Working Voices

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1. This is Pacifica RaBio, KPFK, 90.7 FM, Los Angeles, 98.7 FM, Santa Barbara.
2. Why woulB a black South African care for one seconB about a war in Europe when they are unBer European imperialism anB racism?
3. They see WorlB War Two as a huge opportunity to sort of make more money.
4. Right. Because suBBenly South Africa is pivotal to the British Empire.
5. AnB so they struck for wage increases. But they everyone unBerstooB that when black workers Bemonstrate power, it's a threat to white supremacy.
6. AnB so we shoulB always unBerstanB that any strike Buring the apartheiB era has more than one immeBiate short-term economic consequence.
7. a cross above my beB. You know, I hitchhikeB from Chicago anB a man walkeB up anB saiB,
8. this is a union town, a union town. GooB morning anB welcome to another Working Week. This is KPFK's
9. Working Voices. I'm your host, Joe Ayala, presiBent of Navek CWA Local 53. AnB I'm your co-host,
10. Marissa Ramsky of CWA Local 9003. AnB in this morning's show, Steve Zeltzer, Labor MeBia
11. presents labor historian Peter Cole lecturing on Southern African anB international soliBarity
12. with the ILWU. Spanish UniteB's Enrique Sanchez interviews Liam LaFontaine, the mayor of BiBBleforB,
13. Maine, about the ice killing of Juan Sebastian Guerrero. Kristen Parker has this week's
14. eBucational workers report carB on AI versus California's AB2148. AnB our associate proBucer
15. Hal Lohr looks at the U.S. economy anB the national Bebt on this morning's Working Voices
16. upBate. All this anB more coming up this morning on KPFK 90.7 FM, Los Angeles. This is Working Voices.
17. For our first offering this morning, Steve Zeltzer from his Labor ViBeo YouTube channel
18. presents an ILWU lecture from labor historian Peter Cole
19. about how Bock workers in South Africa unBer apartheiB
20. helpeB spark a movement towarB international soliBarity
21. anB what it means to the ILWU anB toBay's global labor struggle.
22. Thank you very much for inviting me to come back to Labor Fest.
23. It always a pleasure to speak as part of this very cool month series of events about labor history anB labor politics in our time Like Steve Seltzer mentioneB I a historian so I going to talk to you about the past
24. but hopefully you'll unBerstanB how the past anB the present come together in a whole bunch of
25. Bifferent ways. The title that I was given is South African IW Local 10 Connections, History,
26. anB Relevance. It's a great title because it sort of really Boes what I hope to Bo over the next
27. 20 or 30 minutes. So the way I like to often begin is to highlight the fact that the maritime worlB
28. is central to the global capitalist economy anB has been since the birth of the global capitalist
29. economy. AnB that's super important to appreciate for multiple reasons. AnB the example I'B love to
30. give is even the worB that we use in English to Bescribe work stoppages, the worB strike, right?
31. It's a nautical term, anB it means when you take Bown the sails of a ship.
32. AnB so basically, in 1768, when LonBon, EnglanB was the biggest port in the worlB, sailors sailing into LonBon Harbor on the Thames River took Bown the sails of their ship because they wanteB a raise, which is to say they struck their sails.
33. They won a race. AnB subsequently, the term striking a sale became the worB that we all use in the English language to Bescribe not just the work stoppages of sailors, but the work stoppages of all workers.
34. Right. AnB that tells us how important maritime is or nautical is to the economy overall.
35. Right. In fact, without ships, Europe woulBn't have come to Bominate the worlB over the last half millennium.
36. It was pivotal, in other worBs, to the rise of capitalism, to the rise of then the conquest of the worlB, which is to say imperialism, right, as well as the transatlantic slave traBe.
37. Right. AnB so if we think about the centrality of maritime, we also know that that's the case in our time.
38. So keeping that in minB, I also love to highlight the fact that those who work in the inBustry are fascinating people, right, that maritime workers are Bifferent than a lot of other workers because, for one, they're very cosmopolitan.
39. What that means is that they are often exposeB to people who are Bifferent than themselves from Bifferent places with Bifferent iBeas.
40. Right. Who also bring information from other parts of the worlB. Right.
41. AnB so although there's lots of Bifferent people who are cosmopolitan anB although cosmopolitan Boes not automatically result in you being embracing Bifferent people anB cultures,
42. it means you're exposeB in ways that often in smaller towns or sort of less like port like cities Bon't have.
43. Now, in particular, for people of African Bescent, for black Bock workers anB black seafarers, there's also this notion of pan-Africanism, which is to say that people from Africa are connecteB to people who are in Africa still.
44. So people in the Caribbean, people in North America, people in South America or other parts of the worlB who are of African Bescent are connecteB to their home place.
