WEBVTT - Unions Are Democracy in Action

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<v Speaker 1>Good morning, peeps, and welcome to WOKP Daily with me

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<v Speaker 1>your Girl Danielle Moody, recording from the home bunker.

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<v Speaker 2>Folks.

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<v Speaker 1>With so much just shitty news these days, I'm really

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<v Speaker 1>excited to bring today's interview to you. Lee Sounders, the

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<v Speaker 1>president of ask Me, the one of the largest organizations

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<v Speaker 1>that represents unions in the country. Him and I got

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<v Speaker 1>into a conversation about the importance of unions of quality jobs,

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<v Speaker 1>of jobs that provide not only a living wage, but

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<v Speaker 1>dignity and full disclosure. As you all may know if

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<v Speaker 1>you've been listening to the show for a while, is

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<v Speaker 1>that last year I had the wonderful pleasure. There's not

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<v Speaker 1>a lot that I get to do sometimes outside of

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<v Speaker 1>direct and that political analysis, which is just becoming so

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<v Speaker 1>fucking draining. I cannot express to you all enough. But anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>last year I had the pleasure of doing some wonderful

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<v Speaker 1>storytelling workshops and media training for members of Ask Me,

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<v Speaker 1>and it was such a fucking joy. I cannot express

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<v Speaker 1>it enough. To talk with janitors and you know, and

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<v Speaker 1>teachers and optometrists and you know, the people who make

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<v Speaker 1>our communities tick that don't get the respect and the

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<v Speaker 1>pay that they deserve and to talk with real people, right,

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<v Speaker 1>some of which were quote unquote essential workers, and talking

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<v Speaker 1>to them about their experience of working, you know, going

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<v Speaker 1>to work during COVID while so many of us were

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<v Speaker 1>quarantining at home, and what that experience was like. And

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<v Speaker 1>while we love to say that these folks are essential,

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<v Speaker 1>we treat them in many ways in our society like

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<v Speaker 1>they are disposable while lifting up the fucking you know,

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<v Speaker 1>billionaires and millionaires that make money off of their backs

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<v Speaker 1>and our backs. So this conversation with President Saunders today

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<v Speaker 1>was just you know, a little bright light, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>in really increasingly just exhausting and dark times. I've said

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<v Speaker 1>this to you all before that it is imperative, imperative

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<v Speaker 1>to look for the light daily so that you do

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<v Speaker 1>not succumb to darkness. And I hope that today's conversation

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<v Speaker 1>is and can provide a bright light. Coming up next

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<v Speaker 1>my conversation with President Lee Sounders, folks, I am very

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<v Speaker 1>excited to welcome back to WOKF Daily President Lee Saunders,

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<v Speaker 1>who is the president of the American Federation of State,

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<v Speaker 1>County and Municipal Employees. Ask me, you have heard me

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<v Speaker 1>talk about this organization which represents about one point four

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<v Speaker 1>million people across the country in a mirror of different occupations,

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<v Speaker 1>including nurses to correction officers, childcare providers. It runs the

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<v Speaker 1>gamut and President Lee Saunders is the first African American

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<v Speaker 1>to serve as ask Me's president. President Saunders talk to

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<v Speaker 1>me about the importance of ask ME and how unions,

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<v Speaker 1>and particularly your union, impact communities.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, we consider our one point four million members everyday

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<v Speaker 2>heroes who provide important and crucial public services to the

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<v Speaker 2>citizens of this country and communities across this country. You

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<v Speaker 2>mentioned just a few of the occupations, but if you

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<v Speaker 2>look at public service and the occupations within public service,

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<v Speaker 2>whether it's a sanitation worker, whether it is a correction

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<v Speaker 2>officers you stated, a social worker, childcare worker, home care workers.

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<v Speaker 2>We represent those members across the country and they provide

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<v Speaker 2>essential public services to all of us. And sometimes they

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<v Speaker 2>work in the background and you don't even know they're there.

