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An ethical businessperson helps us understand alternatives to the exploitative gig model.  We ask: if we keep humans in the loop, can tech in the domestic and care sector be an opportunity rather than a curse?

Guests:  Aaron Seyedian, Well-Paid Maids; Sayem, domestic worker

About

The Gig is about the women and men who work in the so-called 'gig economy' worldwide. They find work through online platforms, and will tell us why we all need to be concerned about the real future of work.

Following The Gig Podcast’s successful launch of Season 1, host and executive producer Bama Athreya is back with Season 2 focusing on gig workers in the care economy.

For Season 2, The Gig Podcast is partnering with fellow Labor Radio Podcast Network member Evan Papp of Empathy Media Lab to support the production of the new series.

Learn more at: https://www.empathymedialab.com/thegigpodcast

#LaborRadioPod #EmpathyMediaLab #1U #UnionStrong #Labor #Union

We go to India and Thailand to talk about intimate personal care services that take place in people's homes. Advocates and researchers explain how technology is affecting personal care workers who are already low wage, precarious and exploited. Clients expect 'emotional labor' from these women but there are big risks of gender-based violence that platforms may exacerbate.

Guests:  Kriangsak Teerawitkajorn, Just Economy and Labour Institute (JELI); Khawla Zainab, IT for Change

About

The Gig is about the women and men who work in the so-called 'gig economy' worldwide. They find work through online platforms, and will tell us why we all need to be concerned about the real future of work.

Following The Gig Podcast’s successful launch of Season 1, host and executive producer Bama Athreya is back with Season 2 focusing on gig workers in the care economy.

For Season 2, The Gig Podcast is partnering with fellow Labor Radio Podcast Network member Evan Papp of Empathy Media Lab to support the production of the new series.

Learn more at: https://www.empathymedialab.com/thegigpodcast

#LaborRadioPod #EmpathyMediaLab #1U #UnionStrong #Labor #Union

We fast forward from past to future, speaking with two technologists, one based in New York and the other in Barcelona, Spain about how new technologies are affecting the future of work in the care sector.

About

The Gig is about the women and men who work in the so-called 'gig economy' worldwide. They find work through online platforms, and will tell us why we all need to be concerned about the real future of work.

Following The Gig Podcast’s successful launch of Season 1, host and executive producer Bama Athreya is back with Season 2 focusing on gig workers in the care economy.

For Season 2, The Gig Podcast is partnering with fellow Labor Radio Podcast Network member Evan Papp of Empathy Media Lab to support the production of the new series.

Learn more at: https://www.empathymedialab.com/thegigpodcast

#LaborRadioPod #EmpathyMediaLab #1U #UnionStrong #Labor #Union

In this episode, we learn more about what domestic and care work is, and its roots in exploitation and slavery.  We meet organizers in South Africa and Hong Kong and speak with an expert on modern day slavery to understand the power dynamics underlying care.

About

The Gig is about the women and men who work in the so-called 'gig economy' worldwide. They find work through online platforms, and will tell us why we all need to be concerned about the real future of work.

Following The Gig Podcast’s successful launch of Season 1, host and executive producer Bama Athreya is back with Season 2 focusing on gig workers in the care economy.

For Season 2, The Gig Podcast is partnering with fellow Labor Radio Podcast Network member Evan Papp of Empathy Media Lab to support the production of the new series.

Learn more at: https://www.empathymedialab.com/thegigpodcast

#LaborRadioPod #EmpathyMediaLab #1U #UnionStrong #Labor #Union

“I believe once you start work for worker rights, you cannot stop. You just can't stop yourself. I need to protest. I need to have these worker's back.”

Kalpona Akter is a former child worker and labor activist from Bangladesh. She is the founder and Executive Director of the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity and was awarded Human Rights Watch's Alison Des Forges award for Extraordinary Activism. 

Learn more about Kalpona’s work:

• https://twitter.com/kalponaakter
  

About The Labor Link Podcast

The Labor Link Podcast supports workers' rights in global supply chains by sharing personal stories and perspectives of the men and women organizing the workers who make our stuff. The Labor Link Podcast is hosted by Judy Gearhart of American University’s Accountability Research Center and produced by Empathy Media Lab of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. Contact Judy Gearhart for media inquiries at [email protected]. 

About the Host of The Labor Link Podcast

Judy Gearhart is a senior researcher at the Accountability Research Center  and an adjunct professor at Columbia University. Previously she served as the executive director at the International Labor Rights Forum and programs director at Social Accountability International. She also worked in Mexico and Honduras on trade, labor rights, and democratic participation.

About the Accountability Research Center

The Accountability Research Center (ARC) is based in American University’s School of International Service. ARC bridges research and frontline perspectives to learn from ideas, institutions, and actors that advance strategies to improve public accountability.

Through extensive dialogue with partners and collaborators, ARC co-designs exploratory research that is relevant for their strategies and can contribute to international thinking about how change happens.

#1u

#UnionStrong

#LaborRadioPod

We are excited to share Radio Labour’s December 15, 2021 excerpt, “Cambodia's garment workers need help,” that covered The Labor Link’s podcast interview with Tola Moeun. 

Summary:

Tola Moeun is a human rights defender and the Executive Director of the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL), an NGO which supports Cambodian labourers by providing them with legal aid, and other appropriate means, to demand transparent and accountable governance on labour and human rights issues..

The Radio Labour team consists of labour educators, negotiators, research representatives, union members and others connected to the labour movement. Most of us work, or have worked, for a union, a labour studies centre, or a global union. The team is led by Marc Bélanger, an international labour educator, based in Canada.

To learn more about Radio Labour, visit: https://www.radiolabour.net/. 

