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Season 4, Episode 42

April Lott: Keep up the fight, do not get weary in well-doing

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Guest Name:


April Lott

Guest Website:


https://scaflcio.org/about-us 

Guest Social Media:


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April Lott, Vice President of the South Carolina AFL-CIO and President of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3627, joined America’s Work Force Union Podcast.

AFGE Local 3627 has around 400 active members but nearly 1,500 bargaining unit employees from the eight states that make up the Southeast Region of the Social Security Administration Hearing Office. 

Lott spoke of the uphill battle she faces, not just from the anti-labor rhetoric but also as a black female in a union in South Carolina, the state with the lowest labor density. Facing the daily doubt of being a black female in a union has been a struggle, according to Lott, yet she believes this doubt has strengthened her resolve. She added that it does make things more difficult when the state’s former governor has spoken out against organized labor.

Despite the negatives, Lott mentioned her excitement to work with a younger generation that wants to organize. For the first time since she began organizing, Lott is seeing a younger generation that is active and interested in joining a union. Lott hopes this push will lead to increases and growth in organized labor across the region. Industries like fast food restaurants, hotels and other service workers are a part of a newer target for union organizing in South Carolina, according to Lott.

Listen to the episode to hear more of April Lott’s story and organizing efforts in South Carolina.


America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

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