Part 1:
We talk with three Dartmouth College students who have been instrumental in organizing a student worker union. They are Ian Scott, Sheen Kim, and Nadine Formiga. These students have not only been active in organizing the union, but also have negotiated pay raises for other student workers, but also sick pay, and hazard pay. Their task is not done, but they are looking forward to making all of these changes permanent. Dartmouth has accepted more students into the entering class than before, and this has strained the working students, while Dartmouth has increased its endowment by $2 Billion, during the pandemic. They have also been aided by established unions elsewhere, and have inspired other groups at other universities. Amazon workers in Staten Island have also voted a union, as have workers with Starbucks. The pandemic appears to have created a climate empower workers. Part 2: Our guest is John Nichols, who writes for The Nation. We talk about the growth of income inequality during the pandemic. Jeff Bezos, for example, has gained 87%, and Elon Musk has gained 200% in net worth. This, while workers are asked to sacrifice while inflation increases, with no corresponding improvement in their earning power. Biden has announced that he is planning to tax unrealized wealth, just as increased values in real estate are taxed through the property tax increases. This may discourage profiteering, which has been rampant through Covid surges.
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AuthorThis page is maintained by the producers of Arnie's show. We are with her every time the show is recorded. Archives
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