Former Ohio State Senator and founder of We Are Somebody, Nina Turner, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss her new pro-labor organization fighting for workers' rights and protections.
We Are Somebody is dedicated to supplementing union strike funds nationwide and driving private financial support directly to workers in need. The organization works with both union and non-union workers to help them fight for improved working conditions. To help both groups of workers, the organization has put together a $500,000 fund to help provide the funding needed to battle with employers. Turner believes that all working-class people deserve the opportunity to work themselves into the middle class.
Much of the work that Turner wants to do, was inspired by the issues that presented during the nearly two-year strike at Warrior Met in Alabama—witnessing the employers being able to wait out the workers and force them back to work without their demands being met. Turner hopes that We Are Somebody is a tool that can empower workers and ensure all workers can unionize, no matter how hard the fight might be. Not only will they be able to support striking workers, but Turner said that the organization will be working with lawmakers to create pro-labor bills.
Turner also talked about the two-sided fight underway in the labor movement — in the government and in “the streets.” Not only does Turner believe that getting the right people elected is important, but ensuring the ongoing labor fight occurs publicly on a street level of organizing and recruitment. Turner hopes the organization can work with more politically focused labor groups to fight on both fronts and make a lasting impact.
For more from Turner, please press play on the episode above.