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100 YEARS
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May 21 -- Democracy and Unions: Do They Need Each Other?
The League of Women Voters-Downeast in cooperation with WERU FM produces a monthly radio program on topics in participatory democracy. It's called the Democracy Forum.
Broadcasts may be heard from 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. on the third Friday of the month at WERU Community Radio, 89.9 FM. Listen on the web at WERU FM. The show can also be heard in the Portland area at 2 p.m., the first Sunday of the following month, at WMPG Community Radio, 99.9 FM, streaming at wmpg.org
In September, 2018, the Democracy Forum won top honors from the Maine Association of Broadcasting for public affairs radio.
Broadcasts are available as a podcast from WERU FM.
Here is information about our upcoming broadcast.
This new episode will be pre-recorded on May 17; no listener calls will be taken. Comments and questions may be emailed to news@weru.org with Democracy Forum on the subject line.
“Organizing around a common interest is a fundamental part of democracy. We should no more try to take away the right of individuals to collectively bargain than we should try to take away the right to a secret ballot." Michael Bloomberg
We’ll talk about the historical and contemporary link between labor organizing and expanding political rights like voting. Is union organizing an important, if not essential, tool in building a vibrant democracy? Has the diminution of labor unions contributed to the politics of resentment? Has it provided fertile ground for the current moment of populist anger and stridently divided politics? What led to the demise of unions over the last half century? How could they come back?
Special Guests:
David Madland, a senior fellow and the senior adviser to the American Worker Project at American Progress, author of the new book, Re-Union: How Bold Labor Reforms Can Repair, Revitalize, and Reunite the United States
Cynthia Phinney, President of Maine AFL-CIO since 2015.
To learn more, follow these links to related content:
Democracy Dies When Labor Unions Do, Eric Levitz in New York, September, 2019
Democracy Needs Unions, Christine Owens at Other Words, August 28, 2019
The Conservative Case for Unions, Jonathan Rauch in The Atlantic, July/August 2017
Democracy, Union Made, Phil Fishman in The American Interest, September 2007