Episode 38 - protests against the National Labor Relations Board

Episode 38 of POWERcast takes you to recent protests against the National Labor Relations Board, an agency now bent on crushing workers rights rather than enforcing them.

You’ll also hear from Congressman Mike Doyle, who recently joined with the Steelworkers and the U.S. PIRG on the USW’s crusade to stop toxic trade. The Creep of the Week is another Bush administration agency that has made a stunning, unexplainable decision devastating to workers and communities. Listen

Episode 37 - The State of a Mexican Mine.

Episode 37 of POWERcast showcases an important report about the state of a Mexican mine. You’ll hear how it’s an example of why strong global solidarity is a necessity. Labor leader Napoleon Gomez makes an appearance along with USW President Leo Gerard. The Creep of the Week title is awarded to another underperforming executive whose exorbitant exit pay is mind boggling – especially as millions of Americans face financial ruin because of the mortgage crisis. Listen

Episode 36 - Anti-Sweatshop Bill

Episode 36 of POWERcast puts the spotlight on the anti-sweatshop bill, a very important piece of federal legislation that would not only protect children at home but children around the world. You’ll also get the latest on the USW’s toxic trade campaign, including an interview with a world-renowned lead expert who’s angry that a lifetime of research is being ignored. No one deserves the Creep of the Week award more than this week’s recipient - a bureaucrat whose unbelievable behavior is not only politically perturbing, but may be costing kids their lives. Listen

Episode 35 - Important U.S. Trade Commission Ruling

Come along with presidential candidate John Edwards as he campaign in Iowa and here why so many USW members are supporting his bid for the White House. POWERcast 35 also updates you on an important U.S. Trade Commission ruling. You’ll find out how the Cleveland Browns and the United Steelworkers are teaming up to help student athletes. And don’t tune out before finding out the Creep of the Week. It’s one of the worst offenders to date. Listen

Episode 34 - Women of Steel

Episode 34 of POWERcast takes you to Toronto, Canada, and Washington, D.C., for the launch of a major North American campaign to stop toxic trade. We bring you a report from the Women of Steel conference, where more than a thousand activists attended the largest gathering of working women ever.

And the Creep of the Week will make you wish Election Day were tomorrow so you could vote out the folks who care more about corporations than kids. Listen

Episode 33 - Stop Toxic Imports

Episode 33 of POWERcast previews the USW’s major North American awareness campaign that aims to stop the toxic imports that are endangering our families.

You’ll also hear the Steelworkers’ National Political Director talk about how trade is shaping up to be a major campaign issue. And the Creep of the Week is a multiple award recipient whose head-shaking stances against children and families are just plain wrong. Listen

Episode 32 - Steelworkers Endorse John Edwards

This edition of POWERcast recaps a very special Labor Day when the United Steelworkers and United Mine Workers of America gave presidential candidate John Edwards a major boost. There’s a report on the first USW president who is being remembered with a bridge named in his honor. And the Creep of the Week honors goes to government and corporate officials who are trying to spin their way out of an obvious crisis involving the health and safety of our children. Listen

Episode 31 - Repairing the Nation’s Infrastructure

The AFL-CIO’s Bob Baugh visits with us in this edition of POWERcast to talk about how repairing the nation’s roads, bridges, utilities and other infrastructure is not only good for the country but can be good for workers. There’s a report from Workers Independent News about how the USW is protecting consumers and workers by drawing attention to a dangerous chemical used to make everything from non-stick pots and pans to pizza boxes.

And Creep of the Week honors go to a boss whose bad safety record and manic media performances have raised questions about a deadly disaster. Listen

Episode 30 - The heart-breaking case of sick nuclear workers fighting for health care.

This edition of POWERcast brings you the latest news in the heart-breaking case of sick nuclear workers fighting for health care. USW President Leo Gerard appeared on a national news program to talk about unions’ agenda in the presidential campaign and we were there. There’s also a report on a major victory for Continental Tire retirees. Don’t miss the Creep of the Week – it celebrates a right-wing rant from a not-so-compassionate conservative running amok. Listen

Episode 29 - AFL-CIO Democratic Presidential Debate.

The eyes of the nation were watching when the AFL-CIO gathered the Democratic presidential candidates at Soldier Field in Chicago for a nationally-televised debate. And it was a Steelworker who stole the show. Listen to this week’s POWERcast to find out how this member has pushed health care front and center. USW Vice President Tom Conway and President Leo Gerard also were on big stages recently and POWERcast takes you there. The Creep of the Week honors one of the most heartless displays of corporate greed ever. Listen

Episode 28 - Keeping tariffs on cheap, imported steel.

