On this episode of South Coast Working, we’re joined by Chrissy Lynch, the President of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. Lynch has been at the helm of the Mass AFL-CIO since October of 2023. She sat down to talk about her time in the position so far, challenges she’s faced, victories in her work and what the future holds for labor in the state during the current political administration.

On this episode we’re looking at a special collaboration last year between the College of Visual Performing Arts and the Labor Education Center at UMass Dartmouth. The Labor Ed Center serves as a bridge between students and communities, it thrives most when faculty are hungry to connect students and to collaborate. This episode focuses on just one example of such a collaboration between the Labor Ed Center and a faculty member.

Gabo Camnitzer was formerly an assistant professor of art and community based practices at the College of Visual Performing Arts at UMass Dartmouth. He taught a class called Art as Action. 

In the spring of 2023, the cohort learned about the rich history of labor on the South Coast in collaboration with the Labor Education Center. They then were tasked with using their skills and talents to create something for the community. I spoke with Gabo and a group of his former students about this type of collaboration and learning, and how many of them went from knowing very little about the labor movement, to wanting to start a union of their own.

On today’s episode of the South Coast Working podcast, we have a special episode featuring Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell.

For the past nine years, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office has released an annual Labor Day Report. AG Campbell was sworn into the job in January of 2023, so this is the second Labor Day Report her office has produced. According to the latest report, in fiscal year 2024, the AG’s Office helped over 40,000 workers and assessed more than $31.5 million in unpaid wages and penalties.

We sat down with AG Campbell to discuss the highlights of the report, and dig into some specific examples of labor action and enforcement here in Southeastern Mass.

For more information about the work of the AG’s office head to Mass.gov. And to learn more about the Labor Education Center and to get involved, reach out. We’d love to hear from you.

This podcast is Bishop Dr. William J. Barber II's Keynote address given at the 48th Annual Arnold M. Dubin Award Banquet November 16th, 2023.

Rev. Dr. William Jospeh Barber II, is Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, Founding Director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School, Political Action Committee Chair of the NAACP, and the Architect of the Forward Together Moral Movement.

Today’s podcast we chat with the outgoing president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO Steven Tolman.

Tolman is a leader in labor and has been for many years. He got his start at the railroads in the 1970’s, has served in the legislature, and was elected as president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO in 2011.

We spoke to him in late September 2023 as he reflected on his storied career, achievements and what he has planned for retirement.

Tolman’s last day in office was Oct. 13. He’s succeeded by Chrissy Lynch, former chief of staff and secretary-treasurer for the Massachusetts AFL-CIO.

On this episode of South Coast Working, we take a look at the impact of an education in labor and how Gen Z is engaging with the labor movement. We ask questions like, why is Gen Z the most pro-union generation? What moments did young people feel they were making a difference in their communities? We’ll hear from current and former students of the Arnold M. Dubin Labor Center at UMass Dartmouth.

The technical term for the postal workers who deliver mail to our homes is “letter carriers.” Granted, you may not remember the last time you sent a letter. But the last time you received a mail-in ballot, got your prescription medications in your mailbox, or stooped down to pick up a package delivered by a USPS employee was probably quite recent. In this episode, we walk a mile in the shoes of mailmen and mailwomen from around New England.

Postal workers keep our communities connected, even as digital communications, private competition, and political shifts threaten their livelihoods and add stress and hours to their days. Some see their job as more than just delivering mail, like Maggi Burns in Providence, Rhode Island. Maggi says when a customer sees her out in a snowstorm and tells her “you shouldn’t be out in this weather,” she replies “Oh, I'm not really out here to bring you your mail. I'm out here so that you see that everything's gonna be okay.”

In April 2022, postal workers celebrated a major victory with the passage of the Postal Reform Act. The legislation requires the United States Postal Service to continue to operate Monday through Saturday. And it eliminated a retiree funding mandate that put an unsustainable burden on the agency.

The Postal Reform Act was the result of a decade of efforts by the National Association of Letter Carriers and the American Postal Workers – unions that represent the majority of postal employees. But it’s just a start. For this episode, we spoke with postal workers and community members who want more from the USPS– things like basic banking services at post offices, and more competitive starting salaries. You’ll hear from veteran workers reflecting on a career of service, and a young manager working to bring more dignity to her employees' careers.

South Coast Working is a project of the UMass Dartmouth Arnold M. Dubin Labor Education Center. Learn more at umassd.edu/labored.

