0:05

Hi, I'm Pete Buttah Judge, and this

0:07

is the deciding decade.

0:12

As a new president prepares to take office

0:14

in the country continues to reel from

0:16

the effects of the pandemic. Income inequality

0:19

and workers rights remain a central issue

0:21

in our country. Americans are clearly

0:23

seeking a better deal for workers. Polls

0:26

and referendum results show strong support

0:29

for measures like a higher minimum wage.

0:31

Yet traditional organized labor has seen

0:33

its membership shrink, and even union

0:35

members don't always vote for pro labor

0:38

political candidates. I think it's

0:40

a vital time to assess the future of

0:42

labor for the decade ahead and to recognize

0:44

the extraordinary organizing work going

0:46

on on the ground. I'm very much looking

0:48

forward to this conversation with two of

0:51

the most active and dynamics figures in

0:53

the labor movement today, Mary Kay Henry

0:55

and Representative Rachine Aldridge.

0:59

For a decade now, Mary Kay Henry has been

1:01

the president of sei You Service Employees

1:03

International Union, an organization made up

1:05

of two million members across key industries.

1:08

Under her leadership, SEIU has broken

1:10

new ground, helping to organize workers in

1:12

new ways and reaching out to kinds

1:14

of workers who have lacked representation

1:16

in the past. This is just part

1:19

of why she was recently named one of times

1:21

most influential people, and we are grateful

1:24

to have her today. We also have

1:26

Representative Rashin Aldridge, recently

1:28

re elected as a state representative in Missouri's

1:30

seventy eight district. In two thousands sixteen,

1:33

he was elected as committeeman of St. Louis's

1:35

fifth ward at age twenty two,

1:37

becoming the youngest elected city official in

1:39

the city's history. A leading

1:42

activist in the Fight for Fifteen and

1:44

Black Lives Matter movements, he has chaired

1:46

organizations including Young Activist United

1:49

St. Louis and Missouri Jobs with Justice,

1:51

and serves on the Ferguson Commission, created

1:54

after the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson,

1:56

Missouri in two thousand fourteen. He is a walking

1:58

example of Next January leadership on

2:01

issues that will impact all of us in the decade

2:03

and error to come. Welcome Rachine and Mary

2:05

Kay. Thanks so much for taking time to speak with us. Good

2:07

to be with you, Glad to be here, thanks for having

2:10

me. So it's an exciting time. I think

2:12

we should just begin by asking where

2:14

were you when you got the news that our president

2:16

elect had been officially called, and

2:18

what was the first thing that went through your mind? I

2:20

was getting my marching boots

2:22

on and was headed downtown San

2:25

Francisco to a rally to protect the

2:27

results and count it reballot. And

2:29

so I threw open my

2:31

window and started shouting and banging

2:33

pots along with all of my neighbors.

2:36

And then I went down

2:38

to Harry Bridges Plaza

2:40

and danced with a lot of home

2:42

care workers and nursing home workers

2:44

and fast food Fight for fifteen

2:47

leaders to celebrate a huge

2:50

step forward for our country. How nice to be

2:52

taken to their streets rejoicing, and

2:54

not just how about

2:56

you? I mean I think like most people, I was glued

2:59

to the television, uh for the last

3:01

couple of days, just was trying to figure out what had

3:03

happened. So when the uh you know, it came

3:05

down that President elect Joe Biden

3:07

was going to be the next president, I was right

3:10

in front of TV. I've seen it happen when we all

3:12

yelled. I live in a like nice little compound.

3:14

I called my friends two point out house, um.

