Episode 129: Oregon Teachers Uprising; The Shame of Kids’ Poverty; Savings Miners’ Pensions.
Episode 129: Just hours ago, 25,000 teachers and their supporters massed in Portland, Oregon to demand a fully-funded education system—it’s another moment in the incredible teacher organizing that has swept the country over the past year. With the energy of thousands of revved up teachers pulsing in the background, I chat at the rally with teacher/union leaders, as well as bring other voices from the mobilization. Then, in the richest nation in human history, 11.5 million children live in poverty. Children. I talk with Meg Wiehe, deputy director of the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, about the Child Tax Credit and the new move to get states to fill the hole in the federal CTC system, and maybe even bump up the miserly amount given to families who need it most to make sure kids can eat and be clothed. And here’s a pro tip for climate change activists: if you want to build bridges with coal miners who might not be on board with your agenda, you could start, in a small way, by marching with them as they try to save their pensions, which effectively are being stolen by big corporations using bankruptcy laws. United Mine Workers official Phil Smith joins me to look at the crisis in pensions and a big campaign to get Congress to make sure miners get what was promised them for many decades. I also want to note that Larry Hanley, the president of the ATU, passed away last night at the age of 62. I knew Larry for many years and worked closely with him for the last several years. He was one of the few national labor leaders who moved his union in support of Bernie Sanders in 2016. A True progressive. He will be missed.
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