Stay ConnectedWeekly radio show from the Democratic Socialists of America in NYC, recorded live at WBAI 99.5 in Brooklyn NY, Tuesday @ 7pm EST. Listen and call-in!
Our vision for a democratic socialist future, from the minds and hearts of organizers fighting every day in NYC. Hear the latest news, analysis, and organizing experience from our members and partners and learn how to be part of a revolutionary political moment. Join the movement at socialists.nyc!
Copyright: © NYC Democratic Socialists of America
Our focus this week is on Cuba, where a 62 year blockade is being continued by President Biden. We’ll be hearing from the DSA. International Committee activists campaigning to end the blockade on a recent political win, and a from Desirée Michelle Molina, a recent Columbia University graduate who has just spent four months living in the country. Our episode starts with an update from Jeremy Cohan, co-chair of New York City DSA, about what to expect from the DSA’s National Convention in Chicago this weekend.
When workers at the JFK8 facility in Staten Island won the first union at an Amazon distribution facility on April 1, 2022, by voting to form the independent Amazon Labor Union, their stunning victory was a surprise and an inspiration. Now, a little over a year later, workers at that same facility are organizing for reform to the Amazon Labor Union, which they say has adopted a top-down structure that stifles shop floor democracy. Regular listeners of Revolutions per Minute will certainly be familiar with union reform efforts in more established unions like UAW, the Teamsters, and UFCW, but the Reform ALU movement brings a new twist to this common story by organizing within an independent union that has yet to reach a first contract for its workers. To understand this moment and what led up to it, we speak live with David-Desyrée, a worker-organizer at the JFK8 facility and a member of the Amazon Labor Union Democratic Reform Caucus.
Follow the reform efforts inside Amazon Labor Union on Twitter @ReformALU or Instagram @reform_alu.
Representing around 1.1 million workers in the US and Canada in the fields of retail, grocery, healthcare, cannabis, and more, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) is a major union with the potential to win big gains for workers. But some of its own members say the union is too top-down, lacks worker engagement and democracy, and isn't investing enough in organizing new workers in a time of increasing economic inequality and pressure on the working class. Tonight we're joined live by Enrique and Iris, two grocery worker-organizers and members of Essential Workers for Democracy, to discuss their efforts to reform their international union and "raise the floor" for workers everywhere.
Learn more about EW4D and get involved here: https://ew4d.org/
At 12:01am May 2nd, the Writers’ Guild of America launched their first nationwide strike since 2007, grinding production to a halt across the entertainment industry. The WGA represents over 11,500 writers in TV, film, radio, and online media production, and for 56 days and counting, its members have held the picket line from coast to coast, demanding fair compensation for their time and labor, greater job security, as well as firm protections against studio efforts to replace their profession with artificial intelligence. Tonight, we hear from Jono Matt, a screenwriter based in Los Angeles and a strike captain for the WGA, on their fight for a fair contract and why this public display of labor power by the writers is so critical in this incendiary moment for the working class of this country.
Although New York just became the 13th state to pass a bill designating this a sanctuary state for trans and nonbinary people and protecting gender-affirming care patients and providers, the attacks on trans youth and adults are only escalating nationwide. Media establishments like the New York Times are covering "debates" around access to gender-affirming care using bad science and faulty logic and without respecting the direct experience and analysis of trans people themselves. What are the social and political forces that are seeking to legitimize transphobia in the public sphere and restrict access to healthcare for gender non-conforming people? Join us for a panel discussion with Alex, a researcher and journalist, Quinnehtukqut, a social psychologist, and Jess, a therapist, on gender-affirming care and how Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists (TERFs) have partnered with the far-right to advance bigotry and restrict trans people's human rights.
In our latest episode, we are talking about what we can do to stand up against apartheid in Palestine. A new bill sponsored by New York State Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani aims to stop nonprofits funding illegal settlements benefiting from charitable status. Zohran joins the show, along with the Adalah Justice Project's Sumaya Awad.
You can find more information about the The Not on Our Dime bill here.
You can also read the legislation here.
