Newsmakers meet New Yorkers as host Brian Lehrer and his guests take on the issues dominating conversation in New York and around the world. This daily program from WNYC Studios cuts through the usual talk radio punditry and brings a smart, humane approach to the day's events and what matters most in local and national politics, our own communities and our lives. WNYC Studios is a listener-supported producer of other leading podcasts including Radiolab, On the Media, Death, Sex & Money, Nancy, and many others.
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Verizon Workers On Strike
Bernie Sanders was very much in his element Wednesday, joining Verizon workers as they went on strike. "Brothers and sisters!" he shouted to a picket line in Brooklyn. "Thank you for your courage in standing up for justice against corporate greed!”
The strike began early yesterday morning after Verizon failed to reach an agreement with unions representing almost 40,000 of its wireline workers.
Noam Scheiber, labor and workplace reporter for The New York Times, talked with Brian about some of the charges and counter-charges behind the strike. At play are benefits, pensions and job security.
The disagreement over contracts highlights what Scheiber says is one of the most fundamental questions facing the United States: “Can an economy in the throes of dizzying technological change be a source of new middle-class jobs for blue-collar workers?”
A striking worker just called, said @Verizon wants the right to transfer employees anywhere for 2 months. With kids, she can't promise that.
— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) April 14, 2016