Ep 196: Poultry Plant Killing Fields; Desperate People Jam The Bank Lines; Bidding To Win In Florida

Working Life Podcast

Episode 196: It’s never enough to remind people every single day how many workers are out there on the frontlines risking their lives in the pandemic. I’ve talked about those folks regularly on the show: the transit workers, retail workers, and teachers. And, surely, the workers who put food on our plates are right up there on the list—like the folks that are crammed together in poultry processing plants who are getting sick by the thousands and dying by the hundreds. Alexandre Galimberti, Senior Advocacy and Collaborations Advisor for the US Domestic Program at Oxfam America, talks with me about how the corrupt, greedy poultry industry is exposing workers to horrendous conditions. Support the Working Life Network here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast and at ActBlue: secure.actblue.com/donate/working-life-1 Last week I was driving about town, doing a few errands (while always wearing my mask) when I passed by a bank. There were hundreds of people lined up at the bank, pieces of paper in their hands, with a ton of them crowded together pressed against each other at the door of the bank. I drove down another block and circled back to the spot. I knew what this scene was instantly: people trying to file paperwork to get a one-time $500 state grant to make up for the enhanced federal unemployment benefits that Republican cut off at the end of July. I talk about this as an example of an immoral society—a place where millions of people can’t pay their bills because of a public health crisis created by leaders who don’t give a damn and exacerbated by leaders who don’t care whether people are going hungry. Support the Working Life Network here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast and at ActBlue: secure.actblue.com/donate/working-life-1 The Florida 3rd Congressional district might have been a relatively obscure seat in the mix of 435 congressional districts—except it’s held by Ted Yoho, the yahoo who called Alexandria Ocasio Cortex a “fucking bitch”, leading to a spectacular takedown of Yoho and misogyny by Ocasio Cortez on the House floor. Thankfully for the country, Yoho is not running for re-election. Support the Working Life Network here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast and at ActBlue: secure.actblue.com/donate/working-life-1 Still, the district is considered a pretty safe Republican district, with an R+9 lean. Trump beat Clinton in the district 56-40 in 2016. But, Adam Christensen, the candidate who just captured the Democratic nomination, joins the show to explain why the district is a good place to test a populist message. Support the Working Life Network here: www.patreon.com/WorkingLifePodcast and at ActBlue: secure.actblue.com/donate/working-life-1 -- Jonathan Tasini Follow me on Twitter @jonathantasini Sign up for The Working Life Podcast at: www.workinglife.org Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jonathan.tasini.3