America’s Work Force Union Podcast

Hosted by BMA Media Group

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150

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Jun 2026

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About the show

America’s Work Force Union Podcast provides a clear and unfiltered voice for the working people of America. Radio veteran Ed “Flash” Ferenc leads the discussion with a focus on topics that include the impact of labor unions in America, workers’ rights, legislative actions and labor-management relations. Featured guests include various labor leaders, politicians, journalists and more. America’s Work Force Union Podcast provides updates and information from sources around the United States and continues to be the trusted voice for workers across the country.

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60 recent

July 6, 2026Episode 13332 min

Brandon Elvey on the Union Pacific Merger and Rail Safety Threats

One carrier controlling 40 percent of the U.S. rail freight market. Monthly grade-crossing safety inspections are being reduced to quarterly. And a Long Island Rail Road strike that stopped the trains and finally delivered what two presidential emergency boards had already recommended. On today's episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen Secretary-Treasurer Brandon Elvey walks through three active fronts in the rail industry. He discusses Union Pacific's third attempt to acquire Norfolk Southern through the Surface Transportation Board, why the BRS and a coalition of rail unions and customer associations oppose it and what a 20 percent membership reduction on Union Pacific already signals about what that railroad looks like for workers. He addresses the AAR's push to reduce grade crossing warning device inspections from monthly to quarterly — a deregulatory move the BRS says contradicts 30 years of safety data. And he describes the Long Island Rail Road strike in which six rail unions working together finally forced an agreement after three years of bargaining under the Railway Labor Act. Visit brs.org to learn more about the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen.

July 3, 2026Episode 13228 min

Fred Redmond on the AFL-CIO Convention, AI and America at 250

The top 1 percent of American households now hold 31.7 percent of all U.S. wealth — the highest concentration since the Federal Reserve began tracking in 1989. Workers' wages are not keeping pace with their productivity. And the AFL-CIO just came out of what its secretary-treasurer called the best convention he has attended in twenty years. On today's episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast — the day before America's 250th anniversary — AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond discusses the Minneapolis convention's 2-million-member organizing goal, why that number is the floor rather than the ceiling and the federation's carefully calibrated position on artificial intelligence: not opposition, but a demand that workers have a seat at the table in every decision that affects their jobs. He also addresses Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger's veto of collective bargaining legislation after AFL-CIO leaders left a campaign meeting believing they had her full support — and explains the strict endorsement standard the federation has adopted in response heading into the midterms. Visit aflcio.org for more.

July 2, 2026Episode 13131 min

Dorsey Hager on Drones, Data Centers and Central Ohio's Building Boom

The first drone is expected off the assembly line this week at an Anduril manufacturing campus in Pickaway County that didn't exist eighteen months ago. Data center and power plant construction is breaking ground in Asheville. A $325 million courthouse is going up in downtown Columbus under a community benefit agreement. And the Columbus building trades are on pace to work more than 20 million hours in 2026 — more than double just three years ago. On today's trades day episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, Columbus Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer Dorsey Hager delivers a monthly update that covers all of it — plus a nurses organizing drive at Children's Hospital, the airport expansion hitting 83 percent union, why women in Local Unions have quadrupled since 2016 and what America's 250th birthday means to a union trades leader who owes everything he has to the labor movement. Visit columbusconstruction.org for more.

July 1, 2026Episode 13044 min

1,000 Placements, Union Wealth Doubled and a New Cleveland Office

Two conversations built around a single question: what does real economic security look like for working people — and who is actually delivering it? United Labor Agency Executive Director Dave Megenhardt closes out a strong program year with 1,002 job placements at an average wage of $23.58 per hour, climbing to $28.78 for workers who completed vocational training first. He discusses healthcare's continued dominance in Northeast Ohio placements, the gig-like patchwork of hours many entry-level workers still face, the cautious and still-undecided employer posture toward artificial intelligence and why the AFL-CIO's insistence on worker inclusion in AI decisions matters. He also announces the opening of a brand new Ohio Means Jobs center at 1975 East 61st Street in Cleveland — a newly renovated building replacing a Carnegie Avenue location displaced by a highway expansion project — and shares that ULA is actively hiring career transition counselors. Center for American Progress Senior Fellow David Madland presents new research showing the typical union household holds approximately $460,000 in wealth compared to $220,000 for non-union households — more than double. He breaks down why the gains are largest for Black workers, Hispanic workers and those without a college degree and addresses a new Department of Labor financial disclosure rule targeting large unions alongside the Trump administration's simultaneous retreat from corporate anti-bribery enforcement and the weakening of the DOJ's Public Integrity Division. Visit ulagency.org for more on the United Labor Agency and americanprogress.org for the full CAP wealth report.

June 30, 2026Episode 12939 min

Ironworker Brian Poindexter on His Primary Win and Fighting for Workers First

He won an eight-way Democratic primary with nearly 38 percent of the vote — 16 points ahead of his nearest competitor. He is a union ironworker, the son of a machinist and the grandson of an autoworker, now running to unseat Rep. Max Miller in one of Ohio's most closely watched House races. On today's episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, congressional candidate Brian Poindexter returns to discuss his primary victory, why today's end-of-second-quarter fundraising deadline is the most important date on his campaign calendar and the bipartisan momentum building around Social Security reform. He also makes the case that the Faster Labor Contracts Act is a good start but is incomplete without fixing the chronically underfunded National Labor Relations Board, and discusses his role in securing a project labor agreement for the new Cleveland Browns stadium in Brook Park, expected to create 6,000 unionized construction jobs. Visit poindexterforcongress.com to learn more about the campaign.

