Re:Work by the UCLA Labor Center
Re:Work by the UCLA Labor Center
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A women-led podcast that spotlights the voices of workers, immigrants, and communities of color. Produced by Veena Hampapur and Saba Waheed.
Available episodes
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Oldest first
Mar 17, 2023
Stranded
In 2020, India suddenly went into a national lockdown without advance planning or adequate government support, which led to a humanitarian crisis in addition to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Millions of jobs disappeared and hunger was a serious issue. Tens of millions of migrant workers struggled to get home — often on foot — and many died attempting the journey. In this episode, we bring you the story of Gulzar, a migrant worker who left his village as a child and traveled across the country, to earn money to support his family.
For more info on the Stranded Workers Action Network, visit strandedworkers.in/
This episode features music from Elephants with Guns - elephantswithguns.com
Voiceover by Shawn Jain - shawnkjain.com/
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Feb 28, 2023
Soul Force, Part II
Civil rights icon, Reverend James Lawson Jr., shares his recollections of the 1960s and working closely with Martin Luther King Jr.
Reverend Lawson presents the nonviolent movement in America as the "nuclear engine" of the mid-20th century civil rights movement, and as a strategic series of organizing campaigns for racial and economic justice.
This is the second part of our miniseries on Reverend James Lawson Jr.
Transcript: bit.ly/soulforcepart2
This episode contains material from Rev. Lawson's UCLA Labor Studies course, Nonviolence and Social Movements, which he teaches with UCLA Labor Center Director Kent Wong. To watch the class, visit bit.ly/UCLALawson.
Books by Rev. Lawson:
bit.ly/revolutionarynonviolence
books.labor.ucla.edu/nonviolence
Related Links:
irle.ucla.edu/labor-studies/comm…-social-movements/
newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/ucla-cla…ther-king-legacy
newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/dedicat…ing-james-lawson
newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/james-la…lding-dedication
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Feb 15, 2023
The Tractor Princess
“The Tractor Princess” draws on excerpts from an oral history interview that is a part of a community archive and research initiative called Watsonville is in the Heart, which highlights the stories of Filipino families from the greater Pajaro Valley region in California.
In this episode of Re:Work, Antoinette Yvonne DeOcampo-Lechtenberg paints a picture of growing up in a rural farming community in the 1960s and 1970s, as the daughter of a Filipino immigrant from the manong generation.
Watsonville is in the Heart originated with community organizer and Tobera Project founder Roy Recio, and the team now includes UC Santa Cruz faculty and students. To learn more about this initiative, and to hear Antoinette’s full interview, please visit wiith.ucsc.edu.
'Watsonville is in the Heart' SoundCloud link: https://on.soundcloud.com/qrQFJ
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Feb 1, 2023
Soul Force, Part I
On Dec. 11, 2021, the UCLA Labor Center’s historic MacArthur Park building was officially named the UCLA James Lawson Jr. Worker Justice Center, in honor of a civil and worker rights icon who has been teaching at UCLA for the last 2 decades.
In this episode of Re:Work, 93-year-old Rev. Lawson shares stories from his youth, and how he came to discover soul force and the path of nonviolence.
Transcript: bit.ly/soulforcepart1
This episode contains material from Rev. Lawson's UCLA Labor Studies course, Nonviolence and Social Movements, which he teaches with UCLA Labor Center Director Kent Wong. To watch the class, visit bit.ly/UCLALawson.
Books by Rev. Lawson:
bit.ly/revolutionarynonviolence
books.labor.ucla.edu/nonviolence
Related Links:
irle.ucla.edu/labor-studies/comm…-social-movements/
newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/ucla-cla…ther-king-legacy
newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/dedicat…ing-james-lawson
newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/james-la…lding-dedication
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Aug 15, 2022
Here Comes Mau
There’s a tendency to associate fast-food with American nostalgia, which can shield issues in the franchise structure ranging from wage theft to violence and safety concerns.
Most recently, fast-food workers have been at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 in their public facing jobs, in addition to confronting difficult work conditions that became more acute during the pandemic.
In this episode, Mauricio Juarez shares his journey from working in the silver mines in Taxco, Mexico to working in fast-food in San Diego in his sixties, and becoming a part of the Fight for $15.
To learn more about the fast-food industry, please check out our recent reports:
(2022)"Fast-Food Frontline: COVID-19 and Working Conditions in Los Angeles" - bit.ly/fast-food-frontline
(2021) "The Fast-Food Industry and COVID-19 in Los Angeles" - bit.ly/fastfoodcovid19
These reports were a collaboration between the UCLA Labor Center, UC Berkeley Labor Center, UCLA Labor Occupational Health and Safety Program, and UC Berkeley Labor Occupational Health Program.
