Kris LaGrange, host of UCOMM Live podcast joined America’s Work Force on August 19 to talk about an anti-union sports entertainment business owner.
LaGrange spoke about Dave Portnoy, head of Barstool Sports, a sports and pop culture blog and entertainment outlet who had recently made a slew of anti-union comments after a pro-labor lawyer contacted his writing staff about forming a Collective Bargaining Agreement. Portnoy responded to the news of his staff being contacted by saying he hopes they try to form a union so he can crush it and anyone who reaches back out to this lawyer will be fired from Barstool Sports. Portnoy’s anti-labor comments drew the attention of lawyers and government officials alike.
LaGrange also talked about a man who was aggressively beaten for wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat and how people who opposed President Trump should not condone or partake in this activity just because they have a different political view. Lastly, he talked about President Trump’s rhetoric and how it is inciting violence, even if he is not directly calling for it, people still interpret what he says as a means to act violently on certain groups of people.
Ohio State Representative, Tom Patton (D-OH) spoke with AWF on August 19 about Ohio’s state budget, which was passed earlier in the month. He said that because of the state budget, income tax for those earning $20,000 or less a year were eliminated and income tax on others was reduced down to four percent. Patton also discussed the possibility of sports betting becoming legal in Ohio. Lastly, he talked about energy bills in Ohio and which type of power is most efficient for the taxes being paid on it.
AWF host Ed “Flash” Ferenc spoke about the American Federation of Government Employees suing President Trump and the White House over freedom of speech.
Seavey first gave an overview of the September edition of the American Legion Magazine, discussing some stories that will be featured. One of the stories honors the most recent Medal of Honor Recipient, David Bellavia, who served during the War on Terror in Iraq. Staff Sergeant Bellavia earned the Medal of Honor by risking his life above and beyond his call of duty by rescuing his trapped platoon from a house that was under heavy fire from enemy insurgents. Staff Sergeant Bellavia’s great display of courage and selflessness helped save the lives of many members of his platoon.
Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans joined AWF on August 16 to talk about prescription drugs. He discussed a policy being put into place to control the price of prescription drugs in order to make them more affordable for people who need them the most. Fiesta stressed how the United States needs to make them more affordable and compared U.S. drug prices to Canada. He said that in Canada, insulin is one tenth the cost that it is in the U.S. and something needs to be done to regulate other prescription drug prices.
Ryan talked about paid family leave and how it is necessary in order to maintain the health of the baby, and the worker. He said that a lot of people who do not receive paid family leave, or enough of it, are less inclined to take time off to care for themselves and their baby, which has in turn been affecting their health. Ryan mentioned that some businesses do provide enough paid family leave, however, lower wage workers are not likely to be granted as much paid leave, if any. Lastly, he stated that there is some legislation being written to fight for enough family leave across all sectors of work so that families are able to properly support themselves while taking family leave.
Leonardo DiCosimo, president of the American Federation of Musicians Local 4 in Cleveland, Ohio spoke with AWF on August 15 about an upcoming Labor Day festival. He talked about the North Shore Cleveland AFL-CIO hosting a Labor Day party at James Day Park in Parma. DiCosimo also spoke about Cleveland’s vast amount of professional musicians and recent projects that they have been involved in.
Honkala first spoke about UPS airport facility workers and the poor conditions they have been working in. Currently, they have been working in poor conditions such as extreme heat, while receiving low wages. Richard Hooker with Teamsters 623 joined Honkala during her segment and stating that workers at this UPS facility are unlikely to see any improvement in their wages, even when they become full-time workers. He said that it took some workers nearly four years to see wage increases.
Matt Jaworski, contributing writer for the Labor Citizen talked about what to expect in the upcoming edition. He discussed Industry Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs) and how the guidelines for the standard apprenticeship programs are being stripped. Lastly, Jaworski talked about Amazon opening up a new warehouse in Akron, Ohio and all of the construction jobs that will be created because of it.
Mathews began his time on AWF by explaining to listeners what the For The People Act is and why it helps protect people. He said that the act helps protect voting rights, keeps money in the appropriate places in politics, prevents redistricting, and keeps government officials accountable. Mathews then talked about the AT&T tax scam and how the company turned their backs on the employees. AT&T was supposed to create jobs with the profits they made after receiving a tax break, but instead of creating jobs, they cut thousands of them or offshored them. He also talked about corporate stock buybacks and how it is hurting employees and only helping CEOs.
Dave Wondolowski, Executive Secretary of the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council spoke to AWF on August 13 about the Industry Recognized Apprenticeship Program (IRAP). He said that the Department of Labor is using Standard Recognition Entities (SREs), yet Wondolowski doesn’t think SREs are the best method for deciding if an apprenticeship program is up to standard. He said that there is no requirement to pay progressive wages, no equal employment opportunities, no safety requirements, and more things that go against what makes a union apprenticeship program stand out above others.