Voices in this episode

Maggi Burns, letter carrier in Providence, Rhode Island

Erin Durkan, postmaster in Somerset, New Hampshire, and host of the podcast Postal Blues

Peter Arsenault, retired letter carrier and former NALC president, Rochester and New Bedford, Massachusetts

Corinn Williams, Executive Director, New Bedford Community Economic Development Center, New Bedford, Massachusetts

Contributors to this episode

Host and producer: Andrea Muraskin

Writing and additional production: Susie Armitage

Research and fact-checking: Johnny Handel

Executive editor: Kim Wilson

Special thanks: Camilo Vivieros, Jim Snow, and 

Music in this episode by One Man Book, Meavy Boy, Poddington Bear, Blue Dot Sessions, and Doctor Turtle

Construction work is one of the few careers left in the United States where a person can make a good living without a college degree. However, it’s also one of the few fields available to high school graduates with a work force that’s still predominantly white and male. So what will it take for women and people of color to get a bigger piece of the pie, and to land the construction jobs that provide the best wages, benefits, and safety standards – union jobs—and benefit from Massachusetts’ building boom?

In this episode you’ll meet Tara Williams, who brought herself and her children out of poverty through determination, and a brand-new career in the building trades. You’ll learn about the training program where Tara got her start, and the first-in-the-nation green energy project that’s bringing new union construction jobs to the South Coast. Also covered is the shadow side of the construction economy – the exploitation of undocumented workers – and efforts to bring their employers to justice.

South Coast Working is a project of the UMass Dartmouth Arnold M. Dubin Labor Education Center. Learn more at umass.edu/labored.

For more information about starting a career in the building trades in Massachusetts, visit buildalifema.org. To learn more about the story behind Vineyard Wind, check out the series Windfall from the podcast Outside/In, at windfallpodcast.org.

Voices heard in this episode:

Tara Williams, Apprentice, Laborers’ International Union of North America ([email protected])

Jim Pimental, Vice President/Organizer, Bricklayers & Allied Craftsmen

Yvonne Tobey, Program Manager, Building Pathways South

Kim Wilson, Director, UMass Dartmouth Arnold M. Dubin Labor Education Center

Dave Araujo, President, Southeastern MA Building Trades Council

Ernesto Belo, Organizer, North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters

Derek Adamiec, Business Representative, North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters

Recording of Jose Soler courtesy of New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center.

Contributors to this episode:

Host/Producer: Andrea Muraskin, independent podcast producer

Executive Producer: Kim Wilson, Director, UMass Dartmouth Arnold M. Dubin Labor Education Center

Production Assistant: Rachel Dufresne, Artist in Residence with the UMass Dartmouth Arnold M. Dubin Labor Education, and a UMass Dartmouth undergraduate

Special thanks:

Liz Skidmore, Laura Orleans, Avory Brookins, Camilo Viveiros, and Jim Snow.

In the early months of the pandemic, health care workers were lauded as heroes, especially those who worked with the most vulnerable – the elderly and people who couldn’t take care of themselves. From March to September 2020, nursing home residents made up 40% of COVID-19 deaths. Nursing home residents are at high risk because of their age, higher rates of pre-existing illness, and the close quarters they live in. However, a study published in the journal Health Affairs found that nursing homes in New York State where the workers belonged to a union experienced a 30% lower mortality rate, compared to facilities in the state where the workers were not unionized.

So why the difference? In this episode, journalist Kortni Smyers-Jones speaks with study co-author Adam Dean of George Washington University, healthcare workers, and union leadership to get answers.

South Coast Working is a project of the UMass Dartmouth Arnold M. Dubin Labor Education Center. Learn more at umass.edu/labored.

Voices heard in this episode:

Adam Dean, Assistant Professor of Political Science, George Washington University

Terri Jarry, UMass Dartmouth intern and surgical technician at Rhode Island Hospital

Herbert Jean Baptiste, Vice President, SEIU 1199

Contributors to this episode:

Host/Producer: Kortni Smyers-Jones, independent journalist

Executive Producer: Kim Wilson, Director, UMass Dartmouth Arnold M. Dubin Labor Education Center

This episode chronicles the long-awaited arrival of commuter rail line infrastructure that will connect New Bedford and Fall River with Boston - and all of the economic advantages it offers. Now-graduated student journalist, Liz Anusauskas speaks with prominent commuter leaders Siggy Meilus, founder of UMass Dartmouth's transportation advocacy organization, Bus Riders United, and Eric Camallo, president of Fall River's Amalgamated Transit Union Local 174. These conversations take listeners on a deep dive into the complexities of public transportation and the profound impact its presence, or lack therof, can have on a population.