Pandemic's Impact on Workers: Voices from the Front Lines

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Guest Name:

Nick Juravich | Steve Striffler

Guest Website:

The Pandemic and the Working Class

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Facebook

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Nick Juravich, Associate Director, and Steve Striffler, Director, of the Labor Resource Center and editors of "The Pandemic and the Working Class: How US Labor Navigated COVID-19," joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss their book. The conversation covered the experiences of workers across industries, the resurgence of labor organizing and the ongoing challenges faced by universities.

The book presents a collection of stories from workers who faced unprecedented challenges during the pandemic. Juravich and Striffler highlighted how different sectors, from healthcare to hospitality, experienced unique struggles. They emphasized the importance of including diverse voices, including frontline workers, academics and labor organizers, to provide a comprehensive view of the pandemic's impact on the working class.

The pandemic sparked a resurgence in labor organizing, particularly among young workers. Juravich and Striffler noted how the crisis exposed employers' lack of concern for their workers' well-being, leading to increased union activity and strikes. They discussed examples such as graduate students organizing at the University of Michigan and forming independent unions at companies like Amazon and Starbucks.

Finally, Juravich and Striffler addressed the challenges facing universities, including attacks on academic freedom and budget cuts. They stressed the importance of unionization in higher education. Juravich and Striffler continued by discussing their experiences as unionized faculty at UMass Boston and what it has been like navigating these challenges.

Listen to the full episode for more from Juravich and Striffler on their book, "The Pandemic and the Working Class: How US Labor Navigated COVID-19."

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.

Pandemic's Impact on Workers: Voices from the Front Lines

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