3:17

And then after that I took the Facebook and

3:19

I was asked a couple of people how about

3:21

we take to our streets just outside our own community,

3:24

block it off and have a black party in which we did. It

3:26

was just a moment to celebrate, and take this moment

3:29

in victory to celebrate and know that the work

3:31

is continuing. But you gotta take those little

3:33

small moments to say, look, we did

3:35

it together. One of the

3:38

things I kept thinking about was the

3:40

fact that there was such sweeping

3:42

support for things like a fifteen

3:45

dollar minimum wage and a right to representation,

3:48

and yet all too often we

3:50

still see political figures who are

3:52

really against that kind

3:54

of growth still succeeding. Florida

3:57

was very striking a victory for the

3:59

movement. I think something like six voting

4:02

for that referendum for the fifteen

4:04

dollar minimum wage, and yet

4:07

that was also a state that went read on the electoral

4:09

map. I wonder, representative, you're you're

4:11

in a red state, although, as

4:13

I like to say, here in Indiana, no such thing as they

4:16

permanently read state. How do you think

4:18

these issues play out and how do we kind

4:20

of square the circle between the widespread

4:22

public support for things like higher wages

4:25

and the ability of anti

4:27

labor politicians to prevail even in

4:29

states that want to see these things change.

4:32

Yeah, back in two thousand, UM,

4:35

this was a message of the five or fifteen fifteen

4:38

in a union that at at first

4:40

a lot of folks was unaware of. But

4:43

I think as as it continued to echo

4:45

from New York City to Chicago to St.

4:47

Louis, Um to Indiana, to

4:49

South Carolina and so many other states,

4:52

we started to understand that this message

4:54

of a higher wage isn't anything honestly

4:57

radical at all. You're talking about providing

4:59

people the ability to live and

5:02

work one job and be able to provide

5:04

for their family, be able to provide for their future,

5:06

and be able to have a union, a group that's gonna

5:08

be able to protect you in this workplace. And

5:10

what we've seen over these last couple of years is

5:12

while many elected officials haven't

5:15

quickly got on board, they have been getting on board.

5:17

Um. The message of a liberal wage

5:19

and the opportunity to thrive is only growing.

5:22

And you're seeing it now grow from workers

5:24

that are organizing in it, um

5:26

moving from in the workplace to move

5:28

into running for office. I'm not the only worker

5:31

that's actually elected, it's it's a couple of faster

5:34

workers in South Carolina California

5:36

and also Illinois that recently

5:38

just got elected this past election, and

5:40

that energy is only growing. The message

5:42

of justice and freedom for all is

5:45

I think a message that even politicians

5:47

can't stop. Barrick Henry, how does that track

5:49

with what you're seeing in in the national

5:51

conversations that we're having, and can we

5:53

build on the support that's been expressed

5:56

on these referendum matters

5:58

to make sure that we're all so pressuring

6:01

both parties to do the right

6:03

thing, but also electing leaders

6:05

who have made it a key part of their platform that they're

6:07

going to raise wages and make workers better all.

6:10

I think the Florida vote gives us huge

6:12

momentum at the national level to make

6:15

fifteen dollars minimum wage

6:17

for everybody in this nation and

6:19

to connect that to why

6:21

workers have to have the right to join a union.

6:23

And that's why we're so excited about

6:26

Biden's caregiving economy

6:28

plan as part of his build Back Better because

6:31

black and brown voters showed up in record

6:33

numbers to deliver a record setting

6:36

vote for Biden Harris, and

6:38

they could reinvest in those

6:40

same voters by making jobs

6:42

that black and brown women have done for

6:45

over a century that's been excluded

6:47

from minimum wage, excluded from the

6:49

right to join a union. We could

6:51

make that possible with bold federal

6:53

action. I agree with you, Pete

6:56

that there's huge momentum

6:58

for people to understand and that racial

7:01

and economic inequality hold

7:03

the nation back from everybody

7:05

being able to thrive in the way that

7:08

Representative Aldridge just taught us,

7:10

and being able to act on

7:12

that as a first order of business, I think

7:15

is going to be critical for voters

7:17

understanding that government

7:19

can work to make a material

7:22

change in their lives. Immediately,

7:25

you describe the multiracial character of

7:27

this coalition, which is so important.

