Pat Gallagher, with United Steelworkers, joined America’s Work Force on Nov. 21 to discuss endorsing candidates in the next election.
Gallagher addressed an issue in the United States of people giving their support to candidates without researching others or understanding their favoring candidates position on certain issues. He talked about political focus groups that aimed to gather information on what people really want to see from candidates and what kind of action they would like to see be made. Gallagher said that the focus groups help them gather a better understanding of what people actually want and will be able to target their needs more efficiently. Ending his interview on AWF, Gallagher discussed the Democratic National Convention.
John Washington, contributing writer for the Nation magazine talked about methods the government is using that assists in separating families. There is a database that holds records of anybody who has committed a crime, no matter the size, and the government using it to target immigrants of Hispanic descent. In an extreme effort on the push of tracking down illegal immigrants, people are being tracked down and separated from their families. Washington also talked about detention centers holding children for longer than they are allowed to, making it even harder for families who are detained at the border to reunite with each other.
Siegal spoke about Timothy Faust’s new book Health Justice Now: Single Payer and What Comes Next, which covers single-payer healthcare. In his book, he talked about what needs to be done in order for a single-payer model to be successful in the United States. According to Siegal, the spending that would be needed to fund a single-payer model is already being spent in other areas, so the argument that it is not affordable for the U.S. is untrue. He said that the U.S. most certainly could afford to adapt the single-payer health care model, but it would need to be done correctly. Lastly, Siegal spoke about an HIV outbreak in Scott County, Indiana. Compounding the issue of opioid addiction plaguing the county, there is also an HIV epidemic occurring in the area because people are sharing needles that they are using to inject their drugs.
Pat Gallagher, president of the North Coast Labor Federation spoke with AWF on Sept. 19 about the United Steel Workers international executive board meeting. He said that these board meetings involve reviewing the quality of conditions at plants that their workers work at and evaluate what they are doing well and what could be done better. The purpose of these meetings is to make sure everything is up to standard and that the work accurately represents the union’s image.
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.
John Murphy, Teamsters Local 122 secretary treasurer, spoke to AWF on July 24 about House Resolution 397, or better known as the Butch-Lewis Act. He discussed saving pensions in America and what could be done to help protect multi-employer pensions. Finally, Murphy discussed the rates on loans, specifically the pros and cons from both political parties.
Crystal Bryant, director of the Cuyahoga County Office of Reentry also spoke to AWF on April 18. Bryant talked about providing resources for people who have been released from their incarceration and need help with reentry in the workforce. She also spoke about providing platforms for people who have successfully reentered the workforce to speak about the benefits of the program, in hopes that others take advantage of it as well.
Financial planner Dan DeVerna spoke with AWF on March 28 about shifting more responsibility onto people when dealing with their pension plans. He talked about workers deferring more and more of the weekly pay into their retirement plans and how age is a factor in how much you are allowed to put into it. DeVerna also discussed what would happen to the money a person had saved up after they die and who it would all go to.
