What does it take to organize in the workplace?

On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about how workers try to form or join a union. Recently employees at a Target store in New York voted against joining the country's largest retail union. What does it take to win rights for workers? Join us live at 10 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. How are corporations preventing workers from forming unions? Have you tried to organize in your workplace? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Debbie Fontaine, an employee at the Rite Aid Distribution Center in Lancaster

Lila Shairo, a labor reporter with Huffington Post. She has been writing extensively on the Target employees' efforts to form a union.

David Bacon is a writer and photojournalist based in the Bay Area.

Margaret Van Ness, an overnight stocker at a Wal-Mart store in Lancaster

Click to Listen: What does it take to organize in the workplace?

How should US law hold corporations accountable for worker rights?

On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the Supreme Court's recent decision to throw out the class action suit brought against Wal-Mart by several of its female employes. The plaintiffs jointly claimed widespread sex discrimination on the job, but the Court ruled they had insufficient commonalities to be considered a "class." So, where does that leave workers who want to file class actions? Join us at 10 or send an email to feedback@yourcallradio.org. How could the law change to better protect workers? It's Your Call with Hana Baba and you.

Guests:
Arcelia Hurtado, executive director of Equal Rights Advocates

Liza Featherstone, journalist and the author of Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Worker's Rights at Wal-Mart

Click to Listen: How should US law hold corporations accountable for worker rights?

Are you in the working class?

On the next Your Call, we'll mark International Workers Day and we want to hear from you. Economic discussions mainly focus on the middle class and we spend less time talking about workers. So who is the working class in America today? Join us live at 11 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallaradio.org. Do you think of yourself as working class? In a time of economic upheaval, what do you want the world to know about your experience? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
The listeners

Click to Listen: Are you in the working class?

What is it like to work on a farm today?

On the next Your Call, we'll mark Cesar Chavez's birthday by talking about the realities facing small farmers and farmworkers in the United States. A new report based on data from the Department of Labor has found that despite decades of struggle, California's farmworkers continue to live in poverty without adequate access to education and health care. Since 1990, socio-economic factors have barely budged. So what can be done to improve the lives of farm workers? Join us at 10 or send an email to feedback@yourcallradio.org. It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Guests:
Al Rojas, farm labor activist

Guilebaldo Nunez, owner of Nunez Farms

Judith Redmond, co-owner of Full Belly Farm and secretary on the board of the Community Alliance with Family Farmers

Gerardo Reyes, farmworker and staff member of the Coalition of Imokalee Workers

Click to Listen: What is it like to work on a farm today?

What do the words of Dr. King in 1968 say to us today?

On the next Your Call, we mark the 43rd anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's death. When MLK was assassinated on April 4th, 1968, he was staking out new ground confronting poverty and economic injustice. How does King's message on the eve of his death resonate in our time of sharp economic division and popular uprisings? Watch King's final speech at yourcallradio.org, then join us at 10 or send an email to feedback@yourcallradio.org. It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:
Stacey Zwald, assistant editor of the King Papers, a project through the Stanford-based Martin Luther King Jr. Institute for Research and Education.

Jon Riley, executive director of the Napa/Solano Central Labor Council, retired captain on the Vallejo Fire Department, and former Vice President of Firefighters Local #1186.

Alvin Turner, a retired Memphis sanitation worker who took part in the historic strike of 1968 and witnessed Martin Luther King's final speech from the second row of the Mason Temple in Memphis.

Click to Listen: What do the words of Dr. King in 1968 say to us today?

Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday Media Roundtable. This week we'll continue discussing coverage of the massive protests in Wisconsin and the historic uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. We will also talk about the recent House vote to ban federal funding to Planned Parenthood. We will be joined by RH Reality's Jodi Jacobson, Aljazeera's Richard Gizbert and Milwaukee Labor Press' Dominique Paul Noth. Where did you see the best reporting this week? Join us live at 10 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:

Jodi Jacobson, Editor-in-Chief, RH Reality Check.

Richard Gizbert, the host of Listening Post on Aljazeera International

Dominique Paul Noth, The Milwaukee Labor Press

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday Media Roundtable. This week, we'll discuss coverage of President Obama's budget and the massive protests in response to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's proposal to eliminate collective bargaining for public employees. We'll also discuss the protests and media blackout in Iran. We'll be joined by McClatchy's Kevin Hall, Milwaukee Labor Press' Dominque Paul Noth and Wall Street Journal's Farnaz Fassihi joins us from Beirut. Where did you see the best reporting this week? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:

Kevin Hall, the National Economics Correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers

Farnaz Fassihi, the deputy bureau chief of Middle East and Africa for The Wall Street Journal

Dominique Paul Noth, editor of Milwaukee Labor Press

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Why is the public sector under attack?