7:29

How have you an s c I you been intentional

7:32

about the interaction of

7:34

racial and economic justice and what

7:37

might that teach us about what has to happen next

7:39

in terms of governing as well as

7:41

the future of our politics. Well, we back

7:43

movement leaders like Rashine Aldridge,

7:46

who started out as a fast food worker

7:48

and he can tell the story, it's a great one

7:50

and is now representing

7:53

his district in the Missouri State Legislature,

7:55

which is an example to me of

7:58

how we are trying to back black

8:01

and brown service and care workers

8:03

who have been structured out

8:05

of the economy because of racism

8:08

and because of corporate power. And we're

8:10

not going to let those two things keep us

8:13

from making sure that the sixty four million

8:15

people that earn less than fifteen dollars

8:18

get a path to fifteen and the right

8:20

to join a union, so those fifteen dollar

8:22

in our jobs can become good union

8:25

jobs that are the foundation of

8:27

the most racially diverse middle

8:29

class this nation has ever seen. You

8:31

know that that point about how these jobs

8:34

become good jobs. I think it's a really powerful

8:36

one too, because I live in South Bend,

8:38

the city that really grew up around manufacturing,

8:41

and like many communities, you know, UH

8:43

is so fiercely protective of manufacturing

8:46

jobs because they are good jobs

8:49

in terms of the pay, the benefits. One

8:51

thing I think we often forget is they didn't used to

8:53

be good jobs. You know, these were considered

8:56

some of the most dangerous,

8:58

underpaid, undesirable jobs

9:00

in America a hundred years ago, and

9:02

organized labor saw to it

9:04

these these were not just any jobs,

9:07

but jobs that could become the backbone of

9:09

middle class. And as we see now,

9:11

things like the service sector growing, and

9:13

think also about the racial diversity of the

9:15

workers who hold those jobs. If every

9:18

service job had the same kind

9:20

of aura of completeness

9:22

around it that so many manufacturing jobs

9:24

have had, it's amazing to think what that could

9:26

fuel. I also love your pointing

9:28

out that Representative all dries story is a

9:31

great example of the success of this movement.

9:33

So let's turn to your representative to share that story.

9:35

From a fast food worker to office

9:38

in the state capital of Missouri. Tell

9:41

us about that journey and how your

9:43

experience of empowerment might be something

9:45

that others can learn from. Absolutely,

9:47

Pete, when I say the Fight for fifteen movement,

9:50

I don't. I don't just say it to say it. Who

9:52

really wasn't for the Fight for fifteen

9:54

campaign and the way that this

9:57

union has been able to empower individuals

10:00

me, I don't. I don't come from a union background.

10:03

I grew up in the neighborhood very high poverty

10:05

um. The medium income in my zip code

10:08

was fifteen thousand. You know, I didn't

10:10

know anything about organizing. And one day I was

10:12

at Jimmy John's and someone came in and

10:14

they started questioning me and asked me about,

10:17

you know, how much the sandwich

10:19

was on the menu, and how much that sandwich was actually

10:21

more than I was making as an employee

10:24

that've been there for two years, and asked me questions

10:26

of you know, what do I spend my money on? Because I

10:29

think what people don't understand, a lot of individuals

10:31

in these fast food industries, um,

10:33

aren't young people like myself. And even when they

10:35

are young, and the times we're in now, we're

10:38

not going to spend these funds

10:40

out at the mall. You know, we're helping our mom, we're

10:42

helping our family, make sure we got a central stuff like

10:45

tarlet paper, milk, eggs, and

10:47

a lot of folks in these low wage jobs

10:49

or women who have families of two and

10:51

three. So this movement for

10:54

me, I was very timid and shy,

10:56

uh until I met a couple of organizers and they

10:58

really howard workers

11:01

like myself to know that, you know, when we come

11:03

together collectively. Um, even though

11:05

a manager made me hold a sign that said I made

11:07

three wrongs sandwiches and took a

11:09

picture. A couple of months later, you

11:11

know, me and my co workers came together collectively

11:14

went out on strike among along

11:16

with many other workers in the city of St. Louis.

11:18

That manager, the next day was actually

11:20

gone. But that show to somebody

11:23

like me who never say knew what a union

11:25

wasn't organizing, was that when we come

11:27

together collectively, that we really can make

11:30

a change. And we've seen it here in the

11:32

state of Missouri. Even when they bought back

11:34

against us, we pushed back and we still had

11:36

a minimum wage increase in St. Louis and

11:39

that was due to the skills

11:41

and the opportunity that the union. And I think

11:43

that's what is so important to make sure that we,

11:46

you know, don't miss that union element. You

11:48

know, the wages is important, but if we can't

11:50

miss the importance of having a

11:52

group of individuals, which are the workers, which

11:54

are me and my co workers, come together collectively

11:57

saying we love our jobs, but it

11:59

can be better. Even though we don't have a union

12:01

with the five or fifteen, we act as if

12:03

we are union because we know it's coming soon.

