Union Strong

The coronavirus pandemic has more workers concerned about workplace safety, job security and benefits like sick time and health insurance – which is why union avoidance firms are anticipating an increase in union organizing. On this podcast, what companies are doing to try to silence working people.

The horrific and senseless death of George Floyd has left us all reeling and during an already uncertain time.

Keeping voters safe during the coronavirus pandemic has led to procedural changes. NYS AFL-CIO Chief of Staff Ryan Delgado explains what you need to know to make sure your vote counts.

One of the first regions to reopen, during the COVID-19 pandemic, was the nine county Rochester-Finger Lakes region. Labor is at the table and in the “Regional Control Room”. We talk to Dan Maloney, President of the Rochester Labor Council and Rochester & Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation to find out how the reopening process is going and what protocols are in place to keep workers safe.​

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand discusses the next stimulus package, the Every Worker Protection Act and shares her thoughts on rebuilding our state and country post COVID-19.

Learn about our priorities at nysaflcio.org/cares2 

Nurses and other front-line workers are so desperate to protect their families from exposure to the coronavirus, they are opting to live in hotel rooms near their hospitals instead of going home. For one nurse the trade-off means screen time and phone calls replace hugs and kisses with her young daughter - all in the name of safety.

The New York State Public Employees Federation took the extraordinary step of providing the hotel rooms and their nurses and other healthcare professionals couldn’t be more grateful. Now they need your generosity to keep the program running. PEF President Wayne Spence joins us along with a PEF nurse to talk about the respite program. 

https://www.pef.org/disaster-relief/  

Members of the Transport Workers Union are dying at an alarming rate. TWU members deemed essential throughout this pandemic are transporting nurses, doctors and others needed on the front lines. Members continue working on and around airplanes and on Amtrak and are at risk of getting the coronavirus daily. In this podcast, we hear from a flight attendant, an Amtrak service worker, a local leader of the subway division in New York City – and John Samuelsen, the international president of the Transport Workers Union representing more than 150,000 members.

The crucial jobs of workers in supermarkets, pharmacies and food processing plants during a health crisis. RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum talks about the many challenges his members face and his fight to help workers at Amazon during the Coronavirus pandemic.