News & Public Affairs
"Abolish Class Society" is May Day message in St. Pete from Overpass Light Brigade listen
05/01/13 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: May Day, International Workers' Day, Overpass Light Brigade, labor, unions
Wednesday is International Workers’ Day. A small group of protesters displayed a lighted message over I-275 near 22nd Avenue North in St. Pete saying “Abolish Class Society” in honor of what’s also known as May Day.
“It’s a celebration of the working class and the struggle for the abolition of class distinction.”
That’s Occupy Tampa’s Jake Vigness. May Day is celebrated in 80 countries worldwide as part of an international labor movement. But the Unit...
1 commentsLabor groups warn against changes to Florida's pension program listen
02/14/13 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: labor, pensions, retirement, 401k, defined benefit, Florida Retirement Security Coalition, state workers, unions
Proposed legislation in the Florida House would force new state employees hired after 2014 to use a 401k-style retirement fund instead of the current pension program. During a conference call Wednesday, critics of the measure said the change would hurt public employees. Diane Oakley, executive director for the National Institute on Retirement Security said seniors enrolled in the type of retirement program being proposed are nine times more likely to live in poverty during their final years...
1 commentsSanta takes on Wal-Mart labor issues: VIDEO listen
11/26/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Wal-Mart, labor, wages, benefits, workers rights, unions, Black Friday
Groups from across the country protested Wal-Mart over the weekend as a show of solidarity with striking workers. Activists from the Tampa Bay area took their action to Pinellas Park on Friday at one of the big box retailer’s busiest stores. One man, Tyler Mitchell dressed as Santa Clause and stood in front of the store’s main entrance asking shoppers to stand in solidarity with Wal-Mart employees, but was quickly asked to leave the property.
Mitchell joined a larger protesting on the sid...
Be the first to commentRepublican convention protests accelerate this weekend in Tampa Bay listen
08/24/12 Josh HoltonWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: RNC, protest, occupy, Tampa, Republican National Convention, Occupy Tampa, Food Not Bombs, unions
Thousands of protesters, activists, and political groups are traveling to Tampa to protest this year's Republican National Convention.
Occupy Tampa and Occupy Wall Street will be joining with a wide range of activist organizations in protesting the RNC. Nathan Pim is a member of Food Not Bombs, which plans to feed protesters during the convention. Pim and other Food Not Bombs activists began joining forces with Occupy Tampa at their encampment at Voice of Freedom Park on Wednesday. "A lo...
1 commentsUnion leaders for one fifth of Hillsborough County employees negotiate rights for workers listen
12/29/11 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: AFSCME, Hillsborough County, labor, unions
Union leaders for many Hillsborough County employees want to change the process by which employees are disciplined. Negotiations on behalf of those employees continued with county management this morning.
One fifth of Hillsborough County employees are represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME. Union leaders want to include language in the employment contract that would clari...
Be the first to commentOccupy Tampa marches in solidarity with labor unions listen
11/18/11 Josh HoltonWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Occupy Tampa, labor, unions, jobs
For the first time, organized labor and the Occupy movement joined forces yesterday for a demonstration in downtown Tampa. Their central demand was that Congress pass the President’s Jobs Act. They used the construction at the Platt Street Bridge as a backdrop and an example of the kind of federal spending that will put people back to work.
About 40 union members and advocates ...
Be the first to commentAFSCME Local 167 union is in contract negotiations with Hillsborough County listen
10/17/11 Atecia RobinsonWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: AFSCME, American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Hector Ramos, contracts, Hillsborough County Commission, Helene Marks, Lucia Garsys, labor, unions
A local public employees union is negotiating for a new two-year contract with the Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners. On Friday, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees or AFSCME negotiations.
Hector Ramos is the Regional Director of AFSCME’s Local 167 union. He said some of their concerns are about wage increases and overtime.
Ramos said AFSCME needs workers to be treated fairly even...
1 commentsHART passes $100 million budget for FY2012 listen
09/27/11 Josh HoltonWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: HART, budget, millage rate, transit, Transportation, buses, bus rapid transit, unions, collective bargaining
Yesterday the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, or HART, approved a 100 million dollar budget for the next fiscal year. Members of the transit union gave up on demands for a wage increase, as well as a separate step increase. The Board also voted unanimously to raise the millage rate slightly to half a mil.
The HART Board of Directors has been torn between maintai...
Be the first to commentHillsborough County approves nearly $3 billion budget listen
09/23/11 Alessandra Da PraWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: unions, Hillsborough County Commission
Last night, Hillsborough County commissioners approved a nearly $3 billion budget for next fiscal year. Union members at the public hearing in downtown Tampa say the budget undermines county workers.
Union members from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees wore green T-shirts and protested the budget that includes a nearly $50 million cut to operations...
Be the first to commentHillsborough workers protest administrator's budget plan to privatize public jobs listen
09/15/11 Josh HoltonRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Thursday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: budget cuts, layoffs, unions, Hillsborough County, County Budget, parks and recreation, public workers, Mike Merrill, Mark Sharpe, Les Miller, Victor Crist
Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation calls itself the “Heart of Hillsborough,” but they were at the heart of proposed budget cuts last night. The Board of County Commissioners unanimously moved the budget for next fiscal year onto a final hearing. But nearly 450 county jobs may be cut and handed over to private contractors. About 75 county workers protested outside.
Union workers lined the sidewalks...
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