Now playing on Radio LabourStart --
Labor Express for 3-13-05: Interview with Gerardo Reyes, Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) member, about modern day slavery in the agriculture industry and the philosophy of the CIW - Interview with independent journalist Eva Jasiewicz, about the struggles of oil workers in the Southern Iraqi city of Basra. - Teamster's President James Hoffa & UNITE-HERE President Bruce Raynor talk about the Teamster's reform proposal, aimed at putting more of the federation's funds back into organizing. And even a little Irish music in honor of St. Patrick's Day.
Labor Express - WLUW 88.7 FM Chicago, Jerry Mead Host
Sundays, 7 - 8 PM
Jerry Mead--Host of Labor Express
Chicago has a long history of labor radio. Some of you may be familiar
with the history of WCFL, Chicago's Voice of Labor - the radio station
owned and operated by the Chicago Federation of Labor from 1925 to 1978.
The mission of WCFL, as their tagline suggests, was to give voice to
Chicago's working people. Unfortunately, WCFL is no longer with us.
This is particularly troubling given the fact there has never been a
greater need for worker's access to the airwaves. In a world of media
monopolies, where six major corporations own and control the vast
majority of America's mass media, the space for independent voices
continues to shrink. Corporate, profit driven radio has proved itself
unwilling and unable to report on the world from the perspective of
working people. Chicago labor may no longer have their own radio
station, but they do have a radio program that focuses on "News for
Working People, by Working People" - Labor Express.
Labor Express came to life in 1993 when WLUW, 88.7 FM (at that time,
Loyola University radio) decided to transform itself into a community
focused radio station. Gone was the 24-hour dance music format replaced
with a variety of great programming reflecting the diversity and
interests of the people of the Rogers Park neighborhood. In this new
atmosphere, former SEIU organizer Wayne Heimbach, saw the opportunity
for Chicago labor to gain back a place on the radio dial. With Wayne at
the helm, and in conjunction with the folks at Labor Beat TV, Labor
Express became one of Chicago's most important sources of labor news.
In the 11 years Wayne hosted the program, he covered SEIU Local 73's
efforts to stop the increasing privatization of public services in our
city, reforms in the Teamster's movement and the early 1990's "War Zone"
in Decatur where workers at A.E. Staley, Caterpillar and ADM were all
involved in strikes or lockouts. On the international scene, Wayne
interviewed trade union activists fighting apartheid in South Africa,
workers under attack by paramilitaries in Latin America, and U.S. union
members opposition to the first and second Gulf Wars.
In the past year I have had the pleasure to interview home health care
workers on the South Side in their struggle for a living wage and
rallies of City of Chicago employees downtown. I have talked with day
laborers fighting for the establishment of their own workers center and
covered the efforts UFCW to keep Wal-Mart out of Chicago. I have
brought back interviews with workers in Mexico & Guatemala from my
summer travels and aired the speeches of Indian and Brazilian trade
unionists. I have also strived to cover all topics of interest to
working people - whether it be a discussion with community organizers
about affordable housing or immigrants rights activists about changing
immigration laws.
Labor Express also continues to work close with the producers of Labor
Beat TV (see the Labor Links page) as a member of the Committee for
Labor Access. We hope to soon be on more stations in the Chicago area
and to reach an even larger audience, particular on Chicago's South
Side. Labor solidarity is all about collective action - help us live up
to our commitment to be "News for Working People by Working People".
For more information on Labor Express, the Labor Express web site is:
http://www.laborexpress.org/page2.html
Posted by ericlee at March 24, 2005 03:53 PM