12:06

And that is something that would

12:08

never erase my mind as

12:10

I continue to go over and oder

12:13

and oder uh in my career, how

12:15

strong it is to have a union and when we come

12:17

together collectively we can move mountains.

12:20

We've seen it, uh, when back

12:22

in two thousand sixteen, when Hillary

12:25

Clinton, Secretary Clinton and Senator

12:28

Bernie Sanders said fifteen an

12:30

hour, it was like what you know? And

12:32

now we have President a leg Joe Biden and Vice

12:35

President Kamala Harris saying that in the first hundred

12:37

days they want to raise the wages and give people

12:39

a union. That is what it's about. So

12:57

I'm sure you've heard some people

13:00

talking about politics and the Democratic

13:02

Party saying, you know, racial

13:04

justice is important, but we really need

13:06

to focus on kitchen table issues. You

13:08

are a leader in the labor

13:10

movement, you're a leader in the movement for black

13:13

lives. This is clearly not a

13:15

contradiction for you. What do you say

13:17

to people who seem to think that we have to

13:19

choose either or We

13:22

can't say black lives matter

13:24

without forgetting that a lot of those

13:26

black lives and workers work

13:29

in these low age facilities. We

13:31

can't talk about racial injustice

13:34

without economic injustice because they go hand

13:36

in hand and most communities of color,

13:39

majority of jobs you see are McDonald's

13:41

Wendy's. But you can't

13:44

have one conversation without the other. It is

13:46

important that our party, as

13:48

a Democratic member, you know, take

13:50

the time and even with sci you take

13:52

the time to have tough conversations

13:55

and be able to let those leaders uh

13:58

stand up and speak out and figure out how do

14:00

we all move forward together. Because you

14:02

can't talk about climate change without talking

14:04

about racial injustice. You can't talk

14:06

about health care and justice. I'll talk about

14:08

racial injustice. We look at this pandemic.

14:11

You know, most individuals that have been affected

14:13

due to the Corona haven't been getting services to Those

14:15

communities have been communities of color. So

14:18

conversational race should be driven in all

14:21

the different conversations we have, because that

14:23

is a tough conversation I have. But

14:25

once we get past that hurdle and understand,

14:28

you know what these communities are saying. That's been

14:30

decades, nothing has really changed

14:32

from the civil rights

14:34

era Martin Luther King time to the Ferguson

14:37

movement that we've seen a couple of years ago. But we have

14:39

to continue to have both those conversations

14:41

because when you Stacy Abrams, shout

14:43

out to Stacey Abrams, it is black

14:45

women that is leading the charge, even

14:48

in our own party. So we cannot neglect

14:50

the fact that this is the issue. But we have

14:52

to move forward together on it. Absolutely,

14:55

Mary Kay, I want to pick up on one thing the representative

14:57

mentioned that I think is is really interesting and important.

14:59

The goal is to make sure everyone has access

15:01

to a union, but you're not waiting

15:03

for people to be in a union to be

15:06

organizing and empowering them. So can

15:08

you talk a little bit about what I think are often called

15:10

the not yet organized at your events,

15:12

and how you've found ways to serve

15:14

people who aren't in a position to

15:16

officially be represented

15:18

and yet can be empowered through

15:21

that, and and how that strategically

15:23

is going to continue to be important in the future.

15:25

Yeah, Rashin gave his example,

15:28

and think of like thousands of

15:30

machines who understand

15:34

through the example that he described

15:36

about at first, he doesn't

15:38

know what a union is. His manager

15:41

is incredibly disrespectful to him

15:44

and some co workers. That

15:46

ignites his desire to make

15:48

a change. He takes action through

15:50

his coworkers and strikes, which

15:52

is an act of a union.

