We Rise Fighting - Labor Podcast

Today's episode includes:

-Solidarity with Palestine Report
-UNITE HERE Hotel workers expand strike
-CWA workers at AT&T go out on strike
-Rideshare drivers action in Nashville, TN
-Potential Internaional Longshoremen Association (ILA) strike on the East Coast
-Detroit Marathon Refinery workers strike

Special episode with Ric Urrutia:

Connect the dots and follow the money: how to research political contrbutions. 

In this episode we use the Federal Elections Commission website to follow campaign contributions that involve corporations, interest groups, unions and political candidates. More specifically, we use Lockheed Martin, AIPAC and the Teamsters union to navigate this information and present it in compelling ways. 

Questions this episode answers:

What is a Political Action Committee (PAC)?
Where does a PAC get its money from?
Who does a PAC give money to, how much, and when?
What information can we find about CEOs?

All that and more in this episode. 

Ric Urrutia is a labor researcher. He got his master's degree in Labor Studies at the University of Massachusetts and has been doing presentations on how to research infornation for social struggles since 2000. The main point of his research has been to 'find the jugulars' in corporations. The weak underbellies, the soft spots so workers can disrupt business/profits as usual.

We interview Andrew from the Peoples Power Assembly in Baltimore. We discuss labor, solidarity with Palestine, what socialism is, the elections, Kamala Harris, and the Democratic National Convention.

Jesus Rodriguez Espinoza, an expert on international relations, Venezuelan politics and communications. He served for several years as Consul General of Venezuela in Chicago. Before that he was part of the foundational editorial team of Aporrea.org. He is founder and editor of the Venezuelan anti-imperialist news outlet – Orinoco Tribune (orinocotribune.org).

In this episode we chat with Gerry Scoppettuolo about the history of the Queer liberation movement. We touch on subjects like: the Stonewall Rebellion, Leslie Feinbeg, and some acts of international solidarity that have come out of the Queer liberation movement.

In this episode: Ric interviews co-host Bryan from We Rise Fighting. Bryan speaks to us about the history of labor and unions in Wisconsin, Act 10 and the 2011 protests, the Bradley Foundation, the RNC national conference scheduled for July 15 - 18 in Milwaukee and ideas for moving forward.

Interview with Madeline Gamsemer Topf, co-president of TAA Local 3220 in Wisconsin. Local 3220 represents graduate student workers. We cover the history of TAA, Act 10, what gets graduate student workers to organize, and much more. 

Here is the link to the TAA's resolution on Palestine. 

In this episode we have 3 labor and community activists sharing their experience, insight and perspective on the role of women in the a labor and other social movements:

- Joanna Frasch, AFSCME Local 1, Wisconsin State Employees Union (WSEU)
- Alejandra Lopez, President of the San Antonio Alliance of Teachers and School Personnel; and
- Crystal Mello, an organizer from Appalachia (Southwest Virginia) engaged in building union and community alliances to fight pipelines and to redirect funds from jails to community needs.

*This episode was originally recorded on April 28, 2024.