April 26 2025 Union Workshop Event Information and Generated Summary below:
Link for April 26th Event:
Information:
- UNION POWER ‘25 Conference
- OUR POWER IS IN OUR LABOR!
- BECOMING STRIKE READY IN THE GREEN MOUNTAINS!
- Saturday, April 26, 10AM-4PM
- O.N.E. Community Center, 20 Allen St., Burlington, VT 05401 US
Workshops On:
- Organizing a Union!
- Building Shop Floor Power!!
- Bargaining To Win!!!
- Becoming Strike Ready!!!!
Speakers On:
- The Rise of Fascism & The Challenges Facing The Labor Movement
- How Unions & The Working Class Must Organize To Meet These Threats & WIN
Video Description:
[EU s15e15] Tariffs, the Working Class, and Resistance
In this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff critiques the DOGE practice of firing federal civilian employees, analyzes the Trump tariff program, and shows how both are presented as ways to solve deep economic problems in the U.S. but are actually an assault on the working class. The second part of the show features an interview with David Van Deusen, the former head of the Vermont state AFL-CIO and now an organizer of union-based resistance to the Trump program.
As always, we thank you for your attention, support, and solidarity.
Generated Summary:
This episode of Economic Update focuses on Trump's economic policies, specifically tariffs and attacks on public employees, and the resistance building against these policies, particularly within the labor movement.
Main Topics:
- Trump's Economic Policies: Analysis of tariffs and attacks on federal employees.
- Impact on the Working Class: How these policies negatively affect working people.
- Resistance and Labor Movement: Discussion of resistance efforts, focusing on an event in Vermont aimed at preparing workers for potential strikes and action.
Key Points:
- Tariffs as a Regressive Tax: Tariffs are presented as a sales tax that disproportionately hurts the poor and working class.
- Federal Employee Layoffs: Layoffs are framed as a desperate measure to save money and weaken the public sector, ultimately harming all workers by increasing competition for lower-wage jobs.
- Trump's Desperation: The host argues that Trump's policies are driven by desperation to maintain wealth and power for the elite in a declining American empire.
- Vermont's "Becoming Strike Ready" Event: A conference organized by Vermont unions to train workers in organizing, bargaining, and striking, preparing them for potential future actions.
- Need for a Stronger Labor Movement: The guest emphasizes the need for a more active, united, and unafraid labor movement to resist attacks on workers' rights and democracy.
- Importance of Community Alliances: The importance of building alliances between labor unions and other social movement groups is highlighted.
Highlights:
- Professor Wolff critiques Trump's economic policies as harmful to the working class and driven by desperation.
- David Van Deusen discusses the "Becoming Strike Ready" event in Vermont, emphasizing the need for workers to be prepared to take action.
- The discussion highlights the need for the national AFL-CIO to be more proactive and less reliant on traditional political channels.
- The importance of coordinated action and potential for a general strike are discussed.
About Channel:
Democracy at Work is a non-profit 501(c)3 that produces media and live events. Our work analyzes capitalism critically as a systemic problem and advocates for democratizing workplaces as part of a systemic solution. We seek a stronger, fuller democracy – in our politics and culture as well as in our economy - based on workers’ equal collaboration and shared leadership inside enterprises and throughout society.
Edit:
- Fixed misspelled name in Generated Summary, changed David Van Dooen to David Van Deusen
- Format, seperated the Edit Section