News & Public Affairs

Florida citizens gear up to "Awake the State" March 8th listen

02/25/11 Lisa Marzilli
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Tags: Awake the State, Progress Florida, Mark Ferrulo, Florida Watch Action, Susannah Randolph, unions, labor

The democratic uprisings we’ve witnessed in the Middle East and Africa over the past month are finally spreading to the US. Union bashing and budget slashing has unleashed outrage as citizens take to the streets of Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio and soon, Florida.

Today on the Last Call we spoke with members of two organizations who are spearheading the Awake the State call to action scheduled for March 8, the opening day of the new legislative session. Mark Fer...

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Bernie Sanders on the President's budget; prank phone calls; and the assault on civil liberties

02/24/11 Robert Lorei
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Tags: Sadequee, Peter Erlinder, civil liberties, crank call, Bernie Sanders, Obama's budget, Wisconsin, unions, labor

Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I'm Rob Lorei. We had originally intended to have one of the Haitian presidential candidates on this program. Unfortunately his plane is arriving late in Tampa so we'll hear about some other issues.

We'll hear an interview that Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders gave to the PBS Newshour on President Obama's budget proposal.

We'll hear the first half of that [crank call by a Buffalo blogger to the Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker](http://www.readersupp...

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Protests Against Wisconsin's Governor- Will They Spread To Other States?

02/18/11 Robert Lorei
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Tags: The Progressive, protests in Madison, public employee unions, unions, labor

Republicans who swept into power in state capitols this year are

beginning to usher in a new era of labor relations that could result in a large reduction in power for public employee unions.

But massive protests and legislative boycotts in Wisconsin this week have shown that the Republican efforts can be fraught with risk and unpredictable turns.

Wisconsin's governor is going for major change - an end to collective bargaining for public employees, plus additional costs to their pens...

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Factory Girls: Extended Interview

12/27/10 By Dawn Morgan Elliott
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Tags: China, labor, factories, women's issues

Leslie T. Chang is a former Wall Street Journal correspondent who lived in and wrote about China for a decade. She wrote her 2008 book, Factory Girls, to give a face to the approximately 130 million Chinese migrants who make all the stuff that fill up American stores and closets.

Two young female faces are at the heart of Chang’s story. They belong to women who willingly traded in rural village life in hopes of fruitful futures in China’s industrial meccas.

"One is named Lu Qingmin ...

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Immokalee Workers reach agreement with major tomato growers listen

11/16/10 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Publix, labor, social justice, fair wages, farm workers

Today the Coalition of Immokalee Workers scored a major victory in their fight for fair wages and improved working conditions. Gerardo Reyes, a member of the farmworkers’ group, says they have signed an agreement with the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange.

"The announcement today was between the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange. This is a really important announcement because it's basically an agreement that's the sig...

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Should Unemployment benefits Be Extended?

11/16/10 Robert Lorei
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Tags: unemployment benefits, AFL-CIO, Aaron Carmella, labor, unemployment

The Hill reports this week:

"With lawmakers set to return next week for a lame-duck session, uncertainty is looming over the continuation of emergency unemployment benefits as time is running out before the latest extension expires at the end of November.

"Congressional Democratic leaders have yet to formulate a plan how to proceed with the expiring extension with the debate on the issue expected to take center stage when lawmakers return next week.

"If lawmakers don't act by No...

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Fair Districts Florida amendments 5 and 6 seek to stop gerrymandering listen

10/21/10 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Fair Districts, redistricting, amendments, amendments 5 & 6, Corrine Brown, ACLU, NAACP, labor

Florida voters are deciding on two proposed amendments to the state Constitution that establish new rules for redistricting. Some say the current system is unfair and point to the statistics: over the last six years, only three incumbents have been defeated out of more than 420 races for the Florida Legislature. But opponents say minorities could lose seats.

If passed, Amendments 5 and 6 would establish more guidelines for the Legislature to follow when districts are realigned. They call ...

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Farmworkers and their supporters march in Tampa listen

10/18/10 Kelly Benjamin
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Tags: Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Publix, labor, social justice, fair wages, farm workers

Last Friday during rush hour, A group called Tampa Bay Fair Food organized a march from downtown Tampa to the Publix Greenwise Market in Hyde Park to protest Publix Super Market's policies regarding fair food practices and farmworker rights.

Fresh from their victory last week in reaching an agreement with Pacific Tomato Growers, one of the nation's oldest and largest tomato producers, dozens of Immokalee farmworkers traveled to Tampa on Friday to participate in a marc...

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Demonstrators march for farmworkers rights in Tampa listen

10/15/10 Kelly Benjamin & Seán Kinane
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Tags: Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Publix, labor, social justice, fair wages, farm workers

Advocates for farmworkers rights are demonstrating at this hour in downtown Tampa. WMNF's Kelly Benjamin is on the scene for this report and will bring you the full story Monday.

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Coalition of Immokalee Workers reaches agreement with Pacific Tomato Growers listen

10/13/10 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Publix, labor, social justice, fair wages, farm workers

Florida farmworkers have been working for a decade to get paid a penny more per pound when they pick tomatoes. Today their Campaign for Fair Food dream is a step closer to a universal reality. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers announced an agreement with Pacific Tomato Growers, one of the country’s largest tomato producers. They say it “sets new standards for social responsibility and accountabil...

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