Listen: Strikes Updated; Shutdown Averted, And More!
It’s been a harsh roller-coast ride for thousands of federal workers subjected to one government shutdown drama after another. Photo courtesy of AFGE
By Bob Hennelly
In part I of this week’s episode of the Stuck Nation Labor Radio Hour, we look at the 18th day of the United Auto Workers strike against the Big Three auto giants. The UAW has just reached a tentative contract deal with Mack Trucks avoiding a work stoppage at that iconic brand that’s now owned by Volvo. Talks were also scheduled to resume between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The 160,000-member actor’s union has been out since July 14. The Writers Guild reached a tentative contract deal last week, which ended their five-month strike. Rank and file union members will be voting on the 94-page contract this week.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), leading pro-labor progressive voice in Congress, meanwhile, offers a firsthand account of the weekend’s high stakes drama which saw the House Democratic Caucus provide the votes required to keep the federal government open.
Khanna stays with us for an update from Judy Danella, president of the United Steelworkers Nurses Local 4-200 on her union’s strike for safer staffing at New Brunswick New Jersey’s Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Khanna also talks with Marianne Pizzitola, the president of the New York City Organization of Public Service Retirees, about his legislation to stop the privatization of Medicare through predatory for-profit Medicare Advantage. Pizzitola also updates listeners about her group’s successful court battle to permanently prevent Mayor Eric Adams from forcing 250,000 off of Medicare and onto Aetna Medicare Advantage. NYCOPSR is also hoping to win City Council passage of Intro. 1099, which would protect retired civil servants’ access to Medicare.
In part II of the show, we speak with Dr. Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, the nation’s largest federal union representing 750,000 federal employees and Washington D.C.’s municipal workers. Kelley discusses the roller coaster rides of government shutdowns and debt ceiling drama and how they impact federal workers. Kelley notes that many of his members are like the 60 percent of America’s working families that get by week to week.
Kelley also describes the devastating impact COVID had on his members, and his efforts to reach out to the families of the 600 AFGE members who lost their lives serving the public in a variety of frontline agencies.
“It’s something I don’t wish for anyone because we know that person is not coming back and that person gave their life, right — for their job —knowing the hazard and in many cases, they were not protected at all,” Kelley says. “It was very difficult [to get information].” We had to fight. We had to expose [this information]. We had to do all kinds of things just to get information. And to be honest with you, we really don’t know the real amount. There’s so much we don’t know. It really varies by agency.”