Belabored Podcast #79: On Board for $15

Subscribe to the Belabored RSS feed here. Subscribe and rate on iTunes here or on Stitcher here. Check out the full Belabored archive here. Tweet at @dissentmag with #belabored to share your thoughts, or join the conversation on Facebook. Belabored is produced by Natasha Lewis. It’s been a big couple of weeks for low-wage workers: the Fight for $15 convention, new cities moving to $15 an hour (or discussing it), the Walmart shareholders meeting and attendant protests, new reports on the conditions of workers of color in retail, and the first wage board hearing here in New York State. Irene Tung of the National Employment Law Project testified before the wage board, and joins us this week to talk about this unconventional way that New York fast food workers might see a raise. We also discuss Walmart and hear from the workers who traveled to Bentonville to make their voices heard (and confront their CEO), look at Hillary Clinton’s words to the Fight for $15 convention, and get an update on what’s happening in Bangladesh two years after the Rana Plaza collapse. And for “Argh” we think about one of our favorite subjects: the corporatization of the university and its discontents.   News Michelle: $1,000 for a Dead Family Member—Is That Justice for Bangladesh’s Garment Workers? (The Nation) Michelle: This Is Black Friday in Bangladesh (The Nation) Sarah: Workers Confront Walmart Executives at Star-Studded Company Event (Truthout) Michelle: How the Retail Industry Keeps People of Color in Poverty (The Nation) Clinton backs labor, hints at $15 minimum wage (Vox) Slay seeks to raise minimum wage in St. Louis to $15 an hour (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) Ferguson Commission hears of economic struggles (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)   Conversation: Irene Tung, National Employment Law Project Cuomo Says He Will Create Labor Board To Investigate Fast Food Wages (The Albany Project) Michelle: The Fight For $15 Just Won a Powerful Supporter: Governor Cuomo (The Nation)   Argh, I Wish I’d Written That! Sarah: Amanda Taub, I was a liberal adjunct professor. My liberal students didn’t scare me at all. (Vox) Michelle: Lee Siegel, Why I Defaulted on My Student Loans (New York Times) The post Belabored Podcast #79: On Board for $15 appeared first on Dissent Magazine.