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<v Speaker 2>Sometimes you forget about the public services that are provided,

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<v Speaker 2>whether you're drinking clean water or having your trash picked up,

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<v Speaker 2>or protecting one another. And that's what our members do

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<v Speaker 2>every single day, and that's why it's very important for

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<v Speaker 2>them to have a seat at the table and a

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<v Speaker 2>voice on the job, and the union provides that for them.

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<v Speaker 1>And I appreciate that work so very much. My mother

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<v Speaker 1>is a retired nurse and so was a part of AFSME,

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<v Speaker 1>a part of the union, and I have spent last

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<v Speaker 1>year working with some of your wonderful members in helping

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<v Speaker 1>tell their incredible stories of the work that they do

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<v Speaker 1>and why it's so important. And I think that one time,

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<v Speaker 1>when I was in a training someone had said, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>these are the jobs that no one recognizes when they're

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<v Speaker 1>done well, but they always recognize when they're not done

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<v Speaker 1>or when something goes wrong and you need it. And

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<v Speaker 1>these are jobs that are integral to how our communities function.

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<v Speaker 1>And so why do you think that it is so important,

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<v Speaker 1>particularly in this day and age where we're seeing so

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<v Speaker 1>many union battles, that unions exist well.

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<v Speaker 2>It provides the opportunities for workers to make a choice,

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<v Speaker 2>and that choice is to try to deal with things

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<v Speaker 2>on your own, or operate in an environment where you

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<v Speaker 2>have come together with other workers at the same workplace,

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<v Speaker 2>the same work site, and to have that seat at

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<v Speaker 2>the table to negotiate wages and benefits and working conditions,

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<v Speaker 2>and that's extremely important. And you see that there is

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<v Speaker 2>a change going on in this country right now as

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<v Speaker 2>far as workers wanting to be a part of unions

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<v Speaker 2>and wanting to organize into unions. And you especially see it, Danielle,

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<v Speaker 2>with young people wanting to come together and understanding the

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<v Speaker 2>importance of doing this. They want to have some control

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<v Speaker 2>over their lives. They want to have that seat at

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<v Speaker 2>the table to talk about their wage increases or their wages.

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<v Speaker 2>They want to talk about pensions, they want to talk

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<v Speaker 2>about healthcare, they want to talk about working conditions, all

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<v Speaker 2>of those kinds of things. The way that you do

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<v Speaker 2>that is not through one on one conversation, but it's

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<v Speaker 2>through an aggressive, proactive choice of belonging to a union

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<v Speaker 2>to fight for these things at the table. And you

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<v Speaker 2>see it happening all over the country.

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<v Speaker 1>Why do you think that we dip and kind of

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<v Speaker 1>we go up and then we go down in terms

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<v Speaker 1>of how society as a whole either is celebrating unions

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<v Speaker 1>or demonizing them. Right, And I look at essentially where

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<v Speaker 1>some of the big headlines in the last couple of

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<v Speaker 1>years have been around Starbucks employees, and have been around

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<v Speaker 1>Amazon employees and the auto workers as well as the

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<v Speaker 1>ups right workers who we see these everyday. People take

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<v Speaker 1>on what I will say. I'm not putting words in

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<v Speaker 1>your mouth, but these are my words. Very greedy corporations

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<v Speaker 1>who have forgotten why they have received so much wealth

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<v Speaker 1>over the years. Right and unions then are demonized because

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<v Speaker 1>they say, well, corporations, they can't be regulated because then

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<v Speaker 1>they'll lose money and people will lose jobs. What do

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<v Speaker 1>you say to that, Well.

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<v Speaker 2>First of all, let me just give you some very

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<v Speaker 2>important statistics as far as the way that people feel

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<v Speaker 2>currently about about union. Sixty seven percent of the American

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<v Speaker 2>public support unions and what they stand for just as important,

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<v Speaker 2>if not more important. Eighty eight percent of young people

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<v Speaker 2>understand the importance of union. So those people have got

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<v Speaker 2>to understand this. And now I'm going to give you

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<v Speaker 2>another statistic. Okay, in nineteen sixty five, CEOs were making

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<v Speaker 2>twenty one times as much as the typical worker, union

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<v Speaker 2>and non union. Okay, today, as we speak, CEOs are

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<v Speaker 2>making three hundred and fifty times more than the average worker.

