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Season 4, Episode 47

The fight for workers’ rights takes center stage in Wisconsin

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Guest Name:

Stephanie Bloomingdale

Guest Website:

https://wisaflcio.org/ 

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Stephanie Bloomingdale, President of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed being the first female president of the state federation and the fight for workers’ rights. 

Bloomingdale was raised in a union household and became hooked on organizing at an early age, which paved the way for her to work for the American Federation of Teachers to help create public policy for nurses. In this role, her main focus was to ensure Wisconsin nurses could work in a safer, more supportive environment.

After her election as the first female President of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, she was confronted with an anti-union legislative agenda pushed by then Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Despite a reputation as a tough negotiator, Bloomingdale could not prevent Wisconsin from becoming a So-Called “Right to Work” state. After Walker’s failed re-election bid in 2018, she worked with Gov. Tony Evers and members of the legislature to overturn many of Walker’s anti-worker and anti-union policies, but admitted there is more to do in the fight for workers’ rights.

Bloomingdale then shared her hopes for the future of organized labor, and explained the importance of educating the public about labor and the issues important to it. She sees the current organizing push led by the younger generation, and  expects more of them, as they fight for better wages and more rights in the workplace. Bloomingdale also believes the public needs to be educated about organizing and the possible labor-busting techniques they might encounter at work.

Listen to the entire episode to learn more.

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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