The Workers' Mic

This week on The Workers’ Mic, Powered by the NCL, Ed Maher and Phil Davidson are joined by Megent Financials’ Co-Chief Executive Officer Ron Whittingham and Dave Mallett the Chief Operating Officer for Megent Financial. Listen in while they talk about the importance of having a financial advisor, share details surrounding their offered annuity called Union Strength Annuity through the National Coalition of Labor, to encourage listeners to apply for their chance to win an exclusive VIP outing for four to the ballpark on Friday, September 18 with the Workers’ Mic guys and more.

This week on The Workers’ Mic, Powered by the NCL, Ed Maher and Phil Davidson kick off the show by sharing their condolences and talked about the late great Dolly Parton and the support she showed unions throughout her life. Then, the guys are joined by Megent Financials’ Co-Chief Executive Officer Ron Whittingham and Dave Mallett the Chief Operating Officer for Megent Financial. Listen in while they talk about the importance of having a financial advisor, the bond market, share details surrounding their offered annuity called Union Strength Annuity, and to encourage listeners to apply for their chance to win an exclusive VIP outing for four to the ballpark on Friday, September 18 with the Workers’ Mic guys. To close out the show the guys discuss the latest union news pertaining to The Daily Herald, More Perfect Union, Chicago Labor Day Parade and Eddie Fest parade and more.

This week on The Workers’ Mic, Powered by the NCL Ken Edwards and Phil Davidson, kick off the show by inviting listeners to apply to their latest contest called Union Night on the Southside which awards eight union members (current or retired) an exclusive VIP outing for four to the ballpark on Friday, September 18. Then, the guys chat with Anthony McGee, Vice President at Teamsters Local 700, to discuss the Cook County Forest Preserves workers strike and why they are striking. To close out the show, Phil and Ken discuss union related news pertaining to Project Labor Agreements in New York, National Parks, Union workers meeting outside the Shedd Aquarium Wednesday in support of its union’s fight for a contract, the Stellantis Belvidere Assembly Plant and more.

This week on The Workers’ Mic, Powered by the NCL, Ed Maher and Phil Davidson kick off the by discussing the latest union related news surrounding the crazy Chicago weather and the union work it has indirectly created, Bally’s Chicago, BlackRock and it’s connection to data centers and more. Then, Ed and Phil welcome Bianca Brown, Locations Assistant and Chicago Fire Union Organizer, Evelyn-Mariah Johnson, Production Assistant and Chicago Med Union Organizer and Clio Byrne-Gudding, Organizer and Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA) Local 724 union representative to talk about how production assistants on the sets of ‘Chicago Fire’ and ‘Chicago Med’ have had their hours cut after unionizing. To close out the show, the guys chat with ‘Little Jimmy‘ and talk about the current working conditions in the chicken factory.

This week on The Workers’ Mic, Powered by the NCL Ken Edwards and Phil Davidson, kick off the show by chatting with Dave Amerson, the Executive Director of the Police Benevolent & Protective Association (PBPA) Labor Committee, to discuss how high-ranking Chicago Police Department officials are seeking to unionize under Illinois’ Workers’ Rights Amendment. Next, the guys welcome Matt Oclon, Representative at Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council and East Dundee trustee, who joined the guys to talk about about the growth, economic benefits, safety standards, and environmental impact of data center developments in Chicagoland. Then, to close out the show, Phil and Ken discuss union related news pertaining to Meta, a bill that has the ability to change overtime into double-time and more.

On this special edition of Worker Wednesday on Your Money Matters, Ed Maher joins the show to discuss a new push by Chicago Police Department commanders and deputy chiefs to unionize. Ed explains how these supervisors, when promoted, lose key benefits such as uniform allowances, on-call pay, and banked sick time leading some officers to turn down advancement. Ed also covers how the Workers’ Rights Amendment and recent moves by school principals and fire commanders to organize could potentially pave the way for their recognition as a union.

This week on The Workers’ Mic, Powered by the NCL Ed Maher and Ken Edwards kick off the show by sharing a win for labor and Ascend Cannabis. Then, the guys recap their in-depth discussion on the economic, infrastructural, and community impacts of building data centers during their recent special Worker Wednesday segment on Your Money Matters. Next, Ken and Ed discuss the latest union related news pertaining to the future of Act 10, OSHA, and Cornell University’s ILR School Labor Action Tracker. To close out the show, Ken and Ed remind listeners what the Coalition is and how it was designed to help unions purchase top-tier benefits for their members at the lowest cost possible.

On this special edition of Worker Wednesday on Your Money Matters, Jon Hansen welcomes the crew from The Workers’ Mic, Ken Edwards, Ed Maher and Phil Davidson, who take over the program to conduct an in-depth discussion about the economic, infrastructural, and community impacts of building data centers.

On this special edition of Worker Wednesday on Your Money Matters, Ken Edwards, Ed Maher and Phil Davidson are joined by Michael Miller, Economics Professor, Western Washington University and Professor Emeritus at DePaul University who kicks off the conversation by talking about a NBER working paper examining 30 years of data on how data centers impact local economies. Miller explains that while data centers represent economic trade-offs, counties that house them see an overall net gain in local GDP. He highlights that data centers generate a massive multi-year boon for construction trades and high-paying permanent technical roles, while raising local property tax revenues to support public services like schools. Addressing common concerns, Miller notes that while heavy electricity demands can push up power rates if the grid isn’t expanded, water usage is relatively minimal compared to golf courses, and pausing development through state moratoria will simply drive these lucrative projects and AI job opportunities to neighboring states or Canada.

On this special edition of Worker Wednesday on Your Money Matters, Ken Edwards, Ed Maher and Phil Davidson are joined by Marc Poulos, Executive Director of the Indiana, Illinois, Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting (III FFC) who talks about the societal benefits and local economic impacts of data center developments. Marc points out that physical data center infrastructure remains largely unregulated globally, but addresses community pushback by noting that developments frequently revitalize contaminated brownfield sites, like former auto plants in Janesville, and rarely produce the noise or disruption neighbors fear.