Young Women Empowered’s Victoria Santos approached our big question with a focus on social justice and racial equity. Her passionate insights included:

• The pandemic and recent protests provide the opportunity to reveal who we are to each other and who we can be to each other.
• That COVID-19 is having a disproportionate burden on people of color, indigenous people and the disenfranchised.
• That this isn’t just a crisis of today; that it has been accumulating for generations and we need to get to work to dismantle systems of oppression.
• That for real change to happen, people need to feel the pain; not just feel inconvenienced.
• A vision that we wake up and begin to figure out how to live in harmony with the planet, with other species, and with each other.

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In today’s episode, Bill McKibben, author, environmentalist, and Co-Founder of 350.org shares his perspectives on “What Could Possibly Go Right?” including:

• Learning from the pain and trauma of the current crises in a destabilized planet.
• Reconnecting with the physical reality of the world outside of our online lives.
• Knowing speed matters in our response to climate change, as well as understanding that actions will be disruptive but necessary.
• Recognizing that social solidarity and a unified, fair society is what’s required to tackle big issues like climate change.
• Being aware of the new scariest words in the English language.
• Realizing the opportunity in channeling the large unemployed labor force towards activities to transform our energy system and response to climate 

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Saru Jayaraman, President of One Fair Wage and Co-Founder of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, shares insight into the current perfect opportunity for wage change in the food service industry, including:

• How the pandemic has laid bare the troubles with tips-based pay structures, such as the ineligibility of many service workers to qualify for unemployment benefits due to sub-minimum wages.
• How the shut down during the pandemic is allowing for reconfiguration and reimagining of the restaurant industry.
• That employers are now more willing than ever to move towards a full livable minimum wage for their workers.
• Treating those in the food industry as other skilled professionals with livable wages and not reliance on tips.
• The realization of consumers about how essential our service workers are and the role diners can play in encouraging restaurant owners towards positive change. 

Connect with  Saru Jayaraman
One Fair Wage: onefairwage.site/
Twitter: twitter.com/sarujayaraman

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Complete Show Notes