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<v Speaker 2>People understand that that is wrong, that that's not a

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<v Speaker 2>level playing field, and the way to combat that, the

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<v Speaker 2>way to get in the game and put skin in

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<v Speaker 2>the game is to join a union and fight for

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<v Speaker 2>your rights at the bargaining table.

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<v Speaker 1>How has that been able to happen? President Saunders? Where

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<v Speaker 1>you go from such an extraordinary jump over sixty years,

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<v Speaker 1>where at one time it was twenty one times what

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<v Speaker 1>a worker was and now it's three hundred. How does

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<v Speaker 1>that happen?

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<v Speaker 2>I think that corporations and CEOs have the ability to

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<v Speaker 2>slant their story so it impinges upon, infringes upon what

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<v Speaker 2>unions are trying to do. They've got a bunch of

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<v Speaker 2>money and they've got a bunch of power, and they

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<v Speaker 2>will talk and spread rumors misinformation about unions, and people

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<v Speaker 2>were believing that. But now I think that it's kind

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<v Speaker 2>of reversed. Even though they've still got all that money

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<v Speaker 2>and I'm trying to do the same thing. People are

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<v Speaker 2>standing up and saying no way. I mean, you mentioned Starbucks, right,

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<v Speaker 2>I mean you mentioned what happened with the UAW strike

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<v Speaker 2>and with the Teamsters, with us organizing absently organizing childcare

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<v Speaker 2>and home care workers. People are saying, get real, get real,

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<v Speaker 2>and people are willing to stand up and fight for it.

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<v Speaker 2>People also understand this when you look at our history,

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<v Speaker 2>labor unions have stood tall, especially in the sixties, and

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<v Speaker 2>connecting ourselves with progressive movements that fight for workers' rights.

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<v Speaker 2>Look the March on Washington. The original topic of that

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<v Speaker 2>was March on Washington for Jobs right. And you look

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<v Speaker 2>who helped plan that along with doctor King and his people.

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<v Speaker 2>But it was a guy named a Philip Randolph, and

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<v Speaker 2>it was a guy named bayart Rustin who came out

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<v Speaker 2>of unions. They understood the connection between civil rights and

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<v Speaker 2>labor rights. And it's so important that we remind your

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<v Speaker 2>listeners of this, especially in African American history month Black

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<v Speaker 2>is Free Month, where there is a direct connection in

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<v Speaker 2>developing the necessary alliances between labor and communities of color

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<v Speaker 2>and folks who believe that working people should have a

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<v Speaker 2>shot at that American dream to come together and fight

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<v Speaker 2>for it. You know, we're a union that came out

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<v Speaker 2>of a major struggle in nineteen sixty eight, and you're

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<v Speaker 2>aware of this. When thirteen hundred sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee,

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<v Speaker 2>decided that they were sick and tired of being sick

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<v Speaker 2>and tired, and they went on strike on strike February

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<v Speaker 2>twelfth of nineteen sixty eight because two of their co

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<v Speaker 2>workers were crushed in the back of a sanitation truck

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<v Speaker 2>trying to get out of bad weather. And this problem

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<v Speaker 2>had been brought to the management's attention on many times

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<v Speaker 2>that they were dealing with faulty equipment, and guess what,

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<v Speaker 2>they didn't listen to them. They just told them to

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<v Speaker 2>get back out there and work as hard as you can.

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<v Speaker 2>We don't care what happens to you. There's a history

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<v Speaker 2>there and there is a struggle there that people have

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<v Speaker 2>got to connect with today. I mean, that struggle is

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<v Speaker 2>real today as well, especially in the African American community.

