What is the working class people's history of California?

On the next Your Call, we'll rebroadcast a conversation we had with Lawrence Shoup, author of Rulers & Rebels: A People's History of Early California, 1769-1901. What is the history of California's Indians, the working poor, unions, and immigrants? He tells stories of chilling brutality and tales of solidarity and determination. What are the differences and similarities to what we're facing today? What lessons can we learn from our history? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar.

Guest
Lawrence Shoup, historian and author of Rulers & Rebels: A People's History of Early California, 1769 - 1901

Is now the time for a general strike?

On the next Your Call, we'll discuss general strikes as an activist tactic. Last Wednesday, Occupy Oakland's General Assembly voted to support a general strike of the city, to be held today. Over 96% of the protesters at the Assembly voted in favor. So what will this mean? How will it be accomplished and what is the end goal? What is the history of general strikes in the Bay Area? It's your Call with Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:
Dwight Mcelroy is a 55 year resident of the city of Oakland and 26 year employee and the chapter president of SEIU 1021, the Oakland chapter of the Service Employees International Union.

Historian Laurence H. Shoup has taught U.S. history at the university level and has been a historical consultant on California history for over 30 years. He graduated from California State University Los Angeles and received his Ph.D. from Northwestern University.


Click to Listen: Is now the time for a general strike?

How will measures C and D change S.F. pensions?

How will measures C and D change the pension system in San Francisco? On the next Your Call, we'll have a debate about two competing pension measures on the upcoming ballot. What happens in San Francisco will most likely affect what happens across the state and the country? What do you think about the existing pension and health-care package for city workers? Join us at 10 or email feedback@yourcallradio.org. Do you think the pension system needs to be reformed? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Gabriel Haaland is an organizer with SEIU 1021 and a supporter of Proposition C

Jeff Adachi is the Public Defender of San Francisco, and a candidate for Mayor. Jeff Adachi has spearheaded Proposition D.

Click to Listen: How will measures C and D change S.F. pensions?

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What makes a protest powerful?

On the next Your Call, as the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations gain momentum and organizers prepare for a nationwide day of action on the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan, we'll ask what makes a protest matter. Is it about a focused message or a broad coalition? What's the role of leadership? And how do you know when a protest has worked? Whether you're involved in the current protest movement or following it with interest, join the conversation on the next Your Call with Matt Martin and you.

Guests:

Janet Weil from Code Pink, an antiwar activist since beginning of Afghanistan War, one of the first protestors of the invasion as well as the embassy bombing shortly after September 11.

Morgan Fitzgibbons is the co-founder of the Wigg Party, a neighborhood group working to make the community that lives around San Francisco's Wiggle bicycle route a leader in the transformation to sustainability and resiilience.

Brent Schulkin, founder of the Carrotmob movement. In a Carrotmob campaign, a business agrees to take a socially-beneficial action and, in exchange, a network of consumers spends money to reward the business.

Click to Listen: What makes a protest powerful?

What's in the Pacific trade deals currently being negotiated?

On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the Trans-Pacific Free Trade Agreement talks with trade ministers from eight countries, including Vietnam and Malaysia. Manufacturing groups, unions and environmentalists are holding rallies to oppose the deal. If they go through, they'll be the largest trade deals ever signed. How are trade deals affecting job growth in the US? Join us at 10 or email feedback@yourcallradio.org. And how are overseas workers impacted? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Tim Robertson, director of the California Fair Trade Coalition

Charles Kernaghen, director of the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights

Scott Paul, the founding executive director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing

Click to Listen: What's in the Pacific trade deals being negotiated?

How are domestic workers organizing for their rights?

On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about domestic workers' labor struggles. In California, there are around 200,000 domestic workers who serve as housekeepers, nannies, and caregivers in private homes. In June, AB 889, the Household Workers Bill of Rights passed the assembly. Join us live at 10 or send us and email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. How would this bill protect undocumented domestic workers? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Ai-jen Poo, a long time organizer, founder of Domestic Workers United and director of National Domestic Workers Alliance

Grecia Lima, CA Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Campaign Director

Click to Listen: How are domestic workers organizing for their rights?

How can teachers take back the education debate?

How can teachers take back the education debate from corporate reformers and politicians? On the next Your Call, we'll talk about what's next for public education in the US. 8,000 teachers rallied for the fist time in DC last Saturday to oppose Obama's corporate reforms. Some said it was a success; others said protests don't work. What strategy do you think is needed to move public education in a healthy direction? Join us at 10 or email feedback@yourcallradio.org. What are teachers, parents, and students saying about the future of public schools? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Kristy Morrison, teacher at Galileo High School in San Francisco and organizer with Against Cuts

Kelly Clark, 5th grade teacher at Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy in San Francisco

Alan Singer, social studies educator in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Hofstra University in Long Island, New York

Click to Listen: How can teachers take back the education debate?

