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?

Help KALW Map Earthquake Preparedness
Text the word "KIT" to 30644 to participate in a simple survey that will automatically create a map that you can access. It only takes a couple of seconds, and will help us draw a picture of how ready our communities are, and where we can do better.

Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday Media Roundtable. This week, we'll discuss media coverage of continuing protests on Wall Street and the investigation into work conditions in the Amazon warehouse in Allentown, Pennsylvania. We'll be joined by Indypendent newspaper's Arun Gupta, Morning Call's Spencer Soper and Alternative's David Barsamain. He was recently deported from India. Join us live at 10 or send us an email to feedback@yourcallradio.org. Where did you see the best reporting this week? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:

Arun Gupta, a founding editor of The Indypendent newspaper.

David Barsamian, the founder and director of Alternative Radio, the independent weekly audio series based in Boulder, Colorado.

Spencer Soper, business reporter for the Morning Call in Allentown, PA

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

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 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

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?

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?

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 031609 Will EFCA help the economy?

Will the Employee Free Choice Act help bring the economy back to life? On the next Your Call, we'll discuss the law that would make it easier for unions to organize. The battle over the act is expected to be fierce. The Chamber of Commerce and business groups plan to spend $200 million to defeat the bill, while SEIU is spending $50 million to ensure its passage. If it passes, would you join a union? You can join us by phone or email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. Are unions one of the answers to the economic downturn? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Guests:
Chris Chafe
Executive director of Change to Win, a coalition created in 2005 of seven unions including the Teamsters, SEIU and the United Farm Workers of America

Jason Oxman in Northern Virginia
Senior Vice President for Industry Affairs at the Consumer Electronics Association, a trade association promoting growth in the consumer electronics industry

Russell Roberts in Fairfax, VA
Professor of Economics and J. Fish and Lillian F. Smith Distinguished Scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, research fellow at the Hoover Institution and the author of the blog econtalk.org, winner of the 2008 Weblog Award for Best Podcast. His latest book is The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity.

Click to Listen: Will EFCA help the economy?

Your Call 090108 Labor Resists the Big Squeeze

At a time when wages are down and factories continue to close, who is paying high wages and offering good benefits? On the Next Your Call, on Labor Day, we'll have a conversation with New York Times labor reporter Steven Greenhouse, author of The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker. Times are tough, but a handful of CEOs, including Costco's James Sinegals are taking the high road by providing workers with fair wages, health care and pension plans. What will it take to ensure other businesses to follow suit? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Guest:
Steven Greenhouse, the author of The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker

Click to Listen: Labor Resists the Big Squeeze

Your Call 050108 Where is Labor today?

Where is Labor today? On the Next Your Call, on May Day, we will have a discussion with Fernando Gapasin, co-author of the book Solidarity Divided: The Crisis in Organized Labor and a New Path toward Social Justice. The book examines the changes in U.S. manufacturing and influence of the environment on labor. How important is organized labor today? And what does it mean to you? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Fernando Gapasin, co-author of Solidarity Divided: The Crisis in Organized Labor and a New Path toward Social Justice; A new direction for labor by two of its leading activist intellectuals

Dr. Steven Pitts, a Labor Policy Specialist at Center for Labor Studies at UC Berkeley

Clarence Thomas, co-chair of International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).

Click to Listen: Where is Labor today?

Your Call 022608 What role do unions play in the election?

What role are labor unions playing in the presidential election? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the relationship between organized labor and the Democratic Party. Labor unions have faced a decline in membership in recent decades, from 50 percent of Americans in 1950 to about 12 percent today. What do labor endorsements mean for the Democrats? What do they want in return? And how do they plan to keep the candidate accountable? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Donna Gerber, Director of Government Relations for the California Nurses Association

Taylor E. Dark III, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at California State University, Los Angeles

Click to Listen: What role do unions play in the election?