One day USW President Leo Gerard joins a group of Steelworkers in Washington, D.C., to make the case for keeping tariffs on cheap, imported steel and the next day he’s starring on the big screen in a Leonardo DiCaprio movie. Listen to this week’s POWERcast to get the scoop. The episode also features an interview with a well-known blogger who wrote about the nation’s crumbling infrastructure long before a string of deadly bridge and road collapses. And we’ll give Creep of the Week honors to a group of politicians who continue to put Big Business before needy children. Listen

Episode 27- Travel to Africa in this episode of POWERcast.

Travel to Africa in this episode of POWERcast. We go along with a USW and AFL-CIO delegation that observed historic union elections in Liberia. You’ll also hear from filmmaker Michael Moore who talks about his latest movie that highlights America’s growing health care crisis. You’ll also hear some presidential candidates talk about why health care is a major campaign issue. The Creep of the Week is a group of CEOs whose latest globalization gimmick is nothing but a big dose of denial. Listen

Episode 26 - Holding China accountable for its unfair trade practices.

Holding China accountable for its unfair trade practices that have led to the loss of thousands of North American paper jobs is at the core of an important trade case in Washington, D.C. Hear members of the USW legislative and legal teams discuss the issue in this episode.

We also catch up with presidential candidate John Edwards during a stop on his poverty tour, and we visit with the son of a Steelworker whose blue-collar roots are the inspiration for his Grammy-award winning music.

The Creep of the Week highlights another questionable decision by the White House – and this one is putting American consumers at risk. Listen

Episode 25 - USW Presidential Forum

If you couldn’t make it to the recent USW Presidential Forum on Renewing Manufacturing in Cleveland, you can get caught up on all the news in this week’s POWERcast. Former Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich share their ideas for bringing good jobs back to America and discuss their agendas for working families.

There’s also a report on the first Battle of Homestead Bernie Kleiman lecture at Pittsburgh’s Pump House where former USW president Lynn Williams delivered the inaugural speech. And the Creep of the Week is another example of how Wall Street has a monopoly on media coverage. Listen

Episode 24 - Free Trade

In this week’s POWERcast , we go inside a big decision by congressional leaders on the trade front. It’s a big win for workers. We touch base with former Steelworkers’ President Lynn Williams, who shares his insightful thoughts about labor’s role in the future in a renewed progressive movement.

At the end of the broadcast we reveal the Creep of the Week – a mouthpiece for many of the world’s biggest businesses that think the bottom line is more important than human rights. Listen

Episode 23 - Latest on the Employee Free Choice Act

This week’s POWERcast brings you the latest on the Employee Free Choice Act and takes you to the Pennsylvania Statehouse, where Governor Ed Rendell is taking smart steps toward building a clean energy industry that works for workers and the environment.

You’ll hear why some of the presidential candidates are making the union vote a priority. And the Creep of the Week is an absolutely outrageous oversight that may have cost people their lives. Listen

Episode 22 - Employee Free Choice Act

This week’s POWERcast is on the scene. We bring you reports from our nation’s Capitol that gives you the latest Employee Free Choice Act news as well as a story from the Take Back America conference. We’re there in Philadelphia for an important discussion on diversity in the labor movement, and we travel to England with USW President Leo W. Gerard who spoke to a Unite the Union conference about the exciting possibilities of forming a powerful global partnership with Great Britain and Ireland ’s biggest trade union. The Creep of the Week is proof that an Ivy League resume doesn’t always guarantee the smartest ideas. Listen

Episode 21 - Global Agenda

This week’s POWERcast is jammed packed with information. USW’s National Director for Canada Ken Neumann answers some of the many questions surrounding the union’s global agenda. There’s a heart-breaking story about thousands of former Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant workers who have been denied compensation and medical care for their cancers. W e hear from two Women of Steel who are part of the USW delegation attending important union diversity discussions being held around the nation. And no one has deserved the Creep of the Week more than this week’s recipient, whose recent decision is not only wrong but potentially deadly. Listen

Episode 20 - Preparing for the 2008 Elections.

This week’s POWERcast provides a glimpse into the important work already underway to prepare for the 2008 election. We hear from labor leaders about what you can do now to become a part of it. You’ll also get a preview of the upcoming Take Back America conference in Washington, D.C., where several USW members will be among the activists gathering to talk about a new direction for America. The Creep of the Week – more evidence of a broken executive compensation system - will get your blood pressure sky-high. Listen

Episode 19 - A report from the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists convention.