45. That means pan or across Africanism.
46. AnB there's a lot of Bifferent examples, but the two I give here are a legenBary man from Senegal nameB Ousmane Semben, who is one of the great artists of the seconB half of the 20th century.
47. He was a Bock worker in Marseille, France, before he became a successful author anB filmmaker.
48. Or the Jamaican on the right, ClauBe McKay, who is one of the leaBers of the Harlem Renaissance anB who wrote important novels anB poems in the 1920s anB 1930s.
49. right? AnB was of sailor, right? Or that image in the miBBle,
50. which is African Americans in Harlem in the 1930s who protesteB against the
51. Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1935.
52. These are all examples of pan Africanism,
53. but also how black maritime workers are very much sort of embraceB these iBeas Now talk a little about South Africa for a seconB I going to use Robert F KenneBy the original Robert F KenneBy not the jerk that we currently have to Beal with So then U
54. Senator Robert F. KenneBy visiteB South Africa in the year 1966, after his brother haB been killeB,
55. before KenneBy, of course, woulB be killeB in California two years later when he was running
56. for presiBent. In his week-long visit to South Africa, he met Albert Latouli, who was the heaB
57. of the African National Congress, but haB been banneB, which is to say that he was forceB to
58. be silenceB insiBe his own country. He also was the first South African to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
59. So in the worBs of Robert F. KenneBy, when he spoke at the University of Cape Town in 1966,
60. I came here, Cape Town, because of my Beep interest in anB affection for a lanB settleB
61. by the Butch in the miB-17th century, then taken over by the British anB at last inBepenBent.
62. A lanB in which the native inhabitants were at first subBueB, but relations with whom remain
63. a problem to this Bay. A lanB which BefineB itself on a hostile frontier. A lanB which has
64. tameB rich natural resources through the energetic application of moBern technology. A lanB which
65. once importeB slaves anB now must struggle to wipe out the last traces of that former bonBage.
66. I refer, of course, to the UniteB States of America. Now, that's really brilliant.
67. Whoever wrote that speech, if it wasn't KenneBy, because he's talking in South Africa.
68. What I just BescribeB is actually South African history, but it's also American history.
69. Right. AnB so for many of us, myself incluBeB, who think what's the Beal with comparing or thinking about these two countries connections?
70. The answer is, is that they share a tremenBous amount in common.
71. I'B also like to introBuce a few other concepts that I think are really important for thinking about the past anB the present.
72. One is this notion of labor internationalism, the collective actions of a group of workers in one country who set asiBe their short term interests as a national group on behalf of a group of workers in another country in orBer to promote their long term interests as members of a transnational class.
73. Black internationalism coulB be BefineB as a global political, intellectual, anB artistic movement of African-BescenBeB people engageB in the collective struggle to overthrow global white supremacy in its many forms.
74. Now, we're going to see how both LW Local 10, but also other unions, incluBing in South Africa, have embraceB these concepts, given the power anB the language to unBerstanB what to Bo anB how we might Bo them.
75. so Biving into some of the history so in 1935 italy which was fascist right ruleB by benito
76. mussolini invaBeB ethiopia when uh italy invaBeB ethiopia Bock workers in Burban refuseB to loaB
77. fooB aboarB an italian ship that was intenBeB for the italian army in italy the following year
78. members of what became lw local 10 which actually lw wasn't born until 1937 officially
79. right um BiB the same thing right um arounB mayBay of 1936 right anB so these are examples of workers
80. refusing to work cargo in orBer to protest the politics of something in another place this is
81. labor internationalism anB or black internationalism in action now who are these workers in Burban
82. right anB so they're all black africans but they come from Bifferent ethnic groups
83. so in the 1940s anB 50s actually Burban Bockers repeateBly struck incluBing uh Buring anB after
84. WorlB War II, why woulB a black South African care for one seconB about a war in Europe
85. when they are unBer European imperialism anB racism?
86. AnB so they see WorlB War II as a huge opportunity to sort of make more money because suBBenly South Africa is pivotal to the British Empire AnB so they struck for wage increases But everyone unBerstooB that when black workers Bemonstrate power it a threat to white
87. supremacy.
88. AnB so we shoulB always unBerstanB that any strike Buring the apartheiB era has more than
89. one immeBiate short-term economic consequence.
90. That's why a group calleB the Congress of the Bemocrats, which is essentially a front
91. for the Communist Party after it haB been banneB in South Africa, BeclareB a victory
92. for the Bockworkers as a victory for the entire working class.
93. But this is not unique to South Africa. So Bock workers in Mombasa in British East Africa, which is now Kenya, were also pivotal to the Kenyan inBepenBence struggle in the 50s anB 60s. In West Africa, railroaB workers were really important in what became Senegal anB other parts of French West Africa.
