En Masse

Hear the full episode on Friday, July 3, 2020.

This is an independently produced show. Please consider supporting En Masse on Patreon.

Randy has worked his way up from driving a milk truck to working for the City of Barre. He has worked in both the Water Department and the Cemetery Department. The Cemetery Department covers Hope Cemetery in Barre, which is home to some of Barre’s finest granite memorials. Despite Barre’s multicultural past, some tension arose in the Cemetery Department when the cemetery held a Muslim funeral. Randy’s back in the Water Department, nearing retirement, but, not all is fine and placid: Providing essential services and being a union leader is always hard work.

Oral history transcript to be performed: Randy Edmunds, Work Leader for City of Barre’s Water Department and President of AFSCME Council 93 (2017, original)

Guest performer: Carl Etnier

This is an independently produced show. Please consider supporting En Masse on Patreon.

Hear the full episode on Friday, June 26, 2020.

This is an independently produced show. Please consider supporting En Masse on Patreon.

Christine is a true Vermonter in every way: she is part Abenaki, and her entire family has been here for generations. Growing up working-class in a working-class town, she knows what it feels like to be disregarded. When she finally gets the chance to go to college as a working mother, she is awakened to her own intelligence. She decides to teach history, focusing on the history of women and Native Americans. She believes history is very personal, and her students learn history by making it personal. She makes a decent living, but it is only because her union has fought hard for it -- and they have to keep on fighting for it.

Oral history transcript to be performed: Christine Smith, Librarian at Spaulding, former History Teacher at Spaulding HS (2017, original)

Narrator: Sb Sowbel

This is an independently produced show. Please consider supporting En Masse on Patreon.

SOUND & MUSIC CREDITS

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. Available wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more at https://thegigpodcast.com/. 

Find more podcasts like "En Masse" and "The Gig" on the Labor Radio Network: https://www.laborradionetwork.org/

Hear the full episode on Friday, June 19, 2020.

This is an independently produced show. Please consider supporting En Masse on Patreon.

Many people did struggle during the Recession, and some never fully recovered. Paul dedicated his life to the liberal arts, helping students achieve their dreams, including a young poet with a speech impediment. When the cumulative effects of the 2008 crisis kicked in, however, Paul was laid off. He found work as a Retail Merchandiser, but it paid less than $15 an hour.

Oral history transcript to be performed: Paul Cook, former Retail Merchandiser and Academic Advisor (2017, original)

Guest performer: Reverend Earl Kooperkamp

This is an independently produced show. Please consider supporting En Masse on Patreon.

VOICE CREDITS

SOUND & MUSIC CREDITS

Hear the full episode on Friday, June 12, 2020.

This is an independently produced show. Please consider supporting En Masse on Patreon.

Fast forward about 80 years to about a decade after America’s second-biggest economic contraction, the Great Recession. The granite industry is still dying, but it’s not wholly dead. The industry is also much safer than it used to be, thanks to workers fighting for better working conditions in the first half of the 20th century. For more highly skilled workers, there are still jobs. Gampo left the building trades to become a granite carver. He is one of about a half a dozen stone carvers left in Barre. He is an artist.

Oral history transcript to be performed: Gampo Wickenheiser, Stone Carver (2017, original)

Guest performer: George Brin

This is an independently produced show. Please consider supporting En Masse on Patreon.

Hear the full episode on Friday, June 5, 2020.

This is an independently produced show. Please consider supporting En Masse on Patreon.