15:55

You know, then there's a change

15:57

based on the collective action. And

16:00

it's thanks to the courageous leadership

16:02

of people like Rashine and the Fight

16:04

for fifteen that has brought hope to

16:06

home care workers, to nursing home

16:08

workers, to airport workers to Amazon

16:12

workers, believing that hey,

16:14

if we act together, we can

16:16

make a change. What we need now

16:19

is to get our government to

16:21

stand with the fearlessness and courage

16:23

of these workers and unrigged the rules

16:26

that exclude people from the right

16:28

to join a union. There's forty

16:30

six percent of the American workforce

16:33

has no legal right to join a union.

16:35

And that's what the government has the power

16:38

to change. In addition to McDonald's,

16:40

Wendy's and Burger King, not waiting

16:42

for legislative change but deciding

16:45

to set a national bargaining table

16:47

for four million fast food workers and

16:49

making those jobs a foundation of

16:52

the next middle class. Just like auto

16:54

jobs did for steel and rubber

16:56

and all the other parts

16:58

of the manufacturing sector in the last

17:00

century. We need to make that happen now

17:02

for the service sector that's so powerful

17:05

and uh, of course that that disproportionately

17:08

likely to be black and brown and women

17:11

right because of the way that labor

17:13

law, often intentionally, as part of

17:15

the political compromises of almost a century

17:17

ago, excluded black

17:19

and brown workers and women from

17:22

some of those protections that we think of is why

17:24

the New Deal was was so

17:26

effective and empowering. We'll

17:28

take us into the kind of short to

17:30

medium term future on what's

17:32

going to mean to deliver these rules, especially

17:34

if we're facing divided government. You know we're

17:37

going to be working very hard at least

17:39

uh. I know everybody in my party will be to

17:41

to take the Senate and have a more labor

17:44

friendly Senate majority, but we don't know if

17:46

that's going to happen. So the things you're talking

17:48

about, how much of that can be achieved through

17:50

things like rulemaking, through executive

17:52

action or administrative work, and

17:54

how much of this is fundamentally a question about

17:57

legislation. I think there's lots

17:59

we can do on rulemaking, but

18:01

I have to say our expectation

18:03

is we're gonna win the Georgia runoffs

18:06

both seats, and we need to exercise

18:09

the will of the majority, even

18:12

if it's by one vote in the Senate.

18:14

Let's make bold,

18:17

transformative change. Because people

18:19

showed up in record numbers black

18:21

and brown voters, save this democracy,

18:24

save this economy,

18:26

and we need to invest in them

18:28

and their communities and their jobs

18:31

on a scale that is equivalent

18:33

to the depth of the crisis that people are

18:35

experiencing. Based on the pandemic.

18:37

Too many black and brown families are

18:40

grieving too many losses because of

18:42

the inaction of the federal government. Too

18:44

many black and brown families have most

18:46

of their extended family out of work because

18:49

this is a recession and depression that has

18:51

hit the service sector, and God

18:53

knows, too many black and brown families

18:56

have suffered the trauma of violence

18:58

in their communities and that needs to

19:00

end. We need to make those communities as

19:02

safe as white communities in this country.

19:05

And the climate crisis impacts us

19:07

all, and so we really don't

19:09

want to lower expectations to

19:11

only changing the rules based on executive

19:14

action. That of course, is

19:16

part of our arsenal. But

19:19

we have the expectation that even with

19:21

a one vote majority, the will of

19:23

the people here is overwhelming

19:26

that we wanted to see change, and we

19:28

expect that as fifteen dollars and

19:30

a right to join a union for millions

19:33

more workers, I representative.