Tonight we are going to talk about winning. Earlier this month the Build Public Renewables Act passed through the New York State budget - a monumental victory for the Public Power NY Coalition that has been organizing for four years to pass the bill.
No outlet has covered the fight for Public Power in New York more than Revolutions Per Minute. Since day one in 2019, we’ve had lead organizers of the campaign on the show to speak about why we need Public Power and how we were going to win it.
Tonight on this special Best of BAI fund drive show - we’ll revisit some of those interviews and hear from the organizers who won socialist climate legislation here in New York. We’ll also hear past interviews with Assemblymembers Zohran Mamdani and Sarahana Shrestha
If you’ve been listening along with us since day one, go to WBAI.org right now and make a donation to keep us on the air.
You can follow the Public Power NY Coalition on twitter @PublicPowerNY
To learn more about how the Public Power NY Coalition won the Build Public Renewables Act watch BPRA: A Win in the Fight for a Green New Deal
Two weeks ago, millions of New Yorkers were devastated and horrified to learn of the murder of Jordan Neely on the New York City subway. Neely, a young Black person and street artist experiencing homelessness, was held in a chokehold on the F train by a white man who remained unidentified for several days after the incident. In the weeks since Neely’s killing by the man identified as Long Island native Daniel Penny, the impact of this story has continued to unfold with reactions pouring in from across the city and country. While NYPD brutalized protestors and press at vigils and actions demanding justice for Jordan, Daniel Penny was allowed to turn himself in on a charge of second-degree manslaughter. On tonight's show we're live with Andrew, an organizer with NYC-DSA's Racial Justice Working Group, on how they have reacted to Jordan Neely’s murder and the socialist demands that we believe will make New York a truly safer place. We also hear from the WBAI listening audience with perspectives from the public on this story.
RSVP for NYC-DSA's Socialist Approach to Mental Health and Public Safety town hall event TONIGHT, 5/17, at bit.ly/nycdsa-townhall.
RSVP for NYC-DSA's Racial Justice Working Group Vigil and Teach-in for Jordan Neely on Saturday, May 27: https://actionnetwork.org/events/jordan-neely-deserved-better-a-vigil-teach-in
Follow the Racial Justice Working Group on Instagram or Twitter @nycdsarjwg.
The United Auto Workers emerged as a powerful force during the 1930s. Sit-down strikers challenged the capitalists of the Big Three car companies. Their willingness to take militant action unleashed a wave of unionization in the industry that could not be contained and spread to other sections of the working class. The UAW formed the bedrock of the Congress of Industrial Organizations which shifted the balance of power between capital and labor. A decade later leadership negotiated the Treaty of Detroit. An agreement that established wage increases, pensions, and health insurance. It became the foundation of labor relations in the United States. The union fought for more than bread and butter as it developed into a key backer of the civil rights movement. Various factors began to undermine the power of the UAW. Many of its most effective organizers were purged amidst the Red Scare. The Midwest experienced deindustrialization as factories were moved down South or out of the country. The Administrative Caucus led throughout this process and became increasingly corrupt. A movement for workers’ democracy in the union sprouted forth and demanded competitive elections. After securing One Member, One Vote in a referendum, Unite All Workers for Democracy successfully elected new leadership. What does this mean for the UAW and the broader movement for working class empowerment? UAW member Chris joins us to discuss this and much more.
We're crossing the Hudson River once again to speak to our socialist comrades fighting for workers’ and tenants’ rights in New Jersey. We’ll hear live from Isaac and Julia of the Right to Counsel campaign in Jersey City, now the priciest city in the nation, on their organizing to guarantee representation from an attorney for all tenants facing evictions and other housing issues. We also speak to Deepti, an undergraduate student at Rutgers University, and Sarah, a member of the grad union’s bargaining committee, on their recent and historic strike and what’s next for workers at the largest university in New Jersey.
To learn more and get involved with the Right to Counsel campaign in Jersey City, visit righttocounseljc.org.
Follow Rutgers AAUP-AFT at @ruaaup and Rutgers One Coalition at @r1coalition.
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