Punching Out

In the first part of our discussion on healthcare, Karen, Abby, and Nadia talk about our current system of employer-sponsored insurance, how it came about, and the problems it poses for women in particular. This article gets a mention: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/facing-brain-surgery-a-health-economist-finds-the-health-care-market-hard-to-navigate/2012/11/05/0a931b5c-fcf...

Cadejo, Nadia, and Rachel talk about the overnight shift, and how night workers are subjected to harassment and health problems.

Emily, Ariel, and Chris discuss sexual harassment in the workplace, in light of highly-public recent examples. They interview Gwen, a former nurse who was made to choose between her own safety and providing much needed care for a patient.

Ryan, Tom, and Alfred talk about the exploitation of prison labor, those who benefit from the practice, and how it impacts those who aren't incarcerated as well as those behind bars. Articles discussed: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/31/magazine/the-incarcerated-women-who-fight-californias-wildfires.html https://www.revealnews.org/article/they-thought-they-were-going-to-rehab-they-ended-up-in-chi...

Karen, Lyle and Richard talk about Amazon's quest for public money in exchange for crappy jobs.

Abby, Babak, & Alfred make the argument that liberal arts educations are now neoliberal arts educations, where meritocracy myths and romantic ideals about the pursuit of Knowledge mix with predatory pricing and high student loan debts to reproduce privilege for the already-privileged, and produce an indebted and desperate workforce made up of everyone else.

With threats of retribution for protesting athletes in the news, Ryan and Cadejo discuss the broader of free speech in the workplace, and the different rules bosses and their workers.

On our third episode, Chris, Ariel, and Emily talk to Salvatore about his layoff from a company after 20 years, and how these mass layoffs result in the precarity faced by those entering the workforce today.

On our second episode, Karen, Lyle, and Rich discuss the workplace dangers faced by nurses and the history of the 1199 union.

On the first episode of Punching Out, Alfred, Abby, and Babak spoke with Parisa about the unpleasantness of her first job, and we discussed work in the STEM fields.