruz joins Bianca and Jamala to discuss the challenges she has faced as the first woman of color to head this powerhouse union, and a leader who took over during the COVID-19 pandemic. When she advocated for educators and students in 2020, she faced immediate backlash. The interview explores how she found the resolve to continue to stand up for LA's teachers, students, and their families amidst such hostility.

Cecily's experience as a strong union leader on the Left makes her consideration of a general strike unique. She, Bianca and Jamala discuss the possibility of such an action and what it would take to make one a reality.

Black Work Talk will be on a winter hiatus for the next few weeks. Be sure to subscibe in your podcast feed to be alerted when new episodes appear in early January.

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BWT co-hosts Bianca Cunningham and Jamala Rogers take time this episode to explore a few of the crises and challenges shaking the world and the Left in this moment. The recent demands by the United Auto Workers (UAW) and a few other national unions for a ceasefire in Gaza suggest an opening for a worker-led movement for peace. Bianca and Jamala discuss that possibility as well as how the Left is positioned for the upcoming 2024 elections.

Opinions on national electoral work vary among those identified with the US Left, but two perspectives stand out in this moment: 

• We should continue to support incumbent or mainstream Democratic candidates we ideologically disagree with, like Joe Biden, in the short term. This "harm reduction" strategy focuses on the need to block the authoritarian MAGA Right from creating untenable conditions for future organizing.
• We should take big chances on more ideologically aligned candidates in hopes of building a new party structure from the bottom up. Severing ties with Democrats emphasizes the importance of gaining traction and excitement around a more representative populist movement.

The Biden administration's response to the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel has been unequivocal and unending support for the aggressive military action against Palestinians by Israel and its far-Right Netanyahu administration. This has complicated the question of Left support for mainstream Democrats over the past few months. Bianca and Jamala explore the pros and cons of both of these strategies in the short and long term.

Fifty-six percent of people in the US who self-identify as Black call the South home. Today's guest, Shafeah M'Balia, explains why and how we need to focus organizing strategies on Black workers in southern states. Shafeah is a lifelong activist and organizer with Black Workers for Justice and Muslims for Social Change.

In this episode Shafeah talks with host Jamala Rogers to help listeners understand why they need to move through lingering, harmful stereotypes of the South and understand the interconnectedness of all workers in the region's supply chains. She'll review her past and present efforts to organize southern workers, and explore why international solidarity with movements like that for a free Palestine matter to US workers.

After the second-longest strike in Hollywood history, members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) voted to ratify a new contract in October 2023. Their 146-day walkout brought wins on some of the most pressing issues they were fighting for. These included new standards governing the use of AI for producing content and the distribution of residuals in the age of streaming.

Joining host Bianca Cunningham to discuss the strike, the contract, and these shifts in the entertainment industry are WGA member and Think Tank for Inclusion & Equity (TTIE) co-chair Angela Harvey, whose writing credits include MTV’s Teen Wolf, Station 19, and American Horror Stories, and one of TTIE's other co-chairs,  Tawal Panyacosit Jr., a WGA member and activist whose has writing credits on Vampire Academy and other shows.

Bianca also talks with Angela and Tawal about TTIE and the importance of bringing more diverse stories to audiences who are hungry for them. TTIE is an intersectional group of working TV writers comprised of BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, and women writers, from emerging voices to showrunners. Angela and Tawal reflect on the openness to diversity in TV and film writers' spaces today and their hopes for the industry's future.

There is a lot of momentum in the organized labor movement right now and the National Black Worker Center is an organization which ensures black workers are strongly advocated for as we move through these moments. NBWC is a Black worker power building and worker’s rights advocacy organization that leads with militant joyfulness and Black movement culture. There are several local Black Worker Centers across the country serving the needs of workers and addressing the struggles that naturally arise when "working while black" and nine more are in incubation periods.

In this episode, host Jamala Rogers is joined by Tanya Wallace Gobern, the current executive director of the NBWC to discuss the work and importance of the NBWC; as well as how workers can access their resources provided. Along with how Black Workers Centers can serve the needs of workers around the country, they also discuss the organization's Black Workers' Bill of Rights – a simple set of ten demands for laws to protect black workers and serve the fight for an anti-racist economy.

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Around 340,000 members of the Teamsters Union who work for UPS came within days of walking off the job in July 2023 in what would have been the one of the largest strikes in US history. In August, they voted 86.3% in favor of ratification of a new five-year contract with the company. The contract provides provisions like a $21 per hour minimum wage for new part-time hires, increased wages for full-time UPS workers with an average top rate of $49 per hour, and safety provisions such as in-cab air conditioning for vehicles added to fleets after January 1, 2024. 

Joining Bianca and Jamala this episode to discuss their experience in these negotiations and more about the relationship of UPS and the Teamsters are Chris Williamson, vice president and bargaining team member of Queens Local 804, and Philadelphia Teamsters Local 623 President Richard Hooker Jr.

Support this show and others like it by becoming a Patreon supporter at Patreon.com/convergencemag

Black Work Talk’s third season explores where the energy for this current wave of labor activism comes from, how it impacts Black workers, and a fresh vision for what’s next. Listeners will hear conversations with rank and file workers from unions including the UAW, Teamsters, and the Writers Guild of America. New hosts Bianca Cunningham and Jamala Rogers offer educational tools and compelling strategies for the 90% of American workers who have yet to organize — and have an opportunity to seize the moment.

To get started they are joined this launch episode by author, international trade union activist, and long time friend of the show, Bill Fletcher Jr. In the episode, Bill interviews the new hosts to learn more about who they are as well as what they bring to the black worker movement.

In this episode of Black Work Talk, Steven Pitts speaks with Bill Fletcher, long-time racial justice and labor activist.

This is the last episode of this iteration of Black Work Talk, and we discuss many of the themes running through the two seasons of the podcast, including:

• Black worker organizing within a union context. 
• The limitations of the just fights for greater representation. 
• Neoliberalism and the challenges facing Black mayors.  
• The complexities of fighting rightwing authoritarianism. 
• The impact of the growing Black immigrant population in the United States on Black politics.

We closed with some thoughts and suggestions for folks struggling for justice today who came of age–politically–during the last 15 years.