May 1st – On May Day the State of Working America; May Day Demonstrations in Chicago; May Day Demonstrations in New York and Los Angeles

Full Program

Part 1

We begin on this May Day and get an analysis of the state of working America from Lawrence Mischel, who is the president of the Economic Policy Institute and the principal author of a research volume published every two years that is widely considered as the authoritative text on the American workforce, “The State of Working America”.

Part 2

Then we speak with labor historian Leon Fink who edits the journal ”Labor: Studies in Working Class History of the Americas”.  We discuss the history of the American labor movement and how it compares to other industrial democracies in terms of political influence and economic clout, as well as get an update on May Day demonstrations held today in Chicago.

Part 3

Then finally we hear about the May Day demonstrations in New York from Arun Gupta who covers the Occupy Wall Street movement for Salon.  We discuss the occupation of Union Square and other demonstrations and, on a day meant to celebrated solidarity with working people around the world, we look into growing factionalism in the occupy movement and concerns of co-option. And for an update on May Day demonstrations in Los Angeles, Julie Levine joins us. An activist and a leader in the Topanga Peace Alliance, she is currently a field instructor at the USC School of Social Work.