19:36

As you're navigating those halls of power

19:38

where you've earned a place, how are

19:40

you being received And how do you think being young

19:43

has shaped you, know, good or bad or

19:45

indifferent? How do you think it's it's shaped your ability to

19:47

make change? A lot of people tell

19:49

me I'm a little wiser beyond my time,

19:52

but I still could be uh twenty

19:54

six, And you know, don't rush it. Uh. You know, one

19:56

thing about it is regardless of being elected

19:59

official. I think what you're seeing a lot of

20:01

people like I mentioned some fast

20:03

fo workers and low wage workers that recently

20:05

was just elected into office this past

20:07

election day, is those individuals

20:10

aren't looking to get elected for a

20:12

title. At the same time, as I'm

20:14

a politician, I'm still an activist

20:16

that would be out in the streets with

20:18

individuals when it's needed the most and

20:21

as I navigate, especially in a state

20:23

like Missouri that's difficult at times. We

20:25

were lying a lot on the local level

20:28

um to do a lot of the pushing up on these

20:30

policies and progressive agenda

20:32

that moves us forward. You know, I'm

20:34

here to really be able to help push

20:36

those conversations, even

20:39

though there's folks on the opposite end. Shouldn't

20:41

be us versus them. So this is

20:43

a moment for all of us, and that's how I

20:46

look at it. Even though I'm a Democrat, I

20:48

call myself more of an issuecrat because it's the issues

20:50

that even I learned with the Fight for fifteen

20:53

when elected officials were saying no

20:56

the issues that was driving people to be excited

20:59

was what got folks out and organized

21:01

and got people ready to do whatever

21:03

it took to get these policies done. So

21:06

I kind of look at it into phases, you know,

21:09

educating and building relationships across

21:11

that and really relying on our local

21:13

levels that are doing phenomenal

21:15

job and our municipalities pushing policy

21:18

that ultimately go up to the

21:20

state level. It's a great point. I

21:22

think we have often underestimated

21:24

local government, local politics,

21:26

and especially local media as

21:29

a way to make sure that we make progress. Uh.

21:32

Markay, how do you view the kind

21:34

of stacking of these different areas

21:36

where we can apply pressure get results,

21:38

the local where you know

21:40

you can have immediate impact and where often

21:42

the party politics fall away a little bit,

21:45

the state where Representative Aldridge

21:47

and so many like him are, where so much

21:49

power rests in our system. Uh.

21:52

And then the federal level. Of course that that is

21:54

a different landscape with the different president, but

21:56

it's not the entire ballgame. How how do you think about,

21:59

even just as a leader individually,

22:01

how to organize your attention as

22:03

well? As the organization and the movement

22:06

that that you leave, well, I think the best

22:08

lesson on what you've asked is the

22:10

fifteen movement. You know, we made

22:12

a breakthrough when the voters of

22:15

a fifty four thousand person

22:17

city in se Tech, Washington

22:20

authorized the fifteen dollar minimum

22:22

wage against national opposition.

22:25

I think the campaign that was run

22:27

against that was like eight million dollars.