What explains the attacks against government employees and are any of them warranted? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about public workers. In this election year, they have become political targets. A recent study found that government workers in California have better benefits than private workers, but they earn less. What else do we need to know? Join us live at 11 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. Whether you're a public or private sector worker, what do you make of the claims we're hearing about pay and pensions? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Jeffrey Keefe, Professor of Labor and Employment Relations at Rutgers University and co-author of the study, The Truth about Public Employees in California: They are Neither Overpaid nor Overcompensated

Mark Paul, senior scholar at the New America Foundation and co-author of California Crack-up: How Reform Broke the Golden State and How We Can Fix It

Ken Tray, social studies teacher at Lowell High School and political director for United Educators of San Francisco

Click to Listen: Why is the public sector under attack?

Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call it's our Friday Media Roundtable. This week, we discuss coverage of massive protests in France over the government's plans to raise the retirement age. We'll also discuss media coverage of voter suppression across the country and candidates' positions on reproductive rights. We'll be joined by RH Reality Check's Jodi Jacobson, The National Journal's Eliza Carney and The Independent's John Litchfield, who joins us from Paris. Where did you see the best reporting this week? Join us live at 11 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
John Litchfield, Paris Correspondent for The Independent

Eliza Newlin Carney, a contributing editor for National Journal, where she writes in-depth features on Congress, politics and campaign finance reform

Jodi Jacobson, Editor-in-Chief, RH Reality Check

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Are worker co-ops making a difference?

On the next Your Call, we'll continue our Agenda for a New Economy series by looking at how collectively owned businesses operate and how they are faring in today's economy. The co-op business model is gaining popularity from grocery stores to bakeries, preschools to house-cleaners. Do you work or shop at a co-op? What makes it different? Join us live at 11 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. Are co-ops one solution to our economic woes? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Dan Thomases, worker/owner of Box Dog Bikes and board member of Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives (NO BAWC)

John Kusakabe, worker/owner of Arizmendi Bakery

Hilary Abell, executive director of Women's Action to Gain Economic Security (WAGES)

Jim Hightower, keynote speaker at National Worker Cooperative Conference 2010

Click to Listen: Are worker co-ops making a difference?

What's life like as a hotel worker today?

What's it like to be a hotel worker? On the next Your Call, hotel workers will tell us what it's like to serve food, make beds, clean bathrooms, and negotiate for fair treatment, pay, and benefits. On the 30th anniversary of the 1980 hotel strike in San Francisco, hotel workers nationwide are marching for better working conditions. What are current labor practices like? What do you want to know about how hotel workers are treated before you make your next reservation? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Riddhi Mehta, research analyst with Unite Here Local 2

Aurolyn Rush, telephone operator at the Grand Hyatt Hotel

Antonio Arenas, room service worker at the Hyatt Fisherman's Wharf Hotel

Click to Listen: What's life like as a hotel worker today?

Do you know who makes your electronic gadgets?

On the next Your Call, we'll look at where our technological gadgets are made and the labor abuses that go into their manufacturing. Ten workers at the Foxconn factory in China--where Apple iPhones are assembled--have committed suicide this year. How do labor practices affect your purchasing decisions? Join us live at 11 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. Do you know where your smart phone is made? Who will be first to offer "fair trade" electronics? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Greg Fay--program coordinator with China Labor Watch
Richard Jones--Freelance journalist and photojournalist

Click to Listen: Do you know who makes your electronic gadgets?

How Does Unemployment Insurance Work?

On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about Unemployment Insurance benefits. With unemployment in California at its highest rate since 1940, lots more people are learning how the system works and where it falls short. What can we learn from the way other states and countries handle unemployment insurance?

You can join us live at 11 or email us at feedback@yourcallradio.org. If you're grappling with the current system, what do you think needs to change? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Maurice Emsellem, the National Employment Law Project's (NELP) Policy Director

Olga Pierce, a Fellow at ProPublica

Click to Listen: How Does Unemployment Insurance Work?

Your Call 071509 What have women contributed to American labor?

What have women contributed to the American labor movement? On the next Your Call, we'll look at the history of women in the labor movement. Women played an underappreciated role in many parts of this country's working history, including the building of the Bay Area's bridges. Where were women the pioneers in labor organizing? Send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org or join us live at 11 a.m. How significant is women's role in the labor movement today? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Jo Kreiter, choreographer and artistic director of Flyaway Productions

Harvey Schwartz, a labor historian at San Francisco State University

Molly Martin, retired electrician, co-founder, Tradeswomen, Inc.

Click to Listen: What have women contributed to American labor?

Your Call 050609 What gives your job meaning?

What gives your job meaning? On the next Your Call we'll speak with Paul Buhle and Harvey Pekar about their new graphic novel adaptation of Studs Terkel's Working. 35 years ago Studs published his interviews with parking lot attendants, corporate executives, newsboys, housewives, firemen and sailors about what they did all day and what it meant to them doing it. If Studs wanted to capture working life today, who would he need to talk to? Send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org or join us live at 11 am. What do you do all day? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Paul Buhle in Providence, Rhode Island
Senior lecturer at Brown University and an editor of several books of comic art, including Wobblies!, A Dangerous Woman, Students for a Democratic Society, and A People's History of American Empire.

Harvey Pekar in Cleveland, Ohio
Comic-book writer and author of the autobiographical American Splendor series, which was adapted into an Academy Award-nominated film. Pekar is also a prolific jazz and book critic.

Click to Listen: What gives your job meaning?