Tinkham first provided updates on the recently passed Ohio House BIll 6. He said that First Energy Solutions needed the bailout because they went bankrupt after making bad business decisions and HB 6 would save them. Tinkham said that it would cost around $15 billion to deregulate the power plants with the new energy efficiency bill that was proposed. He then discussed how to not only handle door-to-door sales people, but how to avoid being scammed. He mentioned how not all door-to-door sales are scammers, but people are scammed frequently by them. Tinkham told listeners that if they do answer the door, ask about their company as well as a company identification card. You can use this card to call their company and verify who they are. It is critical to not offer any of your personal banking or social security information and do not get pressured into paying for something right there on the spot. Notice the red flags, and act accordingly to the situation at hand.
Nichole McCarthy, recruiting coordinator with International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6 spoke with AWF on August 12 about their apprenticeship program. She said that the program takes four years of on-the-job training with supplemental classroom instruction. McCarthy also talked about the benefits of an apprenticeship and that construction jobs are made for anyone who is willing to learn new skills.
Cullen discussed President Trump and his inability to appropriately react to any news or press that he does not like or feels is against him. He talked about how instead of addressing, or accepting when someone has something negative to say about him or his actions, President Trump redirects comments and criticisms and blames or attacks other people for unrelated issues. With the increase of major tragedies occurring in the United States and the press demanding action from the President, his deflect and distract method has become more and more used. Rather than taking reasonable action or answering questions about what to do to combat or solve these issues, the President blames someone else, or brings up a different issue to draw the negative attention away from him. Lastly, Cullen talked medicare, specifically protecting the American Care Act.
Justin Madden, owner of Justin Madden Co., LPA, discussed the perspective on two different cases during his time on AWF. First, he spoke about breach of contract on faulty construction done by non-union workers. Madden discussed the Statute of Repose and how it could be used to protect a worker’s ability to take action against their employers. The second case that Madden discussed was about a sex offender who committed his crime as a juvenille, and whether or not his charge should be exponged from his record when he turns 18 and becomes an adult.
Hoffman talked about provisions that are at stake, involving pre-existing conditions. She said that Congress could make it so that pre-existing conditions are not covered when dealing with insurance companies. Hoffman said that this could hurt millions of Americans because they could no longer be covered and no longer have help paying for medication. Furthermore, she talked about the cheaper price of prescription drugs in Canada and how the United States should adopt their prices, and even their healthcare policy. Hoffman told an unfortunate story of a man who was diabetic and with the price of insulin in the U.S., he could no longer afford it so he purchased and used a cheaper substitute for insulin, which resulted in his death a few days later. Lastly, she talked about the United States- Mexico- Canada Trade Agreement, and why Protect the Right to Organize is so important.
Caitlin Johnson, Director of Communications of Policy Matters Ohio joined AWF to talk about the increase in newspaper closures. She said that one big reason why newspapers are becoming less and less popular is because of the accessibility to news outlets via different forms of technology, such as our phones. People have all of the power to access any news source they want in the palm of their hands whenever they want, which unfortunately trumps newspapers, offering a limited amount of news to their audience. Johnson also talked about digital advertising versus print advertising.
Alvarez began his time on AWF by discussing the Blackjewel miners blocking a railroad in Kentucky in demand for their pay after their company declared bankruptcy. Since the company has declared bankruptcy, they have not paid their employees, and the employees are unable to access their 401k’s, not allowing them to file for unemployment because they are still employed by BlackJewel. Workers also cannot use their health insurance if they were to be injured while working. Alvarez talked about President Trump creating a permanent underclass by creating a system of terror. He explained this by saying that the President is pitting the different classes against each other, and having each class point fingers at each other, blaming others for different incidents that may have happened. By the President constantly finding scapegoats for tragedies, the division between classes continues to grow more and more.
Dave Megenhardt, executive director of the United Labor Agency in Cleveland joined this episode of AWF to discuss unions in Germany. He talked about the union model in Germany and why it is so successful and how much it is transforming and improving not only the work itself, but also the work conditions. Lastly, Megenhardt talked about the United Labor Agency having an open meeting where the public is welcome to listen and ask questions about unions and other union activity.
Burga first spoke about the tragic mass shootings that occurred in El Paso, TX and Dayton, OH over the last week. He said that the United States has a domestic terrorist problem and something needs to be done about it. Burga also mentioned that President Trump needs to be held accountable for the things that he says and how it might motivate people to commit these horrific actions. Later, Burga spoke about the passing of Ohio H.B. 6, more commonly known as the Nuclear Energy Bill and why he felt like the bill passing was positive. Burga stated that by preserving the power plants, 1,400 good paying union jobs were saved, and a source of clean energy in Ohio was saved. Burga then mentioned that companies in the oil and gas industry in Ohio have been putting money together to overturn the bill by means of referendum, but is hoping that does not happen.
Jesse Lee, Vice President of Communications at the Center for American Progress (CAP) joined AWF on August 6 to talk about President Trump and his broken promises. He talked about a running catalog that CAP keeps on the original promises that the President made during his campaign trail, categorized by state, and takes what he originally said and contrasts it with what he ended up actually doing. Some of these things included promises on healthcare, prescription drug prices and keeping jobs in the United States. Lastly, Lee spoke about the AT&T scandal where the corporation said that for every billion dollars in profit they made after receiving tax breaks, they would create 7,000 jobs, but ended up cutting 25,000 jobs and keeping all of their profits.