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<v Speaker 2>That's why we put out a podcast called I Am

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<v Speaker 2>which talks about the struggle in nineteen sixty eight, but

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<v Speaker 2>what we must do today to continue that fate. If

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<v Speaker 2>thirteen hundred sanitation workers in the Deep South African Americans

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<v Speaker 2>could fight back with their union and they were members

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<v Speaker 2>of Local seventeen thirty three ass me and be successful

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<v Speaker 2>and win, then you know what, we can overcome any obstacle.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's what the story is that we've got to

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<v Speaker 2>continue to tell folks. So when people are organizing, you

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<v Speaker 2>look back at that nineteen sixty eight strike or other

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<v Speaker 2>strikes that we've had across the country and saying it

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<v Speaker 2>can be done. It can be done when we're bringing

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<v Speaker 2>our communities together and talking about the injustices that exist,

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<v Speaker 2>the fact that corporations are making so much money, the

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<v Speaker 2>CEOs are making so much money, and they don't want

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<v Speaker 2>to share in those profits. Then people relate to that.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's why it's such an exciting time for labor

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<v Speaker 2>right now, because you've got young people organizing within our union.

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<v Speaker 2>We're organizing cultural workers like never before, and museums and

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<v Speaker 2>libraries and zoos and they're coming and you know what,

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<v Speaker 2>they're coming to us asking us to help them provide

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<v Speaker 2>support so they can organize at the workplace. And so

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<v Speaker 2>we've got to make all of these kinds of connections

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<v Speaker 2>and understand that we've come a long way, but we've

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<v Speaker 2>still got a long way to go, and we've got

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<v Speaker 2>to take advantage of the moment. And this moment is

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<v Speaker 2>that people understand the importance of organizing.

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<v Speaker 1>When you think about nineteen sixty eight, right, and how

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<v Speaker 1>that's relatively right in the grand scheme of things, small

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<v Speaker 1>group of black workers were able to make real change,

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<v Speaker 1>and we kind of look at COVID nineteen, right, was it?

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<v Speaker 1>I think, and I want to get your thoughts, was

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<v Speaker 1>a very big wake up in terms of how people

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<v Speaker 1>were treated in various industries. We don't have a caste

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<v Speaker 1>system in the United States, but we very well were

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<v Speaker 1>aware of the economic caste and class system that was

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<v Speaker 1>so hard to ignore during COVID. How do you think

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<v Speaker 1>that that, particularly as it was affecting more black and

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<v Speaker 1>brown workers that were in the quote unquote essential roles,

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<v Speaker 1>how do you think that that helped to reshape our

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<v Speaker 1>vision and thought around workers and unions because.

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<v Speaker 2>People, I think shared their experiences and talked about the

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<v Speaker 2>injustices it existed during COVID. You look at the United

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<v Speaker 2>food and commercial workers and they were forced to work

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<v Speaker 2>in unhealthy plants, They were told to come to work

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<v Speaker 2>when they were sick, I mean, and there were so

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<v Speaker 2>many things happening to them, and they finally stood up

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<v Speaker 2>and said this is wrong. I mean, this is absolutely wrong.

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<v Speaker 2>This is we're living in the richest country in the world,

0:16:06.320 --> 0:16:10.600
<v Speaker 2>that we're being forced to work under slave labor, to

0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:15.480
<v Speaker 2>work under situations that are not healthy. And people said

0:16:15.560 --> 0:16:18.520
<v Speaker 2>enough was enough. And you had this happening in each industry.

0:16:18.520 --> 0:16:20.440
<v Speaker 2>You had it happening in the public sector, in the

0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:23.920
<v Speaker 2>public service with healthcare workers having to go to those

0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:28.680
<v Speaker 2>hospitals because they were short staffed, having to wear garbage

0:16:28.720 --> 0:16:33.320
<v Speaker 2>bags as gowns. Right, yeah, okay, because the employer didn't

0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:38.440
<v Speaker 2>provide them with the necessary equipment and masks. And so

0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:42.120
<v Speaker 2>I think that there was a storm brewing and all

0:16:42.160 --> 0:16:46.000
<v Speaker 2>of it came together where folks said, Okay, this is crazy,

