John Ketwig, author of Vietnam Reconsidered: The War, the Times, and Why They Matter spoke with America’s Work Force on Aug. 28 about his book.
Ketwig, who served in Vietnam recounts the horrors that he and his fellow service members experienced during their time in Vietnam during the war. He talked about how he and his comrades saw and experienced such horrific acts and the post-traumatic stress that they brought back home with them after the war. Ketwig mentioned that the people who went and fought in the Vietnam War all came home changed people, and how they were expected to go back to their previous lives as if they had not just been to hell and back.
Ketwig also talked about auditing the Pentagon and how the last time the Pentagon was audited, it was a disastrous failure. He said that there was an incredible amount of fraud, needless spending, and many things unaccounted for. Lastly, he talked about the Pentagon holding statistics about veteran suicide rates and how they are soon going to stop allowing them to be public to prevent people from seeing them and potentially not wanting to join the military.
Mike Walden, president of the National United Committee to Protect Pensions spoke to AWF on Aug. 28 to discuss the Butch-Lewis Act, House Resolution 397. He also talked about Virginia Foxx and her dislike of multi-employer pension plans, and her anti-union views.
AWF host Ed “Flash” Ferenc spoke about Uber drivers in California going on strike until the misclassification of the drivers as independent contractors rather than employees gets resolved.
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.
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.
Daniel Van Hoogstraten, communication director of For Our Future Ohio also spoke to America’s Work Force on Thursday, July 25. Van Hoogstraten talked about their organizations progressive values, such as economic prosperity for all and building stronger public schools. He also talked about broken promises and how the public needs to stay on top of their government officials and keep them accountable for their words and actions. He stresses that if public figures say they will try to make changes, people need to keep the pressure on them about it or they will never see changes in their communities.
Tate, retired steward and security coordinator, worked in Defense Finance & Accounting Service (DFAS) first spoke about her job with DFAS, which involved auditing navy ships, and the 700 active members of AFGE local 3283. Douglas, who works for the military pay department with DFAS, described what her job entails. After providing backgrounds on their jobs, Tate and Douglas spoke about the extensive background checks that are done on new hires and people who apply to work within the government. They said that while doing a background check, there is a list of 13 things to look out for, and they will go as far as checking for a person’s credit score to make sure they will be a responsible employee. Tate and Douglas said that to gain access to higher clearance areas, the person’s background check will need to be perfect.
Dan Duncan, executive secretary-treasurer for the Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO, spoke with AWF about the Jones Act and how its been helping create more jobs in the United States. He also discussed how President Trump was a supporter of the Jones Act, but was influenced heavily by his party members and ended up waving the act. Duncan said that members of congress need to keep an active voice on this act to ensure that it stays around because it is good for the American workers.
Tri-C Automotive Technician Program Director Kitty McCarthy came on AWF to discuss how GM pays for their apprentices to receive an automotive technician education. Called the General Motors Dealer Technician Apprenticeship, students learn the most up-to-date information in order to learn how to work as an automotive technician in the ever changing auto industry. The need for highly qualified technicians is increasing as vehicles are becoming increasingly complex, especially as manufacturers continue to push electric engines. In order to meet the demand for certified GM technicians at their dealerships, GM has stepped up to the plate. Once the technicians complete the GM Dealer Technicians Apprenticeship, they will be eligible for a job as an automotive technician with GM.
Ohio Federation of Teachers President Melissa Cropper joined America’s Work Force Radio and talked about a failed loan forgiveness program for public service workers. According to Cropper, there is a loan forgiveness program that forgives student loan debt after 10 years of public sector service. Lately, loan officers are claiming people in the program, who were eligible for to have their loans forgiven, filled out their forms incorrectly and these companies are now unwilling to forgive the loans. Ultimately, these loan officers tell these individuals their loans were not forgiven and if they fill out their forms correctly this time, their loan will be forgiven in an additional 10 years.
Tinkham provided a recap on what Ohio House Bill 6 is and what he believes is good and bad about the bill. During his recap, he reminded listeners that it involved First Energy Solutions, who had filed for bankruptcy because of the poor business decisions that they had made and lobbied for consumer funded subsidies to help them back on their feet. Tinkham said that H.B. 6 turned into a bailout for First Energy Solutions because Ohioans, even if they don’t use First Energy Solutions, will pay to assist the power plants under this new bill. He discussed the good and bad parts of this bill, that affects consumers. Lastly, Tinkham talked about robocalls and how to avoid being scammed over the phone.
Tony Liberatore Jr., business manager of Laborers Local 860 spoke with AWF on July 8 to talk about construction on Ohio’s freeways during the summer. Drivers should proceed with caution, and move over in the furthest lane from construction zones in order to ensure the safety of not only yourself, but also the construction workers onsite. Finally, Liberatore talked about the newly implemented gas tax in Ohio and what the long term plan is.
Dr. William Pinsky, president of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates, also known as ECFMG, began his segment on America’s Work Force by talking about what the ECFMG does and how they work to help solve the physician shortage in the U.S. Dr. Pinsky said that his company brings in people who passed their medical exams in different countries, puts them through an extensive vetting process, and then have them take the U.S. medical exam and get certified in the U.S. One of the benefits of this instead of finding recent medical school graduates is that the people who are put through the vetting process already have experience in the field and will be ready to work once they receive their medical license in the states. Dr. Beatriz Wills from Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore spoke about the environment of the medical field and her field of study.
Dr. Peter Cole, writer for In These Times Magazine and professor of history at Western Illinois University in Chicago talked about the formation of unions in California. He talked about the International Longshore and Warehouse Union formation and why maritime workers need different unions to represent their different voices and needs. Lastly, Dr. Cole spoke about how unions fought racism back in the early 1900’s in California.
On the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, Gorn remembers the brave soldiers who were part of the most significant event to help turn the tide in the Allies’ favor during World War II. Gorn believes that the younger generation is less aware of the events that happened on D-Day because of the rise in focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) study over history. Gorn also talked about students studying D-Day at the beaches of Normandy, and learning about the “silent heroes” who did not return home from that invasion.
Jim Porcaro, partner at Schwarzwald, McNair and Fusco LLP spoke with AWF about union-side lawyers and what they do to protect worker rights. He also discussed the most recent Supreme Court ruling with the Fair Labor Standards Act and employer status.
Sam Kleiner, author of The Flying Tigers: The Untold Story of the American Pilots Who Waged a Secret War Against Japan, gave an overview about what his book was about. On the 75th anniversary of D-Day, he also gives homage to his grandfather who was a B-25 navigator during WWII.
Sen. Brown spoke about labor laws being taken away and how they will directly hurt workers by taking away their whistleblower protections. He said that workers who were fired for filing claims against their companies regarding their rights will no longer be protected and that it completely strips away one of the most necessary protections that they are entitled to. Sen. Brown also talked about pharmaceutical prices and how they are still skyrocketing, crippling people financially who desperately need their medications. Lastly, he discussed manufacturing camps for children, where children are able to go visit certain manufacturing plants and find out what they are all about, how it is a viable career, the endless career possibilities that come with it and more.
AWF host Ed “Flash” Ferenc discussed the updates from the United Steelworkers. Leo Gerard, international president of the USW, announced his retirement in 2019 after 18 years as head of the union. Gerard will be succeeded by Tom Conway, international vice president of the USW. Ferenc said that over the course of his career, Gerard time and time again stood up and advocated for worker rights and social justice, among other great things. He also spoke about the American Medical Association speaking out against the single payer healthcare model.