What is the working class people's history of California?

On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with Laurence H. Shoup, author of Rulers & Rebels: A People's History of Early California, 1769-1901. What is the history of California's Indians, the working poor, unions, and immigrants? He tells stories of chilling brutality and tales of solidarity and determination. What are the differences and similarities to what we're facing today? Join us at 10 or email feedback@yourcallradio.org. What lessons can we learn from our history? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Laurence H. Shoup, a labor historian and author of Rulers & Rebels: A People's History of Early California, 1769-1901.

Click to Listen: What is the working class people's history of California?

How can teachers take back the education debate?

How can teachers take back the education debate from corporate reformers and politicians? On the next Your Call, we'll talk about what's next for public education in the U.S. 8,000 teachers rallied for the first time in DC last Saturday to oppose Obama's corporate reforms. Some said it was a success; others said protests don't work. What strategy do you think is needed to move public education in a healthy direction? Join us at 10 or email feedback@yourcallradio.org. What are teachers, parents, and students saying about the future of public schools? It's Your Call with Hana Baba and you.

Guests:
Anthony Cody, veteran teacher in the Oakland Unified School District and organizer of the Save Our Schools March

Alan Singer, social studies educator in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Hofstra University in Long Island, New York

Kelly Clark, 5th grade teacher at Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy in San Francisco

Click to Listen: How can teachers take back the education debate?

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?

What's your definition of a "good" job today?

On the next Your Call, we'll talk about what makes a job good. With public employees and unions under attack, whole sections of the economy shrinking, and the public education system suffering, how do you define (and then get) a good job in today's world? What do you value in the workplace? Join us at 10 or send an email to feedback@yourcallradio.org. Whether it's a living wage, benefits, meaningful work in your field--what do you look for in a good job? And do you feel those jobs are within reach? It's Your Call with Holly Kernan and you.

Guests:
Sylvia Allegretto, labor economist with the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at UC Berkeley

Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC.

Click to Listen: What's your definition of a "good" job today?

Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday Media Roundtable. This week, we'll discuss coverage of California teachers' week-long protests and Detroit's mass teacher layoff. We'll also talk about media coverage of protests commemorating the Palestinian Nakba day and President Obama's speech on the Middle East. We'll be joined by Huffington Post's Simone Landon, ColorLines' Julianne Hing and IPS' Mel Frykberg joins us from Ramallah. Join us live at 10 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. Where did you see the best reporting this week? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Mel Frykberg, Inter Press Services global news agency's Ramallah correspondent

Simone Landon, Huffington Post News Editor. She also reported for the Detroit Metro Times, and the national magazine Labor Notes.

Julianne Hing, a reporter and blogger for ColorLines.com covering immigration, education and criminal justice.


Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

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?

What's the state of worker safety?

On the next Your Call, we'll mark the 100th anniversary of one of the most tragic labor disasters in American history--the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City. The deaths of 146 garment workers drastically changed labor laws and worker safety standards. It also electrified the labor movement. So how safe are our workplaces today? Join us at 10 or send an email to feedback@yourcallradio.org. How does worker safety in the US compare to regulations in factories overseas? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:
Charles Kernaghen, director of the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights (formerly known as the National Labor Committee)

Eileen Nevitt, granddaughter of one of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory workers

Dr. Larry Rose, former doctor with Cal OSHA

Click to Listen: What's the state of worker safety?

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

What's in store for the future of public education?

On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with education historian Diane Ravitch. She served as assistant secretary of education under George H.W. Bush and is the author of the bestselling The Death and Life of the Great American School System. Teachers are under attack, school budgets are being slashed, and President Obama and Republicans are moving toward a possible compromise on education reform. What would you like to see reformed? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:

Diane Ravitch, education professor at NYU and author of The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education

Click to Listen: What's in store for the future of public education?

What do unions need to do to save themselves?

On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the future of unions. Anti-union legislation is being introduced across the country and the future of organized labor is on the line. So what can unions do to change public opinion and make themselves more popular? Join us live at 10 or send an email to feedback@yourcallradio.org. What is your opinion of unions? And what can they do to convince skeptics that they're relevant? It's Your Call with me, Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:

Fernando Gapasin, co-author of Solidarity Divided: The Crisis in Organized Labor and A New Path Toward Social Justice

Peter Rachleff, professor of labor history at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota

Click to Listen: What do unions need to do to save themselves?

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