To learn more about the Fight for $15, visit fightfor15.org.
Find Re:Work on social media at:
instagram.com/rework_radio/
twitter.com/rework_radio
https://www.facebook.com/reworkradio
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Jun 21, 2022
Re:Work presents "Hunger Strike!" (from Self Evident and AZI Media)
We’ve partnered with Self Evident, and are excited to share an episode from their show! Self Evident is a podcast focused on the full range of Asian American perspectives, which are too often erased from the national discourse.
This episode is a collaboration between Self Evident and AZI Media, and is part of a project called “Advancing Democracy” by the Solutions Journalism Network.
When Augustine Tang’s father passed away, Augustine decided to inherit his taxi medallion – the license that had allowed his father to drive a yellow taxi cab in New York City for decades. But the medallion came with a $530,000 debt trap and years of struggling to escape it.
Augustine’s friend Kenny, a fellow taxi cab driver, committed suicide. So did several other drivers who were crushed under the weight of these impossible debts. In hopes of preventing another death, Tang joined a push by the local taxi drivers’ union, to campaign for debt relief. And eventually, city resistance to worker demands culminated in a 15-day hunger strike to convince City Hall that immigrant taxi drivers deserved a fair deal.
The drivers’ struggles for livable working conditions showed how political power doesn’t just come down to votes. It’s a reminder how strong collective will can be, especially for those often silenced and ignored by our imperfect democracy.
Please take a short survey after listening at tinyurl.com/azitaxi — to help Self Evident fund more stories like this one!
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May 5, 2022
Soul Force, Part II
Civil rights icon, Reverend James Lawson Jr., shares his recollections of the 1960s and working closely with Martin Luther King Jr.
Reverend Lawson presents the nonviolent movement in America as the "nuclear engine" of the mid-20th century civil rights movement, and as a strategic series of organizing campaigns for racial and economic justice.
This is the second part of our miniseries on Reverend James Lawson Jr.
Transcript: bit.ly/soulforcepart2
This episode contains material from Rev. Lawson's UCLA Labor Studies course, Nonviolence and Social Movements, which he teaches with UCLA Labor Center Director Kent Wong. To watch the class, visit bit.ly/UCLALawson.
Books by Rev. Lawson:
bit.ly/revolutionarynonviolence
books.labor.ucla.edu/nonviolence
Related Links:
irle.ucla.edu/labor-studies/comm…-social-movements/
newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/ucla-cla…ther-king-legacy
newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/dedicat…ing-james-lawson
newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/james-la…lding-dedication
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Jan 31, 2022
Episode 30: Soul Force, Part 1
On Dec. 11, 2021, the UCLA Labor Center’s historic MacArthur Park building was officially named the UCLA James Lawson Jr. Worker Justice Center, in honor of a civil and worker rights icon who has been teaching at UCLA for the last 2 decades.
In this episode of Re:Work, 93-year-old Rev. Lawson shares stories from his youth, and how he came to discover soul force and the path of nonviolence.
Transcript: bit.ly/soulforcepart1
This episode contains material from Rev. Lawson's UCLA Labor Studies course, Nonviolence and Social Movements, which he teaches with UCLA Labor Center Director Kent Wong. To watch the class, visit bit.ly/UCLALawson.
Books by Rev. Lawson:
bit.ly/revolutionarynonviolence
books.labor.ucla.edu/nonviolence
Related Links:
https://irle.ucla.edu/labor-studies/community-engagement/nonviolence-social-movements/
https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/ucla-class-connects-students-to-martin-luther-king-legacy
https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/dedication-ceremony-labor-center-building-james-lawson
https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/james-lawson-labor-center-building-dedication
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Nov 29, 2021
Episode 29: Re:Work presents "Hello, Freedom Man" (from Self-Evident)
We’ve partnered with Self Evident, and are excited to share an episode from their show! Self Evident is a podcast focused on the full range of Asian American perspectives, which are too often erased from the national discourse.
In this episode, a daughter of Vietnamese refugees seeks out Southeast Asian Americans with criminal convictions who are at risk for deportation under the Trump administration — and the organizers fighting to keep them in the only home they’ve known.
Learn more about Self Evident at selfevidentshow.com, and subscribe to them wherever you get your podcasts!
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Oct 11, 2021
Episode 28: Stranded
In 2020, India suddenly went into a national lockdown without advance planning or adequate government support, which led to a humanitarian crisis in addition to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Millions of jobs disappeared and hunger was a serious issue. Tens of millions of migrant workers struggled to get home — often on foot — and many died attempting the journey. In this episode, we bring you the story of Gulzar, a migrant worker who left his village as a child and traveled across the country, to earn money to support his family.
