Class Matters

In Episode 16, a post-2024 election episode, Class Matters asks Mark Dimondstein, President of the American Postal Workers and Adolph Reed Jr., "Where do we go from here?" Join us for a lively and compelling conversation on changing the way Labor does politics, including building an issue-based politics independent of the two parties, organizing to change the terms of political debate, and the role of political education.

In Episode 15 of Class Matters, Adolph Reed Jr. and Mark Dudzic take on the 40+ years of anti-worker compromises that have led to worker frustration with both political parties and distrust in our government. They examine how the Labor Party effort of the 1990s/2000s aimed to channel that anger into an independent working-class politics.

In Episode 14 of Class Matters, Adolph Reed Jr. talks with labor educator Les Leopold about his new book, Wall Street's War on Workers: How Mass Layoffs and Greed Are Destroying the Working Class and What to Do About It.

In Episode 13 of Class Matters, we're talking with labor activists Marianne Pizzitola, Rose Roach, and Mark Dudzic about Medicare Advantage (Disadvantage?) health plans and what they mean for union retirees, for collective bargaining, and for the future of traditional Medicare. And we get the scoop on how retirees in New York City are fighting back against efforts to force them onto Advantage plans.

In Episode 12 of Class Matters, we're talking with labor organizer Jane McAlevey about how to democratize union negotiations and build significant worker power by practicing transparent, big, and open negotiations. That's the focus of McAlevey's latest book, Rules to Win By: Power and Participation in Union Negotiations. McAlevey talks with Gordon Lafer and Adolph Reed Jr. about the impact of negotiations as political education, for building strong unions and for rebuilding democracy.