America’s Work Force Union Podcast

Frank Mathews says labor does not want an unlevel playing field, because a field tilted one way eventually swings back.

On today's episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, Mathews, administrative director of CWA District 4, discusses what he says labor-friendly wins in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin mean for the next two years, how CWA reached each member nine times, what broken supermajorities and new trifectas mean for state governments and what he expects labor to push in affordability, healthcare and Buy American measures. He also remembers Barbara Easterling, the longtime CWA leader who he says broke glass ceilings.

Visit cwad4.org for more.

One mother showed up to a signing day in tears, Isaiah Zemke says, not wanting to believe the wages and benefits her child was being offered were real.

On today's Trades Day episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, Zemke, business manager and financial secretary-treasurer of SMART Local 49, describes his path from non-union sheet metal shops to union leadership, the data center and federal work behind about 300 new members, the new apprenticeship training center in Lubbock, Texas, and the programs that bring high school students into the trade.

Visit smwlu49.org for more.

Two conversations about helping workers get ahead: one on how a Northeast Ohio agency places job seekers and honors everyday union workers, and one on how to choose a health plan during Open Season.

United Labor Agency Executive Director Dave Megenhardt says the agency placed more than 2,000 people in Cuyahoga County in 2025 at an average wage of $25.88, and that people who went through training averaged $26.76 an hour, the highest for the agency. He explains why the annual Unsung Heroes of the Labor Movement dinner shifted from honoring labor leaders to honoring everyday union workers nominated by their coworkers and shares the stories of honorees Tyrone Jester and Kimberly Nemeth.

Then, David Yoder, senior vice president of the Federal Employee Program at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, offers guidance for federal and postal workers and eligible uniformed service families as Open Season runs through Dec. 14. He says to assess health needs for the next 12 to 18 months, points to FEP’s pharmacy benefit and its plan, doctor and prescription tools, describes the role of postal unions and the dental and vision options for uniformed service families, and urges people to compare total yearly cost rather than premium alone. His segment is part of AWF’s partnership with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield National Labor Office.

Visit ulagency.org for more from the United Labor Agency and fepblue.org for more from the Federal Employee Program.

Two conversations about workers coming together: one on what AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond says organized labor proved in Tuesday’s election and one on hospice nurses who say they won a voice by organizing.

On First Friday with Fred, the monthly segment held on the first Friday of each month, Redmond says the enthusiasm of organized labor was the highest he has seen and that working people across party lines asked for a different direction. He discusses Sherrod Brown’s return to the Senate, union candidates up and down the ballot, labor’s boots-on-the-ground advantage and an election protection effort that he says fell short of its 50,000 goal but put more than 30,000 people in the field. He also says the AFL-CIO executive council was setting its lame duck priorities, including a major concern about Affordable Care Act healthcare cuts.

Then, Allina Health hospice nurse and case manager Susie Smerz discusses the first contract won by hospice nurses with SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa. She says the effort was never about wages and that the contract includes protections around weekend work, pay for time over FTE and a new mileage reimbursement setting, though not holiday pay. She describes how nurses who work alone across the Twin Cities area organized, a unanimous ratification vote and the union’s work with the Attorney General’s office on a community benefits agreement tied to the Sutter Health acquisition.

Visit aflcio.org for more from the AFL-CIO and seiuhealthcaremn.org for more from SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa.

Dorsey Hager says it is more important to keep workers on a job than to get them there, and he hopes Intel and Bechtel roll straight from the first two fabs into fabs three and four.

On today's Trades Day episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, Hager, executive secretary-treasurer of the Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, discusses Bayer's planned New Albany plant, the pipeline of work beyond data centers, the Tradeswomen Build Nations conference headed to Columbus in 2028 and his reaction to Tuesday's results in Ohio, including Iron Worker Local 17 member Brian Poindexter, Amy Acton, Sherrod Brown and Columbus Issues 8 and 9.

Visit columbusconstruction.org for more.

Fires can double in size every 30 to 60 seconds, and a room can flash over in about three to five minutes, according to William Sylvia, a New Bedford firefighter of 20 years. He says that is why closing a fire company and sending fewer members to a call puts residents and firefighters at risk.

On today's episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, Sylvia, president of IAFF Local 841 New Bedford Firefighters, discusses the fight to keep Engine 9 open after the city moved from a projected surplus to a $32 million deficit. He explains how the city council, a state senator and the governor responded, why the Local filed an unfair labor practice charge, what he says happened when engines were blacked out in 2019 and why he says the contract minimum of four members per apparatus matters.

At one training center event, bricklayers had kids building a brick wall, ironworkers set up a beam to walk on, operating engineers brought a digger that the kids ran by remote control, and the Teamsters brought trucks.

On today's Trades Day episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, Trails to Trades Executive Director Matt Kosara discusses how the organization connects local trade unions with Scouting America and Girl Scouts, from a plumbing merit badge day in Chicago to virtual reality crane training at Operating Engineers Local 137. He explains how Locals can get involved without a big commitment, why he wants programs to be open to any young person, and why he thinks tradespeople will be needed as AI worries grow.

Visit trailstotrades.org for more.

Californians vote Nov. 3 on Proposition 45, and the building trades in Los Angeles and Orange counties are urging a no vote. Executive Secretary Ernesto Medrano says the measure excludes the trades and local residents from the conversation about what gets built in their communities.

On today's episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, Medrano discusses 40 years in the labor movement, from casual convention center Teamster to the United Farm Workers boycott of Red Coach lettuce, the Machinists and the building trades. He explains how project labor agreements grew in conservative Orange County, why veterans go first in local hiring, and how the council's apprenticeship readiness program is reaching young people who are facing college debt and the threat of AI.

Visit laocbuildingtrades.org for more.

She started at a hazardous waste disposal plant in El Dorado, Arkansas, where the workers know which chemicals can be stored together, which can be incinerated at the same time and how to handle both safely. Today Charleeka Thompson directs the United Steelworkers NextGen Department, the union's effort to bring new and young members into the movement.

On today's episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, Thompson discusses her path from a union-represented plant to the Rapid Response Department in Pittsburgh and then to NextGen, why the committee became mandatory for every USW Local in 2025, how a Canadian Local used a Dungeons & Dragons-themed event to teach collective bargaining and why she is taking the 2027 NextGen conference to Little Rock, Arkansas. She also explains how seasoned activists and new members build the union's bench together, and why young workers in the South are ready for unions once workplaces are organized.

Visit usw.org for more.

Ask 100 parents how to get into college, and they can fill a blackboard. Ask how to get into the Insulators Union, and you get silence. That information gap is the single biggest barrier keeping qualified young people from union apprenticeships that pay $80,000 to $100,000 three to five years after high school, with no student debt. And now Trades Futures and NABTU have built an AI tool to close it.

On today's Trades Day episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, NABTU Director of Research and Education Dr. Tom Kriger discusses the Multi-Craft Core Curriculum boot camp, the growth of Trades Futures from 10 programs to the largest pre-apprenticeship program in any American industry serving 7,500 students annually, the applied math gap sending candidates into the trades unprepared and the new Jobs Machine agentic AI tool built with Microsoft Elevate to answer the questions parents and students most need answered about getting into a union apprenticeship.

Visit nabtu.org and tradesfutures.org for more.