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Season 4, Episode 225

Major election wins could make 2024 even better for the labor movement

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Guest Name:

Frank Mathews

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https://cwad4.org/ 

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Administrative Director for District 4 of the Communication Workers of America, Frank Mathews, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to talk about the largest federal call center strike in America. Mathews also discussed the pro-labor success during state elections in his district and his growing concern with Congress.

The largest Federal call center strike is currently underway. Over 700 workers at the Maximus call center, a government-contracted employer that handles all the calls for the Affordable Care Act, walked out at multiple centers across the country. Workers are fighting for a better wages and better healthcare. Their current healthcare plan is worse than the options they discuss with callers daily, Mathews said. 

Mathews then spoke about the successful state elections for labor in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan – three of the five states covered by Mathews. In Indiana, one of the big wins was the Mayor of Indianapolis, Joe Hogsett, becoming the first third-term mayor in nearly four decades, Mathews said. In Ohio, there were more than 40 races featuring members of unions, and 27 of those members won their races. The show of solidarity by the labor movement at election time was incredible to witness, and Mathews discussed what this could mean for elections in 2024.

There is a lot of uncertainty around the current situation in Congress. Many in the labor movement are keeping a close eye on the games being played in trying to get the funding continuances approved to prevent a government shutdown, Mathews said. He hopes the pressure from the American people will help push Congress to come to agreements on the continuances at the very least. 

To hear more on Mathews’ conversation with Flash, please press play above.

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, American Alliance for Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 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, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North America, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, Survey and Ballot Systems, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

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