For more info on the Stranded Workers Action Network, visit strandedworkers.in/
This episode features music from Elephants with Guns - elephantswithguns.com
Voiceover by Shawn Jain - shawnkjain.com/
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Aug 4, 2021
Episode 27: It's Magic
We often refer to birth as miraculous, and it can also seem mysterious. Many times there is a veiling around birth and labor, and the types of work mothers and birthworkers do to bring new life into this world. In this episode, Allegra Hill shares birth stories from her family and how her personal journey led her into the world of birthwork.
It is part two of our miniseries on Black midwives in Los Angeles devoted to helping women experience empowered births through their birthing center and foundation.
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Aug 3, 2021
Episode 26: The Calling
Despite a long tradition of midwifery in the Black community, which predates the founding of the United States, less than 2% of midwives today are Black. In this episode we share the story of Kim Durdin, who found her calling in reclaiming midwifery and birthwork.
It is part one of two episodes where we bring you the stories of Black midwives in Los Angeles devoted to helping women experience empowered births through their foundation and birth center, Kindred Space LA.
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Apr 9, 2021
Episode 25: The Graduate
When we think about college, there’s a certain whimsical image, a time of self discovery and carefree fun before you step out into the “real” world. But now, with the rising costs of education and living expenses, most students work, and work a lot.
In this episode of Re:Work, Adolfo González shares his decades long journey to provide for his family while pursuing his education.
To learn more about “workers and learners” like Adolfo, visit our publications page at labor.ucla.edu.
And to learn more about farmworkers, check out these reports from the UCLA Labor Center Global Solidarity Team:
http://bit.ly/farmworkerrebellion
http://bit.ly/liberationlinked
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Feb 19, 2020
Episode 24: [No] Child Left Behind
We often see children as innocents who need love, support, and stability. But not all young people are nurtured this way. Too often youth from marginalized communities of color are not seen as needing protection -- they are treated as the ones we need protection from.
We see this in this episode with Phal Sok, who was once a kid in Long Beach forced to grow up too soon. This episode is part two of our series on Cambodian refugees who get caught up in the criminal justice system at a young age.
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Feb 19, 2020
Episode 23: Redemption
In today’s political climate, there’s a prominent narrative of "bad" immigrants who don’t deserve to be here. This isn’t new -- it’s a part of a much longer history of criminalizing immigrants and refugees in the United States.
This episode is the first of two that explore the experiences of Cambodian refugees who get caught up in the criminal justice system at a young age. Billy Taing shares his story of fleeing the Khmer Rouge and resettling in America with his family, only to continue facing hardship.
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Feb 13, 2020
Episode 22: It's a Man's Man's Man's World
What happens when you go to work and no one else in the room looks like you? Being the “only one” often means more scrutiny, less support, having to work harder, or to justify why you’re even there. In this episode, Zayana Ross-Torrence shares her experience as a Black woman studying STEM and then working in emergency services, an industry dominated by white men.
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Feb 13, 2020
Episode 21: The Gig's Up
Uber. Lyft. Their arrival has transformed daily life and raised important questions about job quality, employment law, and creating an economy that works for everybody. What’s it like to be a woman driving for these rideshare companies? In this episode, Alexandra Carbone shares her story.
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Apr 3, 2019
Episode 20: School Days
Young people spend a good chunk of their waking hours in school, but their world extends far beyond the classroom. During the recent teachers' strikes, educators reminded us to think about students in a holistic way.
In this episode of Re:Work, Los Angeles teacher Rudy Dueñas takes us through his own history at LA Unified School District — as a student then an educator — and the moments that transformed him in and out of the classroom.
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Feb 1, 2019
Episode 19: Trafficked
The International Labor Organization estimates 20.1 million people are trapped in forced labor globally, in industries including agriculture, construction, domestic work and manufacturing. Who does this happen to? And how does it happen? In this episode, we bring you the story of Lester Ramos and his journey from the Philippines.
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Oct 15, 2018
Re:Work Episode 18: Solidarity
Re:Work Episode 18: Solidarity by
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Oct 29, 2016
Re:Work Episode 14a: Sweatshops in LA with Making Contact
In collaboration with Making Contact, Episode 14 of ReWork has been retooled into a new edition:
"Los Angeles’ garment district is notorious for sweatshop conditions, abuse, and the outright theft of earned wages.
Yet the name-brand clothes that some of us are wearing right now, may have been produced in factories like these. On this edition of Making Contact we’ll take you on a trip through LA’s garment district."
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