Workers Rock

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Welcome to Workers Rock! This week, we have a powerful and eye-opening interview with 'Pinky,' a dedicated Workers' Rights Defender in Malaysia. Pinky shares the harrowing story of 750 migrant workers from Bangladesh who were recruited by a company called MULIA ONE. Upon arriving in Malaysia, they found that there were no jobs waiting for them, and their passports taken on the spot. St...

In this episode of Workers Rock, we sit down with Jon Schleuss, International President of the CWA News Guild. Representing 27,000 members across renowned newsrooms such as the Democrat & Chronicle in Rochester, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the LA Times, the Washington Post, the Seattle Times, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, ProPublica, the San Antonio Report, and more, Schleuss...

Lennon Ying-Dah Wong is the Director for the Department of Policies on migrant workers for Serve the People Association, Taiwan (SPA), a labor organization in Taiwan that helps migrant workers and Taiwanese workers unionize. Many migrant workers in Taiwan live in Shelters like SPA. On Workers Rock, Lennon discusses the horrific treatment that they experience. Because of dismal job opportunitiies i...

Maria Fisher is a Workers' Rights Advocate from Rochester, NY who is involved in the labor movement in various ways. She is the Rochester Area Federation, AFL-CIO Vice President, the Rochester Labor Council, AFL-CIO Recording Secretary and the Director of Communications and Political Action for AFSCME Council 66 in Upstate, New York. Maria talks about local union activity, wins that she is cel...

This week on Workers Rock Podcast, Nadia Harris a Remote Work Advocate (London) paints a vivid picture of the transformative effects of remote work on society, touching on everything from urban living patterns to gender equality and environmental impact. The shift towards remote work is reshaping cities, with downtown areas seeing an influx of residents as office buildings are repurposed into livi...

This week on the Workers Rock podcast, we meet with upstate New York Assembly Member Harry Bronson, who represents Assembly District 138 which covers Henrietta, Chili, Riga, and a portion of the City of Rochester. Harry was recently appointed the Chair of the Labor Committee in the New York State Assembly. He is a long time workers' rights advocate, and discusses the minimum wage, unemployment...

Spanish/English podcast episode Guayaquil, Ecuador (remote interview). Today we meet with Jorge Acosta Orellana, the Coordinator of the Association of Banana Workers in Ecuador (ASTAC), he sheds light on significant issues plaguing the banana industry, particularly concerning pesticide usage and workers' rights violations. Acosta Orellana highlights the widespread use of Mancozeb, a pesticide...

Today on Workers Rock Podcast (Nepal) we meet with Andy J. Hall, who is a 20+ year Migrant Workers' Rights Defender. He has been essential in the remediation of over 200 million dollars in recruitment fees to migrant workers who were duped by erroneous recruiters in Southeast Asia. Andy runs a grassroots operation staffed by other workers' rights advocates, many of whom are former migrant...

Today on Workers Rock Podcast we meet Universal Basic Income expert Scott Santens (Washington, D.C) who talks about UBI, it's benefits to society, people and the economy, where it's been successful and some piloting tips for municipalities! Scott Santens of ScottSantens.com is the founder of the Income to Support All Foundation (ITSA Foundation) https://www.itsafoundation.org/ Scott's...

Today on Workers Rock, we interview "Fernando" an Agriculture Worker Leader, who is a part of the Alianza of Agricultural Workers in Upstate, New York. He is originally from Oaxaca, Mexico and emigrated to the United States over twenty years ago, and has worked in the dairy industry ever since. We protect the identity of "Fernando" as he has been disciplined by his employer for...

Today on Workers Rock (2024) we meet Jasmine Payne-Patterson of the Economic Policy Institute to discuss the USA Federal Minimum Wage, why it's so low ($7.25), how it's not moved one penny since 2009, what bill is in motion to bring it to $17.00 per hour—and what you can do about it. In this episode we find out what states are allowing even lower pay! Please subscribe to be notified about...

Today, the Workers Rock Podcast is joined by Dan Maloney and Carmen Guzman, UAW 1097 (Rochester, NY) President and Financial Secretary, respectively.  In this episode, they discuss the weeks' long UAW strike of 2023, why it happened, the outcome, and future of the trade in Rochester and internationally.  We also talk about how electric car production impacts their work, and of course, hydrogen...

Workers Rock's host Amorette Miller interviews Dr. Dale Whelehan (Dublin, Ireland), who is the CEO of 4 Day Week Global, an organization that helps companies/employers realize the benefits of the four-day-work week—a model that is sweeping the globe. Find out which state in the United States is leading the charge for the work model that will replace the 5-day work week as we know it.

Workers Rock interviews 1199 SEIU leaders Tracey Harrison, Robin White and Elizabeth Davila who talk about their recent one day strike against employer University of Rochester, what they won and what this contract truly means.

Today we interview three transgender advocates about their gender transition at work. Chloe Corcoran she/her/hers (Los Angeles), Patrick Pitoni he/him/his (Rochester, NY) and Penny Sterling she/her/hers (Rochester, NY) share advice on how organizations and society can better serve members of the trans community. They also make predictions on who will win the Super Bowl. Workers Rock is part of the...

Unionized Workers of the Democrat & Chronicle are in the midst of a protracted contract battle with their employer Gannett. Union leaders from the Rochester News Guild (News Guild of New York, CWA), Tracy Schuhmacher (Food & Drink Journalist), Justin Murphy (Education Journalist) & Gary Craig (Public Safety Journalist) join Workers Rock to talk about how this came to be, next steps and...

Welcome to Workers Rock, a podcast that focuses on topics that affect people at work. Hosted by Amorette Miller. (Coming January, 2024)