Unfortunately, we live in a society where those in power are often white men. This is nothing new, and certainly part of our Wisconsin history. During the late 19th and early 20th Century, the Fox River Valley in Eastern Wisconsin was a segregated town essentially built for and by white men of means. Irish and […]
Work and Workers in the Age of COVID
Facing another COVID case surge in the U.S. and with the presidential election just around the corner, today we do a worker check-in with Stephanie Luce, professor at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. Over the course of the hour, she and Patty cover topics like COVID’s ongoing impact on workers, the changing […]
Coerced Labor in America Today
The pandemic and attendant economic crisis have laid bare the enormous power imbalances in contemporary American work life. Today, we speak with sociologist Erin Hatton about her new book Coerced, in which she looks at four distinct groups of workers—from prisoners and welfare workers to graduate students and college athletes—who are not often recognized as […]
Uncovering Unsafe Working Conditions in Amazon Warehouses
The team at Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting made headlines last month with their findings from a year-long investigation into unsafe working conditions at Amazon warehouses. In this episode, we talk to data reporter Melissa Lewis to get a fuller picture of Amazon’s labor practices, including the effects of robots in the fulfillment […]
Fast-Food Strike Across the Nation
On Monday’s Labor Day edition of A Public Affair our host John Quinlan held a discussion about last week’s nationwide strike by fast food workers, and the issues underlying it.
Shut the Chamber Campaign: A State Budget without Principles
On the Wednesday morning 8 O’Clock Buzz, host Jan Miyasaki was joined by Carl Gibson of Shut the Chamber campaign. This campaign seeks to expose and hinder the corporate interests that affect public policy and specifically budgets that are tailored to those interests. The campaign will be holding an event tomorrow at the Capitol where […]
