Listen: America at the Crossroads—Working People Still on the Picket Line
By Bob Hennelly
It’s Nov. 4 and tomorrow is Election Day. On this episode of Pacifica’s We Decide: America at the Crossroads, we look at how Close to 75 million Americans have already voted, and voters in North Carolina and Georgia have set early voting records. In nine states, officials reported half of the voters registered had already cast their ballots.
‘MLC is Waging War on Retirees’
By Joe Maniscalco
The heads of New York City’s public sector unions are once again calling on Speaker Adrienne Adams [D-28th District] to spike efforts to safeguard the existing Medicare health insurance benefits thousands of municipal retirees and their families depend.
Election ‘24: Will it Be Fear or Faith, Scarcity or Abundance?
By Bob Hennelly
The other morning the quick drop in air temperature thanks to a near frost caused the loss of air in my tires requiring a stop by my local independently family owned gas station in Neptune, NJ.
Eric Adams’ ‘Sweet Spot’ Feels Like a Knife in the Back to NYC Retirees Fighting to Save Their Medicare
By Joe Maniscalco
New York City Mayor Eric Adams attempted some nifty ducking and diving when Work-Bites correspondent Bob Hennelly asked him pointblank on Tuesday why his administration persists in promoting Medicare Advantage.
Victory for NY Home Care Attendants! Court Annuls State’s Quashing of Wage-Theft Probe
By Steve Wishnia
A state Supreme Court judge in Albany has annulled the state Department of Labor’s decision to cancel its investigations into wage theft from home health-care aides who worked 24-hour shifts but only got paid for 13 hours.
Trump/Adams Back Channel? Next Question!
By Bob Hennelly
At this week’s regular press conference Mayor Adams refused to answer WABC-TV’s N.J. Burkett’s question about when was the last time that he had spoken to former President Trump or his team.
Listen: NJ’s Battle Over Smoke-Free Casinos; Hospitals in Peril
By Bob Hennelly
On this episode of the Stuck Nation Labor Radio Hour, we check back in with UAW Region 9 assistant director Ray Jensen about the UAW’s righteous battle to secure a smoke-free workplace for thousands of Atlantic City casino workers.
What Could Working Class New Yorkers Do with $13 Billion Every Year?
By Joe Maniscalco
As far as many working class people are concerned, New York has become an increasingly strange and cockamamie place where shuttering neighborhood hospitals, stripping retirees of their traditional Medicare coverage, forcing older women of color to work round the clock shifts as home health aides, and selling off NYCHA housing are all treated as viable economic actions—but compelling Wall Street traders to pay their taxes and help keep the whole place from completely falling apart is just crazy talk.
Kamala Harris Needs to Stand Up For Working People
By Steven Wishnia
Every Democrat running for election this year should get a tattoo on the back of their writing hand: “You’re Supposed to Be the Party of Working People.”
NYC Drivers Push for Protections Against App Company ‘Deactivation’
By Steve Wishnia
As a caravan of striking Uber and Lyft drivers neared City Hall on Oct. 23, many of their rear windshields bore “Stop Unfair Deactivations!” placards.
A bill pending in the New York City Council is intended to do just that. Intro 276, sponsored by Councilmember Shekar Krishnan (D-Queens) and 11 others, would prohibit the “wrongful deactivation” of drivers at the two “high-volume for-hire vehicle” companies.
Medicare Advantage’s Rx for Retired City & State Workers: Pain, Stress and Heartache…
By Joe Maniscalco
As terrible as former New York City Transit worker Lloyd Archer knew profit-driven Medicare Advantage health insurance would be for TWU Local 100 retirees like him, he didn’t think they’d be experiencing the level of pain they’re experiencing now.
Striking Uber, Lyft Drivers Launch NYC Caravan to Demand An End to Lockouts, Deactivation
By Steve Wishnia
Hundreds of Uber and Lyft drivers formed a massive caravan from Hudson Yards to City Hall Oct. 23, marking a one-day strike to protest the companies locking drivers out of their apps to avoid triggering an increase in the drivers’ share of fares.
Watch: New Bill to Protect NYC Retiree Healthcare is Unveiled
By Joe Maniscalco
“We are winning this Fight!”
New York City municipal retirees rallied outside City Hall on Wednesday in advance of a new bill by City Council Member Chris Marte that could finally end Mayor Eric Adams’ ongoing campaign to strip former city workers of the Medicare health insurance coverage they where promised at the start of their civil service careers.
Listen: NYC DOI Head Flags Sky-High Non-Profit CEO Pay
By Bob Hennelly
On this episode of the Stuck Nation Labor Radio Hour, we dedicate our entire show to a blockbuster report from the New York City Department of Investigation finding serious problems the with non-profit contractors overseeing the city’s homeless crisis.
Anatomy of a Decertification Drive: Confronting Kmart in the Early Aughts— Part III
By Phil Cohen
Part III – Labor Board Crisis
During the bargaining period and through September, I made countless trips to Winston-Salem, presenting a total of thirty-four witnesses, some of whom had to return with me to provide supplemental affidavits in regard to information discovered during the Board’s own investigation.
Now Playing in NYC: 13th Workers Unite! Film Festival
By Joe Maniscalco
The annual Workers Unite! Film Festival is back in New York City for its 13th season this week, presenting another rare opportunity to shift the focus away from the corporate bosses—and place it squarely on the real world struggles and triumphs of working people everywhere.
Anatomy of a Decertification Drive: Confronting Kmart in the Early Aughts—Part II
By Phil Cohen
Confronting ‘Anti’s’ in the Breakroom
We learned that anti-union leader Billy Key was planning to take vacation and visit the breakroom on all three shifts to gather signatures on decertification cards. This would be in violation of a strict company policy prohibiting non-scheduled employees (whether on vacation or off-shift) from entering the building. I discussed this with Joe Wells, Rory Ford, and the corporate attorney, all of whom assured me the rules would be enforced.
Listen: What Do Hard-Pressed Trade Unionist Think About the Upcoming Election?
By Bob Hennelly
As of this broadcast, there’s just 21 days left until the November 5, General Election. Early voting has already started in Virginia, Minnesota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Illinois. California, Indiana, New Mexico, Wyoming and Ohio all came online last week. This week, early voting gets underway in Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Washington State.
Anatomy of a Decertification Drive: Confronting Kmart in the Early Aughts
By Phil Cohen
Editor’s Note: This is Part I of Phil’s three-part saga looking back at the earlier 1990’s battle against Kmart’s decertification campaign in North Carolina.
He who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the topmost heights of heaven like a thunderbolt – Sun Tzu (The Art of War)
In 1992, Kmart opened a distribution center in Greensboro, North Carolina. Within a year, its workers had been organized by ACTWU (currently Workers United). Management refused to negotiate in good faith, resulting in a bitter three-year-long first contract fight.
Listen: 32BJ Workers Under Attack/ Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2024
By Bob Hennelly
This episode of the Stuck Nation Labor Radio Hour comes to you on Indigenous Peoples’ Day—previously known as Columbus Day—a federal holiday named for the Italian explorer who falsely claimed to have discovered America when it was already inhabited by indigenous people he violently attacked and enslaved.