22:29

The chamber got in the manufacturers

22:31

association and the voters

22:34

said yes, and we registered

22:36

I think a thousand new eatrian

22:39

Um part of that community

22:41

in order to take that initiative over

22:44

the top. They then marched to Seattle and

22:46

the Seattle mayor's race was

22:48

contested over how are we dealing with inequality

22:51

in Seattle? In the fifteen dollar minimum

22:54

wage became a way for

22:56

the candidates to differentiate themselves,

22:59

and then they asked the first

23:01

minimum wage citywide in

23:03

a major city. And then it's spread

23:05

across the country, so that now twenty

23:07

nine million people are on the path

23:10

to fifteen dollars. We just added

23:12

three million more in Florida

23:15

and the House of Representatives passed it in

23:17

eighteen. So I think of the

23:19

stack as exactly what Representative

23:22

Aldridge just taught us that the

23:25

innovation often comes

23:27

from cities like yours, Mayor

23:30

and South Bend and then gets catalyzed

23:33

out and then pushed up, especially

23:36

on ideas that people dismiss,

23:39

you know, like fifteen was laughed at

23:41

in twelve when it was demanded,

23:43

and it's now a mainstream debate

23:46

where more and more people

23:48

are crossing over and understanding

23:51

we have to intervene on the worst

23:54

racial and economic inequality of

23:56

our generation. And this is a

23:58

key lever that disproportionately

24:01

lift up black and brown families

24:04

because too many black and brown families

24:06

have been structured into minimum

24:08

wage jobs because of housing and education

24:12

and all these other systems. Sei

24:29

you, certainly in the decade that

24:31

you've been leading and for some time has a

24:33

wonderful reputation as one of the most innovative

24:36

labor organizations in the country, can you talk

24:39

about how you build that atmosphere

24:41

of innovation and also given

24:43

some of the stereotypes that a previous

24:45

generation might have had about organized

24:47

labor, Uh, you know, what lessons does

24:50

your organizing success maybe

24:53

carry for shaping how

24:55

labor is perceived and how your fellow

24:58

organizations and counter parts might approach

25:00

the decade ahead. You know, I've been blessed

25:03

in this work to walk beside

25:06

nursing home workers in when

25:08

I first started organizing, who taught

25:10

me that every day of

25:12

their lives are an innovation. They

25:15

have to be so

25:17

creative in order to rob Peter,

25:20

to pay Paul, and make ends meet and

25:22

raised children in this

25:24

economy that I think part of the

25:26

innovation in our union is fueled

25:29

by the workers

25:31

that make up our union. They

25:33

are living in terrible

25:35

economic and racial circumstances

25:38

that require collective

25:40

action in every aspect of their lives.

25:43

And so you know, we are born

25:45

of immigrant workers in Chicago

25:47

who were told they were nothing more

25:50

than servants, and they stayed

25:52

at it for ten years in order to

25:54

finally win a charter from the a f L

25:56

and get the building owners to recognize

25:59

them as workers and to actually be

26:01

paid wages um. And so

26:03

it's hardwired into the DNA

26:06

of our union to understand

26:08

that we have to raise

26:10

wages for workers that have been locked

26:13

out of the economy. We cannot

26:16

stand with the movement for Black Lives and

26:18

not fight for living wages for black

26:20

and brown people that will make a difference

26:23

for all workers. And our union's job

26:25

is to talk to workers, white, black,

26:28

brown, Asian about why

26:30

we have to link those

26:32

fights because we won't win better

26:35

jobs and more unions for working

26:38

people unless we uproot systemic

26:40

racism. And that is not a

26:42

natural idea to

26:44

our working people. But

26:47

when we are in relationship with each other,

26:49

as Rashein said in Movements,

26:52

and we learn about each other's lives,

26:54

it becomes a totally natural

26:56

fight. How much of this

26:59

do you think is a generational question?

27:01

Uh? Do you think that folks your

27:03

age and younger view the relationships

27:06

between racial and economic issues differently

27:08

than the previous generation? Or do you think

27:11

it's it's really just one continuum and each

27:13

generation is kind of standing on the on the

27:15

work of the one that came before. I

27:17

would say, I think it's more of a continuation.

27:20

Uh, you know, we are standing on great shoulders

27:22

of individuals. Just in the city of St. Louis

27:24

to highlight Percy Green, who climbed

27:27

the arch of Mama Jamala Rodgers and Percy

27:29

was actually one of the first activists

27:32

that came and talked to us

27:34

as fast workers back in two thousand thirteen

27:36

and a church basement as we

27:38

was about to you know, get ready to go out on strike.

27:41

It is those uh, you know mentors

27:43

that are only given knowledge to uh,

27:45

the younger generation. I think as each generation

27:48

come along, you know, there's different ways

27:50

that those generations expressed themselves.

27:53

And I've been told as a young person and sometimes

27:55

you guys doesn't need to slow down and

27:57

you know, listen and let it play out. And I'm sure

28:00

my elders were told that when they were younger too,

28:03

But it's a continuation of the

28:06

message hasn't changed. I think we just

28:08

figure out how to continue to change the strategy

28:10

because every time we make two or three

28:12

steps forward, opposition likes to

28:14

push you back. And you gotta get creative.