“Talking about the human rights situation in Cambodia, we believe that the democratic shrinking space is the main root cause that is undermining labor rights and human rights.”

Tola Moeun

About 

Tola Moeun is a human rights defender and the Executive Director of the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL), an NGO which supports Cambodian labourers by providing them with legal aid, and other appropriate means, to demand transparent and accountable governance on labour and human rights issues.

The Cambodian authorities often use legislation and the judicial system to restrict free speech, jail government critics, and disperse workers, trade union representatives and farmers when engaging in peaceful assembly. The 2015 Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations imposes a range of restrictions on both domestic and foreign NGOs. Despite the danger, Tola continues to fight for labor rights. 

Learn more about Tola’s work:

https://www.central-cambodia.org/

About The Labor Link Podcast

The Labor Link Podcast supports workers' rights in global supply chains by sharing personal stories and perspectives of the men and women organizing the workers who make our stuff. The Labor Link Podcast is hosted by Judy Gearhart of American University’s Accountability Research Center and produced by Empathy Media Lab of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. Contact Judy Gearhart for media inquiries at [email protected]. 

About the Host of The Labor Link Podcast

Judy Gearhart is a senior researcher at the Accountability Research Center  and an adjunct professor at Columbia University. Previously she served as the executive director at the International Labor Rights Forum and programs director at Social Accountability International. She also worked in Mexico and Honduras on trade, labor rights, and democratic participation.

About the Accountability Research Center

The Accountability Research Center (ARC) is based in American University’s School of International Service. ARC bridges research and frontline perspectives to learn from ideas, institutions, and actors that advance strategies to improve public accountability.

Through extensive dialogue with partners and collaborators, ARC co-designs exploratory research that is relevant for their strategies and can contribute to international thinking about how change happens.

#1u

#UnionStrong

#LaborRadioPod

#AccountabilityKeyWord

We are excited to share Radio Labour’s excerpt, “Fighting for Thailand's Migrant Workers,” that covered The Labor Link’s podcast interview with Sawit Kaewwan. 

Summary:

Millions of migrant workers in Thailand need help. The Thai labour movement is fighting for their rights. An interview with Sawit Kaewwan, the secretary general of the State Enterprises Workers’ Relations Confederation (SERC) conducted by Judy Gearhart of American University’s Accountability Research Center.

The RadioLabour team consists of labour educators, negotiators, research representatives, union members and others connected to the labour movement. Most of us work, or have worked, for a union, a labour studies centre, or a global union. The team is led by Marc Bélanger, an international labour educator, based in Canada.

To learn more about Radio Labour, visit: https://www.radiolabour.net/. 

“There will be no way for us to be able to solve every single problem of migrant workers here in Thailand. The only way we can do it, we need to have them to speak up about the problem. We need to have them form their own organization, representing themselves.”

Sawit Kaewwan 

About Sawit Kaewwan

Sawit Kaewwan, the secretary general of the State Enterprises Workers’ Relations Confederation (SERC) in Thailand, has mobilized the Thai trade union movement to support migrant workers, especially those at risk for human trafficking.

The unions have offered repeatedly to collaborate with industry and government. Instead, the government is pursuing criminal charges against Sawit and 12 of his colleagues for organizing a national railway safety campaign they launched back in 2009. The charges appear politically motivated because they were filed in 2019 just before the statute of limitations expired. Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission has condemned the actions against the trade unionists. 

Learn more about Sawit’s work:

• Judy Gearhart’s Essay on Thompson Reuters Foundation News - https://news.trust.org/item/20211105170721-mjdr1

About The Labor Link Podcast

The Labor Link Podcast supports workers' rights in global supply chains by sharing personal stories and perspectives of the men and women organizing the workers who make our stuff. The Labor Link Podcast is hosted by Judy Gearhart of American University’s Accountability Research Center and produced by Empathy Media Lab of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. Contact Judy Gearhart for media inquiries at [email protected]. 

About the Host of The Labor Link Podcast

Judy Gearhart is a senior researcher at the Accountability Research Center  and an adjunct professor at Columbia University. Previously she served as the executive director at the International Labor Rights Forum and programs director at Social Accountability International. She also worked in Mexico and Honduras on trade, labor rights, and democratic participation.

About the Accountability Research Center

The Accountability Research Center (ARC) is based in American University’s School of International Service. ARC bridges research and frontline perspectives to learn from ideas, institutions, and actors that advance strategies to improve public accountability.

Through extensive dialogue with partners and collaborators, ARC co-designs exploratory research that is relevant for their strategies and can contribute to international thinking about how change happens.

In Episode 5, we discuss Economic Justice for All, which is the pastoral letter promulgated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1986. The letter addresses the precarity of Americans living within the U.S. economy and is framed by the values of Catholic social teaching and thus condemning the neoliberal policies under President Ronald Reagan. 

We also discuss America Magazine’s article titled America’s child care crisis and Catholic social teaching by Kate Ward.

Faith and Labor is a podcast video series exploring the history of Catholic Social Teachings and how it can be used to bridge divisions and guide humanity to solve the great challenges facing the working class.

Hosted by John Andrechak of Laborlines and Evan Matthew Papp of Empathy Media Lab, they discuss history, scripture, encyclicals, current events, and how faith and love is needed to strengthen solidarity and heal a world in disarray. 

We would love to hear your feedback, ideas, and suggested guests for future shows, as we seek to promote what Pope Francis described in Fratelli Tutti as a more just and fraternal world where “Love shatters the chains that keep us isolated and separate; in their place, it builds bridges.”

#LaborRadioPod

#1U

#UnionStrong

#FaithandLabor

#CatholicSocialTeaching