What's Left To Do?

(Did everyone see what I did there with this episode title?)

I shouldn't have given him such a hard time at the beginning of this interview haha

Fayzan is a no non-sense kind of guy when it comes to campaigns (which is probably why we did so well in The Bay). But outside of the hectic setting of a presidential primary, quite a bit of fun!

Fascinating story here of a young man who had to navigate the social difficulties of enduring the divorce of his parents in his tight knit Muslim, Pakistani-American, Atlanta community (in which divorce is a huge taboo!) and how that shaped him in a number of ways as an adolescent. He got his first taste of political praxis on the erudite campus of Emory University through the organizing spearheaded by a dearly departed friend. And eventually, he was able to reintegrate and reclaim his Muslim identity through his political work.

Back with Soul Brotha's ✊🏾 Part 2.

Still kinda timely that this is dropping the same week as Kamala Harris's shameful trip to Guatemala. Marco has the good fortune of being in San Diego where there are some brave politicos who are trying to do the right thing, hard as it may be, by opening the doors of their community to some of the unaccompanied minors stuck in those hellish ICE facilities, so they can be properly cared for and ultimately reunited with family.

I want you to look at the thumbnail picture for this episode and give me a break for assuming Marco was Black when we first met lolol

Anywho - Marco is a native son of SoCal, San Ysidro to be exact. You don't hear too many stories like his, unless What's Left To Do? is your favorite podcast 😉

(See what I did there?)

It's critical, probably more so than ever, to seize this moment for service workers (because of all of the things that Mari gets into about the conditions of workers *before* COVID, which have been exacerbated during the pandemic and recovery).

If you're interested in connecting with this organization and joining its efforts, please get in touch with One Fair Wage! https://onefairwage.site/

Service Workers of the World, Unite!

Great time for this episode to drop, since the eyes of the country seem to be set on the "labor shortage" in the food service industry.

Maricela (or Mari) works with the good people over at One Fair Wage, where they are fighting the sub minimum wage to which restaurant food service workers are subject. The ultimate goal? To build sectoral bargaining power for ALL service workers.

To learn more about One Fair Wage, visit their website at: https://onefairwage.site/

Get ready for class, kiddos! Laksh walks us through a lot of history, and how things have evolved/devolved in the realm of housing.

He also brings us into the current moment, regarding some fairly recent legislatively history in the state of California as well as the city of San Francisco.

If you're interested in plugging in to the fight in SF, the website he mentions is: www.sf.community.us

Also, please sign the petition he mentioned SO LONDON BREED CAN STOP PLAYING GAMES AND DO HER DAMN JOB 😡:https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/mayor-breed-and-board-of-supervisors-use-prop-i-money-for-rent-relief-and-affordable-housing

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/mayor-breed-and-board-of-supervisors-use-prop-i-money-for-rent-relief-and-affordable-housing

The title of this guest's episode comes from a Diana Ross song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIkPH_L1JfM

Do note that, because I don't have good sense, I really wanted to title this episode thusly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IHUl8CwCvI

But poor Laksh doesn't deserve that, especially not after how I opened his interview 🤣🤣🤣

Laksh is the Chair of the SF Berniecrats Housing Committee and helps us make sense of the history of housing in the nation, as well as the state of California. And just as importantly, he keeps us apprised of the ever evolving state of play on our housing efforts.

What hasn't this man done since leaving law school? (Not much is the correct answer).

Be sure to listen until the end where I give a brief update on where things stand with AB 1400 at the moment.

The orgs he name checks regarding single payer are:

-Single Payer Coalition in Santa Clara County

-SF Berniecrats, Healthcare Committee

-Healthcare For All in Los Angeles

You can find Assemblymember Kalra on twitter @ash_kalra

Your 4th favorite leftist podcast has done it again! We managed to nab an interview with California Assemblymember Ash Kalra for an interview where we discuss his life and how it has led him to being our champion in the statehouse! Assemblymember Kalra is the author of AB 1400, which is the latest policy bill for a single-payer health system in the great state of California 😆

I was pleasantly surprised at how much we disagree about various historical and political figures, but that's besides the point. He finally arrived at being radical, and hasn't looked back since! He is one of the lucky few that are able to be uncompromising in how his politics informs his work.

You can find him on twitter at @morallowground and his writing at Commondreams.org, as well as an archive of his work at https://brettwilkins.com