This week’s POWERcast takes you to Chicago for a report on the 36th annual Coalition of Black Trade Unionists convention, where presidential candidate Barack Obama was among the speakers. There’s also an update on the continuing saga of exorbitant executive pay – this chapter features a major victory for workers. And don’t miss the Creep of the Week, a reflection of lazy journalism that’s woefully wrong and incredibly insulting. USW President Leo Gerard helps set the record straight. Listen

Episode 18 - Private Equity

This week’s POWERcast features a look at the growing problem of unregulated private equity. The USW’s Ron Bloom helps explain what it means for employees and their pensions. A group of Steelworkers retirees talk about living life after work when your pension is under constant attack. At the end of the broadcast we reveal the Creep of the Week, a true example of private equity gone bad. Listen

Episode 17 - Trade

This week’s POWERcast features an interview with journalist and author David Sirota, who gives us an update on the important trade debate going on in Washington , D.C. We also hear from Congresswoman Betty Sutton of Ohio and the AFL-CIO’s Bob Baugh. What do lead-laced baby bibs and the health of our country’s children have to do with international trade? Marilyn Furer, a concerned grandmother from Illinois , helps connect the dots. Listen

Episode 16 - Alternative Energy = Jobs

This week’s POWERcast tells the story of how a former steel town is not only revitalizing itself and creating good-paying jobs but helping address high gasoline prices with environmentally-friendly businesses. It’s a living example of what the Steelworkers has been advocating through the Blue-Green and Apollo alliances and other efforts. And at the end of our broadcast, we’ll reveal the Creep of the Week, a big company that’s taking a lot of heat for questionable decisions. Listen

Episode 15 - We report from a rally against Verizon and its union-busting ways.

n this week’s POWERcast, we report from a rally against Verizon and its union-busting ways - a perfect example of why the nation needs the Employee Free Choice Act. Hundreds of Steelworkers’ joined members of the CWA and IBEW to protest as the telecommunications giant held its annual shareholders’ meeting in Pittsburgh. Speakers include AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasure Richard Tumpka. We’ll also bring you a report from a Workers’ Memorial Day ceremony, where USW President Leo Gerard makes an eloquent argument for improved worker safety. CWA President Larry Cohen helps make the case against this week’s Creep of the Week, a pair of top-level managers who have made an exorbitant amount of money while blocking rank-and-file employees from bargaining for a better life. Listen

Episode 14 - A report from the Steelworkers’ Rapid Response legislative conference in Washington, D.C.

In this week’s POWERcast, we bring you a report from the Steelworkers’ Rapid Response legislative conference in Washington, D.C. More than 700 of USW’s most active members gathered to lobby legislators on behalf of working people and to learn more about important issues, including the Employee Free Choice Act and international trade. This episode includes interviews with noted author William Greider, Amicus leader Graham Goddard, Rapid Response Coordinator Tim Waters and USW President Leo Gerard. At the end of the broadcast, we reveal the Creep of the Week, a retail giant exercising corporate greed at its finest. Listen

Episode 13 - Steelworkers' plan to study a merger with Great Britain's largest private-sector union, Amicus.

In this week’s POWERcast , we bring you a report focusing on the Steelworkers’ global ambitions, including plans to study a merger with Great Britain ’s largest private-sector union, Amicus. This episode takes you to Canada and Pittsburgh to hear from USW President Leo Gerard and Amicus’ leader, Derek Simpson. USW’s international relations director Jerry Fernandez also talks about why it’s so important for the Steelworkers to take its mission beyond borders. Listen

Episode 12 - our report looks at the escalating problem of unfair executive compensation.

In this week’s POWERcast, our report looks at the escalating problem of unfair executive compensation and how new federal rules are helping to bring this issue to the forefront. This episode also includes a Workers’ Independent News interview with Dan Pedrotty, Director of the Office of Investment for the AFL-CIO, whose Web site paywatch.org gives people a valuable tool for researching the flawed executive compensation system. And at the end of our broadcast, we’ll reveal the Creep of the Week. It’s a team of executives who have prescribed multimillion-dollar compensation packages for themselves while laying off thousands of rank-and-file employees. Listen

Episode 11 - Our report focuses on unfair international trade, including how American workers got support from an unlikely source

In this week’s POWERcast , our report focuses on unfair international trade, including how American workers got support from an unlikely source, and a special Workers’ Independent News interview with Rob Scott, a senior economist with the Economic Policy Institute who breaks down why all Americans should be concerned about trade and tariffs. And at the end of our broadcast, we’ll reveal the Creep of the Week. It’s a multibillion-dollar corporation who says one thing but does another when it comes to being “green.” Listen

Episode 10 - A special POWERcast devoted to violence against trade unionists in Colombia.

