Belabored Podcast #150: Lessons Learned on the Picket Line

Belabored Podcast #150: Lessons Learned on the Picket Line

As education strikes continue to rock the country, we talk with two striking workers—Ian Bradley Perrin, a graduate employee at Columbia University, and Arizona teacher Noah Karvelis.

Striking teachers participate in the #RedforEd kickoff march, Phoenix, Arizona, April 26 (Gage Skidmore / Arizona Education Association)

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Education strikes continue to rock the country, from Arizona to right here in New York City, where Columbia University graduate employees struck for recognition. We spoke with Ian Bradley Perrin at Columbia, about the strike at year’s end and what next steps are for the university workers, and with Noah Karvelis, Arizona teacher and one of the founders of Arizona Educators United, about the statewide teacher strike, the national wave, and what it means for teachers’ labor. 

We also look at a ruling that might help end misclassification of workers as independent contractors, the ongoing struggles of taxi workers, the massive May Day strike in Puerto Rico, and the battle for New York’s governor’s office. For Argh, we think about the aftermath of the strike wave, and consider that maybe Marx was right. 


News

Michelle: Could These Community Groups Become Collateral Damage in Andrew Cuomo’s Fight Against Cynthia Nixon? (The Nation)

California’s top court makes it more difficult for employers to classify workers as independent contractors (LA Times)

A Taxi Driver Took His Own Life. His Family Blames Uber’s Influence. (New York Times)

In a National May Day Strike, Puerto Rican Marchers Face Down Tear Gas To Protest Privatization (In These Times)


Conversation, with Noah Karvelis and Ian Bradley Perrin

Arizona Teachers End Walkout as Governor Signs Bill Approving Raises (New York Times)

Columbia Graduate Students Walk Out Over Union Fight (New York Times)

Sarah: The Struggle to Stay Middle Class (New Republic)


Argh, I Wish I’d Written That!

Michelle: Jason Barker, Happy Birthday, Karl Marx. You Were Right! (New York Times)

Sarah: Chris BrooksWhat Should Unions Do After The Strike Wave Recedes? (New Labor Forum)


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