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Making Waves

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Convergence

Contributions from Jamala Rogers

Looking Back and Forward After a Year of Labor Strikes and Wins, with Carlos Jimenez

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Throughout this season of Black Work Talk, we've explored how Black workers have shown up in many of the big labor wins that happened in 2023. This season finale brings the full picture into perspective as Carlos Jimenez, head of the special projects division of the AFL-CIO, joins host Jamala Rogers to analyze the history of labor fights that got us to this moment, and how organized Black workers have shown up throughout that history. The conversation delves into the encouraging and growing trend of action we have seen in the labor movement over the past few years. They also discuss the complexities of influencing institutions while preserving personal self-interest to bring about positive changes within large organizations like the AFL-CIO.

Kaiser Workers’ Unsung Win, with Rashad Pritchett and Theresa Myles

Hosted by
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Rashaad Pritchett and Teresa Miles of SEIU United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) join hosts Bianca Cunningham and Jamala Rogers for this episode of Black Work Talk. They delve into the challenges faced by Black healthcare support workers, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rashaad and Teresa recount their experiences of being on the frontlines during the pandemic, tackling fears amongst Black workers as they struggled to perform their duties without proper PPE or safe staffing, lacking proper respect and benefits. They also discuss SEIU-UHW's monumental healthcare strike in October 2023, which saw participation from 75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers across four states.
Photo of a gray haired black woman holding a microphone

JAMALA ROGERS: What Will It Take?

By
In St. Louis, I remember vividly a community workshop put on by The Justice Institute to assess President Obama’s first 100 days. JI is a progressive organizing and training institute. It assessed Obama’s performance up to the 100 days in three areas: education, healthcare and peace. The new president received a few B’s, mostly C’s and D’s. He received no A’s – too early to be an exemplary president but he received no F’s – too early to tag him as a failure. Clearly, by the 100 days, the thrill was gone for the transformative change that Obama supporters were promised.