June 29, 2026Episode 12824 min

PASS National on FAA Workforce Plan, System Upgrades and Drone Safety

The people who maintain the radar, navigation aids, communications equipment and automation systems that air traffic control depends on have been understaffed for years. In May, the FAA delivered a workforce plan — required by Congress — that commits to hiring 750 new technicians over two years, establishes advance-of-retirement hiring authority and draws a formal line between certified technicians and trainees. On today's episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, PASS National President Dave Spero breaks down what is in the plan, what still needs work and what a $12 billion air traffic control system upgrade means for the technicians who will maintain it long-term — including a training gap that is leaving some newly installed equipment in contractor hands because PASS members have not yet been certified on it. He also addresses why flat aviation safety inspector hiring projections over the next decade are incompatible with the emerging reality of unmanned aerial systems regulation. If you have a background in military electronics, radar or navigational aids, the FAA has an active job advertisement for ATSS technicians right now. Visit passnational.org to learn more.

June 26, 2026Episode 12746 min

Skilled Trades Crisis, Lockheed Contract Win and a School District Fight

Two conversations. One theme: workers fighting for what they deserve — and winning when they stand together. First, IAM Union retired International President Tom Buffenbarger joins as the independent labor voice to cover three urgent stories. A Washington Post-covered study reveals the United States spends just $4,000 on average training a skilled tradesperson against a needed investment of approximately $50,000 — and calls for a $9 billion infusion into trades training programs now, as AI-driven infrastructure expansion creates a surge in demand for exactly the workers whose apprenticeship programs were gutted, starting with Jack Welch's GE. Buffenbarger also discusses the IAM District 776 Lockheed Martin contract ratification, delivering historic wage increases for 5,000 Fort Worth workers who build the nation's most advanced fighter aircraft. And he weighs in on the Faster Labor Contracts Act passing the House, using Amazon's Staten Island workers — organized in 2022 with no contract four years later — as Exhibit A for why it matters. Then, SEIU Local 1021 Chapter President Barbra Lynn Hamilton and Union Steward Shelly Martin describe a contract fight at Vacaville Unified School District that was about far more than wages. Workplace violence reports jumped from 67 to 266 in a single year — a figure that remains an undercount because management discouraged filings. A Cal/OSHA investigation is now underway. Paraprofessionals and behavior assistants who support special needs students are going unfilled while the district ends the year 31% over budget and hires more administrators. After 200-plus members showed up to a board meeting with a strike vote, the district found money it had claimed did not exist. A two-year contract has been signed. The fight continues. Visit goiam.org for IAM Union updates and seiu1021.org for more from SEIU Local 1021.

June 25, 2026Episode 12633 min

Pete Ielmini on Apprenticeship, Senate Bill 4312 and Construction Mental Health

Construction workers make up 7.4% of the U.S. workforce but account for nearly 18% of all suicides with a reported industry classification. The data on the problem is established. The root causes have never been comprehensively studied. That may be about to change. On today's trades day episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, Mechanical Insulators LMCT Executive Director Pete Ielmini joins from Phoenix, where the insulators are holding their national apprenticeship conference and crowning an apprentice of the year tonight. He provides a Federal Mechanical Insulation Act update — the House bill in suspension and Senate Bill 4312 building co-sponsor support with a December deadline in view — and highlights a new bill from Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to fund a comprehensive study of why construction workers are suffering from disproportionately high rates of suicide and substance abuse. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988. Visit mechanicalinsulatorslmct.com for more.

June 24, 2026Episode 12533 min

AFL-CIO Convention Recap, Jones Act and International Travel Health

On this episode of the America's Work Force Union Podcast brings together two conversations that could not be more timely — one on the state of the labor movement heading into a critical political year, and one on keeping union members safe and covered during peak travel season. First, North Coast Area Labor Federation President Pat Gallagher joins fresh from the AFL-CIO convention in Minneapolis to share what he saw and heard. The convention set a bold goal of organizing 2 million new union members across affiliated unions over the next five years and featured a demonstration of AI deep fake technology so advanced that delegates could not tell a fabricated video of a real union representative from the genuine article — a sobering preview of what labor and democracy face heading into the fall elections. Gallagher also breaks down two trade policy fights: the Trump administration's Jones Act waiver extension through mid-August and what it means for American maritime dominance, and the steel dumping fight heading into USMCA renegotiation this summer, including the definitional standard — steel melted and poured in the United States — that would close the transshipment loophole once and for all. Then, Merrilee Logue of the Blue Cross Blue Shield National Labor Office and Lynn Pina of Blue Cross Blue Shield Global Solutions join for a practical summer travel conversation every union member heading abroad needs to hear. From why domestic health plans often fall short outside the United States, to the critical difference between travel insurance and travel medical insurance, to what 24-hour global support, telemedicine access and provider finder tools mean in practice — this is the pre-departure checklist every traveler should run through before leaving the country. Visit aflcio.org for AFL-CIO updates and follow @BlueLabor on LinkedIn and X for more from the Blue Cross Blue Shield National Labor Office.

June 23, 2026Episode 12427 min

NRDC's Juanita Constible on Protecting Workers From Extreme Heat

Most workers in the United States lack enforceable legal protections against workplace heat. Only seven states have standards on the books. And the federal OSHA proposal that was supposed to change that is stuck in limbo — leaving millions of workers exposed to preventable illness and death as summer temperatures climb. On today's episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, NRDC Senior Advocate Juanita Constible breaks down the state of heat safety policy, the state-by-state campaigns moving forward in Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Mexico and what strong heat standards actually require beyond the basics of water, rest and shade. She also discusses how unions — from the Teamsters' landmark UPS contract win to IBEW, USW and SEIU's legislative advocacy — are among the most effective forces for getting enforceable protections on the books. For heat safety resources, visit nrdc.org and protectworkersfromheat.org.