0:16:46.280 --> 0:16:51.280
<v Speaker 2>We've had enough, and people rallied around the importance of

0:16:51.320 --> 0:16:56.640
<v Speaker 2>coming together and make your collective voice heard. And we've

0:16:56.680 --> 0:16:59.080
<v Speaker 2>got to take advantage of this moment. And you see

0:16:59.120 --> 0:17:03.040
<v Speaker 2>it happening, especially in the African American community. I mean,

0:17:03.280 --> 0:17:06.600
<v Speaker 2>if you look at the last BLS statistics, three hundred

0:17:06.600 --> 0:17:09.040
<v Speaker 2>and nine thousand workers of color joined the labor movement

0:17:09.119 --> 0:17:12.919
<v Speaker 2>last year. I mean, that's a good number. But we

0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:15.200
<v Speaker 2>can do better, and we can do more, and we've

0:17:15.240 --> 0:17:18.560
<v Speaker 2>got to we've got to continue the level of excitement

0:17:19.440 --> 0:17:22.040
<v Speaker 2>that exists right now, and we've got to continue to

0:17:22.080 --> 0:17:25.840
<v Speaker 2>talk to workers and talk about the importance of unions

0:17:26.040 --> 0:17:28.280
<v Speaker 2>and to have that seat at the table. And they

0:17:28.320 --> 0:17:33.760
<v Speaker 2>will come. Now I will say this, we will continue

0:17:34.000 --> 0:17:40.280
<v Speaker 2>and labor is committed to organizing new workers, people of color,

0:17:40.480 --> 0:17:43.600
<v Speaker 2>and all workers. But we've got to have a change

0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:46.000
<v Speaker 2>in the labor laws in this country because the level

0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:48.880
<v Speaker 2>the playing field is not level. And if you look

0:17:48.920 --> 0:17:51.879
<v Speaker 2>at the Amazon workers, for example, where they organized what

0:17:52.760 --> 0:17:55.800
<v Speaker 2>two years ago in New York, they haven't even had

0:17:55.840 --> 0:17:58.360
<v Speaker 2>a chance to sit at the table. Yet. You look

0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:01.560
<v Speaker 2>at the Starbucks workers, they've been at the table, but

0:18:01.640 --> 0:18:03.760
<v Speaker 2>a number of them have been fired and they have

0:18:03.920 --> 0:18:07.600
<v Speaker 2>not resolved any or come to an agreement on a

0:18:07.640 --> 0:18:12.560
<v Speaker 2>contract because the employer can spend billions of dollars stalling

0:18:12.720 --> 0:18:17.160
<v Speaker 2>those negotiations instead of putting those dollars into the pockets

0:18:17.160 --> 0:18:20.760
<v Speaker 2>of workers who are providing those functions and those services

0:18:20.880 --> 0:18:24.920
<v Speaker 2>across the country. So we've got to attack this from

0:18:25.000 --> 0:18:28.280
<v Speaker 2>a variety of points. We've got to continue to organize,

0:18:28.880 --> 0:18:31.560
<v Speaker 2>we've got to change labor laws in this country. And

0:18:31.600 --> 0:18:33.640
<v Speaker 2>the way you do that is through the political process

0:18:35.000 --> 0:18:37.000
<v Speaker 2>in the public sector. In the private sector, you've got

0:18:37.040 --> 0:18:39.760
<v Speaker 2>the National Labor Relations Act that must be changed. And

0:18:39.800 --> 0:18:42.199
<v Speaker 2>the public sector, we're pushing for something called the Public

0:18:42.240 --> 0:18:45.280
<v Speaker 2>Service Freedom to Negotiate Act because we are not covered

0:18:45.359 --> 0:18:48.439
<v Speaker 2>under the national law. Where there is a level playing

0:18:48.480 --> 0:18:52.520
<v Speaker 2>field for workers to organize and to reach fair contracts,

0:18:52.880 --> 0:18:58.040
<v Speaker 2>or there will be impeditiments put on and we'd have

0:18:58.160 --> 0:19:00.560
<v Speaker 2>to figure out how to deal with the employer. Different fact,

0:19:00.680 --> 0:19:03.600
<v Speaker 2>they try to block those kinds of efforts. So we're

0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:05.720
<v Speaker 2>going to continue to organize, but we really need labor

0:19:05.760 --> 0:19:08.480
<v Speaker 2>law change, in labor law reform in this country as well.