This is a special POWERcast devoted to violence against trade unionists in Colombia, which continues in world record numbers while the U.S. gives Colombia more aid than any country outside the Middle East and Afghanistan and while President Bush pushes Congress to sign a Free Trade Agreement with Colombia. On this broadcast, we will speak with USW attorney Dan Kovalik. He and lawyers from the International Labor Rights Fund are representing the families of three labor leaders murdered in Colombia. In their civil lawsuit against Drummond Coal, they claim Drummond was involved in the assassinations. Our Creep of the Week contends Americans shouldn’t get all upset about the assassinations of trade unionists in Colombia because lots of people are murdered there. Listen

Episode 9 - Hear Goodyear workers from around the world who met in Akron to discuss defending and advancing their mutual interests.

In this week’s POWERcast , we bring you Goodyear workers from around the world who met in Akron to discuss defending and advancing their mutual interests. And we give you a Creep of the Week. This one’s a clown we found with his whole arm in the cookie jar. Listen

Episode 8 - A special report about the AFL-CIO's statement on universal health care.

In POWERcast eight, we give you a special report from Workers’ Independent News about the AFL-CIO statement on universal health care coverage. At the end of the broadcast, we send off our Creep of the Week with an ever-so-fond farewell. Listen

Episode 6 - Steelworkers V.P. Tom Conway and Gamesa Michael Peck talk about the Apollo Alliance, good jobs and green energy in Pennsylvania.

On this week’s POWERcast, we’ll talk with United Steelworkers Vice President Tom Conway about working with the Apollo Alliance to create a secure market for renewable energy in Pennsylvania, which lured Gamesa Corp., to the state. Then we’ll speak with Gamesa’s Michael Peck about steelworkers, windmills and last week’s Apollo Summit.

At the end of our POWERcast, we’ll name the winner of our Creep of the Week award – quite a prestigious Presidential group this time. Listen

Episode 5 - Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown & Jerome Ringo, president of the Apollo Alliance

This week, POWERcast brings you Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, a freshman Democrat who’s pressing for Fair Trade to preserve good jobs for American workers and protect foreign workers from sweatshops. We also interview Jerome Ringo, president of the Apollo Alliance, a group seeking clean energy investments and sustainable union jobs. At the end of POWERcast, we’ll name the winner of our Creep of the Week award. This one is paid by taxpayers, yet wants to coddle big business at the expense of little investors. Listen

Episode 4 - Features interviews to commemorate Black History Month and a report on the Employee Free Choice Act.

This week’s POWERcast features interviews to commemorate Black History Month and a report from Worker’s Independent News on the Employee free Choice Act. Because a vote on the act may occur as early as next month, the week of Feb. 19 is National Action Week on the Employee Free Choice Act. Listen

Episode 3 - Two members of Congress talk about their efforts to protect American workers against unfair foreign competition.

This week’s POWERcast features interviews with two members of Congress who are working hard for workers’ rights. They are West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller, co-chairman of the Senate’s Steel Caucus, and Ohio Congresswoman Betty Sutton, an attorney with an expertise in labor law. She’s organizing freshmen Democrats to oppose renewal of the President’s Fast Track authority – which prevents Congress from amending trade deals. And Rockefeller talks about his proposed legislation called “Strengthening America’s Trade Laws Act.” POWERcast also names another Creep of the Week. This guy threw himself a $3 million birthday party after laying off workers.
Listen

Episode 2 - Congressman Barney Frank and Stewart Acuff, organizing director for the AFL-CIO

In this POWERcast Congressman Barney Frank talks about income inequality and Stewart Acuff, organizing director for the AFL-CIO explains the Employee Free Choice Act. In addition, there’s a tribute to former USW President George Becker, who died Feb. 3. And, at the end, there’s a treat: another Creep of the Week. Listen

Episode 1 - January 29, 2006

This week, POWERcast features an interview with USW President Leo W. Gerard about the crucial role of solidarity in the Goodyear strike late last year.

Also, U.S. Rep. George Miller, the California Democrat who introduced the minimum wage increase in Congress and got it passed Jan. 10, talks about the Senate Republicans’ demand that the measure include tax breaks for small business.

We’ve got a special treat for you at the end of our POWERcast. We call it Creep of the Week. Here’s a clue about our winner: do you think you could screw up at work then get your company to hand you $210 million buckaroos to quit? Click to listen.