28:17

You gotta do things differently, like the Fight

28:19

for Fifteen movement, you know, taking the risk

28:21

to um bring in folks

28:23

that you know technically aren't member due

28:26

paying dues, but we kind of created our own

28:28

member dudes amongst ourselves, you know, taking

28:30

that risk to say that you have a

28:32

bunch of these individuals that haven't

28:35

been empowered in a way that

28:37

they don't know that they have their own empowerment,

28:40

but they just need a push. They doesn't need a

28:42

little bit of help, and it's not

28:45

a generational gap, which we do have

28:47

those in certain areas, but I

28:49

think it's more of just a continuation of

28:52

the movement growing and shifting

28:54

and changing as the world also shifts

28:56

and change. I wanted to ask each of you a question

28:59

that looks to the few. Sure you know, this

29:02

podcast is largely about the idea that

29:04

the decade we're entering into right now

29:06

the Ties is going to

29:08

be decisive for American life

29:10

really across this century. So

29:13

knowing how many lines of

29:15

effort do you have underway, how many

29:18

elements of the agenda and the

29:20

movement are are perhaps about

29:22

to have a breakthrough if you're looking

29:24

back from the perspective of what

29:26

would you want to say we got done in the Ties

29:29

and what's the work you think would still be waiting for us

29:31

next. I want all the sixty

29:34

four million workers who are living

29:36

and working in poverty in this country

29:38

that are overwhelmingly black and brown

29:41

women and men, to have a decent

29:43

job that they can raise a family

29:46

on and expect their kids are going to do

29:48

better that they've done. That We're gonna end

29:50

working poverty in America

29:53

and allow for a

29:55

minimum wage that people can actually

29:58

thrive and the right

30:00

to form a union so we can create the

30:03

most multi racial, inclusive

30:05

middle classes nation has ever seen. You

30:07

know, the idea that we could deliver that not just in

30:09

our lifetime, but across this decade

30:11

is so powerful because it really is true, it could

30:14

happen if we get this right.

30:16

Representative Aldridge, same question to you,

30:18

but I'll ask it in a slightly different way. Imagine

30:21

a new, freshly minted

30:24

young legislator shows up

30:26

in the state capital and Missouri in his

30:28

early twenties, and you're

30:30

on the cusp of retirement from whatever

30:33

great things you go on to do, and you're showing

30:36

this young whipper snapper around

30:38

and uh and telling them what

30:40

what they can expect in in the

30:42

future based on what you were

30:44

able to see delivered in your time.

30:47

What would you want to be able to say to them we

30:49

did this. I would

30:51

say to them, one always

30:53

believe in themselves, hope and changes

30:56

is possible. There's going to be so many

30:59

roadblocks that ahead of us, and

31:01

we've made a lot of change in the process.

31:03

Hopefully I'll be able to look back and say, you

31:05

know, we have a place where

31:08

people can love whoever they want to love.

31:10

Individuals can walk down the street and

31:12

not be a raz due to the color of their skin.

31:15

You know, workers will finally be able

31:17

to work one job forty hours a

31:19

week and put away for their future. Everyone

31:21

will be able to have the type of healthcare that

31:24

they want in their life. Those

31:26

are the issues that I hope I'll be able to

31:28

tell that young legislator. But I also want

31:30

to let them know to not ever give

31:32

up on hope and not to ever

31:35

quit believing that change is not possible.

31:38

I know it gets tough, especially when we're juggling

31:40

so many things in the world that we do or

31:42

in our lives, but not to give up because

31:45

when we do come together and when

31:47

we do organize collectively and

31:49

do when we fight, we we gotta

31:52

not act like we don't have to fight. We definitely have

31:54

to fight, but that the victory will

31:56

be at the end of the tunnel um and

31:58

that they are young legislator

32:00

can make any change possible that they

32:03

want to see if it's with themselves, are collectively

32:05

with others that to remember to have

32:07

their hope and faith and always keep

32:09

your head up and push forward. It

32:14

has not been an easy road for organized

32:16

labor and people like Mary Kay and

32:18

Representative Machine Aldridge have had to fight

32:20

and remain resilient, but that resilience

32:22

has been paying off. I'm so grateful that

32:25

Mary Kay, Henry of s E I, you, Representative

32:27

Machine Aldridge from Missouri, and their organizations

32:30

and followers have kept the faith. We

32:32

have such tremendous potential over the

32:34

next decade and beyond, but only with their

32:36

kind of leadership. And to any of you

32:39

on the front lines who aren't being paid or treated

32:41

with equity or fairness, who aren't receiving

32:43

the benefits that you deserve, thank you,

32:45

Thank you for listening, and thank you for keeping the

32:47

faith. We will be fighting with you. For

32:53

more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit

32:56

the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

32:58

or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

33:11

M HM