How May Day Became Essential Workers Day

May Day, a global labor holiday, takes on a new meaning amid COVID-19, with many workers fired or furloughed, and those still working facing dangerous conditions and little protection.

An episode of the Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast podcast, hosted by WNYC Studios, titled "How May Day Became Essential Workers Day" was published on May 1, 2020 and runs 24 minutes.

May 1, 2020 ·24m · Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

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Summary

May Day, a global labor holiday, takes on a new meaning amid COVID-19, with many workers fired or furloughed, and those still working facing dangerous conditions and little protection.

Episode Description

Workers at companies like Amazon, Shipt, Instacart and Walmart are walking out Friday to protest working conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic. Jane McAlevey, organizer, senior policy fellow at the University of California at Berkeley’s Labor Center, The Nation's strike correspondent and the author of, A Collective Bargain: Unions, Organizing & the Fight for Democracy (Ecco, 2020) talks about how they are organizing, how the companies are responding and what may come next for these essential workers plus, Chris Smalls, whistleblower and former Amazon employee, talks about the planned strike.