Amber Miller, Director of the United Steelworkers' Rapid Response Program, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the program's 30-year history, current initiatives and efforts to combat gerrymandering. Miller highlighted the program's focus on educating members about legislative issues, the upcoming "Empower Hour" campaign and the importance of fair redistricting.
The Rapid Response Program, celebrating its 30th anniversary, serves as a nonpartisan grassroots legislative communication and action program. Miller explained that the program educates members on workplace issues, including collective bargaining, health and safety, affordable healthcare and domestic economic policy. By providing information and encouraging action, the program aims to hold elected officials accountable and help members make informed decisions at the ballot box.
Miller introduced the upcoming "Empower Hour" campaign, which will launch on October 1st. This initiative involves distributing petitions to worksites and seeking signatures from members on issues crucial to Steelworkers. The campaign aims to engage membership, foster discussions on the shop floor and demonstrate to elected officials that workers are paying attention. Miller emphasized the importance of member-to-member communication and educating workers about the long-term corporate agenda affecting their lives.
Addressing gerrymandering, Miller discussed its impact on fair representation and its challenges to working people. She highlighted successful efforts in Michigan to combat gerrymandering, which led to fairer district maps and the repeal of So-Called “Right-To-Work” laws. Miller stressed the importance of nonpartisan committees in redistricting to ensure fair representation and accountability in the political process.
Listen to the full episode above to learn more about the Steelworkers' Rapid Response Program and its impact on workers' rights.
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.