0:19:09.040 --> 0:19:11.680
<v Speaker 1>How do you think you know, you mentioned politics, and

0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:14.520
<v Speaker 1>then obviously this is all deeply rooted in politics as

0:19:14.560 --> 0:19:18.560
<v Speaker 1>well as in policy. How do you think that we

0:19:18.640 --> 0:19:23.880
<v Speaker 1>need to have a conversation about labor and democracy. How

0:19:23.920 --> 0:19:29.640
<v Speaker 1>does labor in your mind, the labor movement strengthen our

0:19:29.720 --> 0:19:34.240
<v Speaker 1>conversation around a secure democracy.

0:19:36.080 --> 0:19:37.720
<v Speaker 2>Well, first of all, I think you have to look

0:19:37.760 --> 0:19:40.280
<v Speaker 2>at the way that we operate internally. I mean, labor

0:19:40.359 --> 0:19:46.040
<v Speaker 2>unions are democracy in action. People take votes, We elect

0:19:46.160 --> 0:19:51.680
<v Speaker 2>our leaders within the local union leadership. You establish processes

0:19:51.720 --> 0:19:54.560
<v Speaker 2>to decide what's going to be bargained for, having that

0:19:54.680 --> 0:19:58.760
<v Speaker 2>bargaining committee set up. When a tentative agreement is reached,

0:19:58.760 --> 0:20:02.159
<v Speaker 2>and you saw that with the UAW and with the

0:20:02.200 --> 0:20:05.240
<v Speaker 2>Teamsters and with all of us, then we take those agreements,

0:20:05.280 --> 0:20:09.960
<v Speaker 2>those tentative agreements back to the members to vote it

0:20:10.000 --> 0:20:12.439
<v Speaker 2>up or to vote it down. So we are democracy

0:20:12.480 --> 0:20:15.760
<v Speaker 2>in action. But we also understand that there's a threat

0:20:15.760 --> 0:20:18.639
<v Speaker 2>to our democracy with all the kinds of things that

0:20:18.680 --> 0:20:21.760
<v Speaker 2>we have fought for and stand for every single day.

0:20:22.680 --> 0:20:28.359
<v Speaker 2>Whether it's voting rights, okay, that's one, whether it's labor rights,

0:20:28.920 --> 0:20:33.440
<v Speaker 2>whether it's economic justice, whether it's women's rights. I mean,

0:20:33.560 --> 0:20:38.360
<v Speaker 2>we support those efforts all the time, and not only

0:20:38.400 --> 0:20:41.280
<v Speaker 2>support it by talking about it, but many times supporting

0:20:41.320 --> 0:20:45.240
<v Speaker 2>it through our resources that we have. Because even if

0:20:45.280 --> 0:20:49.040
<v Speaker 2>you may not be a union member, you care about

0:20:49.080 --> 0:20:52.400
<v Speaker 2>those values that we care about, we believe and what

0:20:52.440 --> 0:20:54.439
<v Speaker 2>we've got to do is show that there is a

0:20:54.480 --> 0:20:58.560
<v Speaker 2>bigger picture and that we are involved in a movement

0:20:59.280 --> 0:21:02.760
<v Speaker 2>within labor and among our allies and friends in our

0:21:02.760 --> 0:21:06.080
<v Speaker 2>communities across the country to make our voices heard together

0:21:06.160 --> 0:21:08.800
<v Speaker 2>and fight for the things we really believe in. And

0:21:08.840 --> 0:21:11.560
<v Speaker 2>we're doing that every single day. And that's why the

0:21:11.600 --> 0:21:15.040
<v Speaker 2>political environment right now is so important. Where we fight

0:21:15.200 --> 0:21:18.960
<v Speaker 2>for what we believe in, and we vote for what

0:21:19.080 --> 0:21:23.119
<v Speaker 2>we believe in, and we're educating and mobilizing and organizing

0:21:23.160 --> 0:21:25.679
<v Speaker 2>our members and our communities across the country not to

0:21:25.760 --> 0:21:27.960
<v Speaker 2>tell them how to vote who to vote for. We

0:21:28.000 --> 0:21:30.639
<v Speaker 2>should never do that, but we try to educate our

0:21:30.680 --> 0:21:33.639
<v Speaker 2>folks about Okay, who's going to improve your lives and

0:21:33.680 --> 0:21:36.040
<v Speaker 2>the lives of your families and who wants to destroy

0:21:36.080 --> 0:21:36.600
<v Speaker 2>your life?

0:21:41.600 --> 0:21:46.320
<v Speaker 1>Final question for you, what can our listeners do? Who

0:21:46.359 --> 0:21:49.080
<v Speaker 1>would love to get involved, who would love to support?

0:21:49.200 --> 0:21:53.200
<v Speaker 1>Ask me what can they do in order to get involved?

0:21:53.560 --> 0:21:56.960
<v Speaker 2>Well, if you see that there's an organizing campaign, not

0:21:57.000 --> 0:22:01.280
<v Speaker 2>only asks me, but with any union in your sitting,

0:22:03.760 --> 0:22:07.120
<v Speaker 2>give support. Give support when you see a picket line.

0:22:07.520 --> 0:22:09.639
<v Speaker 2>Don't just drive by that picket line and act like

0:22:09.680 --> 0:22:13.320
<v Speaker 2>it doesn't exist. Stop your car and get out and

0:22:13.680 --> 0:22:15.879
<v Speaker 2>thank the workers for what they're doing, for standing up

0:22:15.880 --> 0:22:20.160
<v Speaker 2>for themselves. Be vocal and be educated about the issues

0:22:20.160 --> 0:22:24.600
<v Speaker 2>that confront working families, because I guarantee you it affects

0:22:24.600 --> 0:22:29.720
<v Speaker 2>members of your own families. Everyone is impacted by the

0:22:29.760 --> 0:22:33.520
<v Speaker 2>policies that are being established by federal and state government

0:22:33.800 --> 0:22:37.160
<v Speaker 2>regarding workers having a better life or having a light

0:22:37.240 --> 0:22:40.040
<v Speaker 2>that is not so good. So you've got to stand

0:22:40.119 --> 0:22:43.320
<v Speaker 2>up in coalition and make your voices heard every single day.

0:22:43.320 --> 0:22:45.679
<v Speaker 2>We can't run from this battle. We can't run from

0:22:45.720 --> 0:22:48.600
<v Speaker 2>this fight, and we've got to be very vocal and

0:22:48.680 --> 0:22:53.440
<v Speaker 2>active about working with folks to have a better life

0:22:53.480 --> 0:22:54.320
<v Speaker 2>across the country.

0:22:55.119 --> 0:22:58.600
<v Speaker 1>President Lee Sounders, thank you so much for making the

0:22:58.600 --> 0:23:01.480
<v Speaker 1>time to join WKP. I really appreciate your work, I

0:23:01.520 --> 0:23:05.320
<v Speaker 1>appreciate your organization, and it has been a pleasure to

0:23:05.400 --> 0:23:06.360
<v Speaker 1>talk to you today.

0:23:06.920 --> 0:23:07.760
<v Speaker 2>Thank you very much.

0:23:13.200 --> 0:23:16.200
<v Speaker 1>That is it for me today. Dear friends on wok

0:23:16.600 --> 0:23:20.280
<v Speaker 1>f as always, power to the people and to all

0:23:20.600 --> 0:23:24.480
<v Speaker 1>the people. Power, get woke and stay woke as fuck.