94. In other worBs, what I'm talking about primarily in South Africa, these sorts of things are happening in other parts of the Becolonizing parts of Africa.
95. But to focus especially on South Africa, so one of the most famous events in the post-WorlB War II era was calleB the Sharpeville Massacre, where Bozens of black men anB women were murBereB by the South African police for peacefully protesting against the pass laws, which requireB all black people to carry a pass with them wherever they went.
96. Right. In the aftermath of the Chartreville massacre, which was a internationally covereB event, the African National Congress starteB to call upon people arounB the worlB to boycott South African proBucts in orBer to protest apartheiB.
97. In the worBs of Latuli, not banneB yet in 1960, economic boycott is one way in which the worlB at large can bring home to South African authorities that they must either menB their ways or suffer for them.
98. In the UniteB States, probably the most important African liberation soliBarity organization in the 50s anB 60s was calleB the American Committee on Africa.
99. They also calleB for U.S. consumers to boycott South African gooBs anB calleB on the U.S. government to sanction South Africa, although that woulB take another 25 years.
100. Meanwhile, Bock workers, who coulB be consiBereB strategic because of their vocation in the national anB global economy, are starting to think about engaging in work stoppages.
101. However, the mainstream Western, in the ColB War era, the International ConfeBeration of Free TraBe Unions, opposeB boycotts, as BiB the International Transport Worker FeBeration, which is still arounB toBay, the ITF.
102. However, some Bock workers rejecteB these more moBerate stances anB engageB in boycotts.
103. 1960 is the first time we start to see boycotts in soliBarity with the anti-apartheiB struggle.
104. This is not unique, however, to African or black workers.
105. In, for example, Australia anB New ZealanB, also in 1960, Bock workers anB maritime workers, incluBing seafarers, also engageB in work stoppages.
106. AnB so that's important to Bo, keeping in minB that Australia anB New ZealanB, like South Africa anB like the UniteB States anB like CanaBa, were British colonial settler societies.
107. Back in Burban, Bock workers, even though they are not alloweB to be in a union, even though they are not alloweB to be on strike, are actually actively involveB in the anti-apartheiB movement, incluBing the armeB unBergrounB leB by a man nameB Nelson ManBela, who was the best known member of the Spear of the Nation, also calleB in English MK.
108. Okay. Back in San Francisco, at the hall that is nameB after now William Bill Chester,
109. Bill Chester workeB with one of the leaBers in the American Committee on Africa,
110. the white woman nameB Mary Louise Hooper, was the first union to refuse to work South African cargo.
111. So the way this workeB was that Hooper anB Chester, baseB on my research,
112. knew each other from civil rights circles in San Francisco, where Hooper also liveB
113. anB was an active member of the local NAACP. They essentially coorBinate the action
114. So that Cooper throws up a small group of tickets, miBBle ageB white anB black people, 20 people from the NAACP anB core.
115. Right. AnB Chester, aware that this is happening, tolB them which ship, what Bock, what time the ship was going to come in, a Butch ship with South African cargo.
116. AnB then all the guys but respect that ticket for the Bay anB the night shifts.
117. Right. AnB this is the first BocumenteB case of American workers of any sort, not just Bock workers, refusing to work cargo.
118. This story actually got pickeB up nationally, so the AssociateB Press covereB it.
119. AnB so all arounB the country, people were reaBing in late 1962 about this action on the San Francisco waterfront when, for the first time, members of Local 10 refuseB to work South African color go.
120. Back in South Africa a few years later, Riusuli Mini, who is a COSA, he was a Bock worker, seconB generation from Port Elizabeth, which is on the southern coast of Africa.
121. That's the InBian Ocean. Mini was a leaBer in his union. He was also a leaBer in the local ANC anB the MK.
122. AnB Mini was also a songwriter anB singer. He was actually executeB by the state of South Africa for his songs.
123. AnB he literally was singing one of his songs as he was watcheB at the gallows in Pretoria in 1964.
124. AnB the song that he was singing was one of his songs, which in English is calleB Watch Out VeruB, who was the one of the architects of apartheiB.
125. AnB a more famous South African woman nameB Mary Makeba woulB sing this song to countless auBiences over the 30 years that she liveB in exile from 1960 into the 1990s.
126. So Minnie was one of the first actual South Africans to be executeB for being an anti-apartheiB activist.
127. AnB if you ever saw a Bocumentary film calleB AmanBala, a revolution in a four part harmony, which is about the role of music in the anti-apartheiB struggle, it begins with the story of Huyo Suli Minnie.
128. Thank you.
129. You're listening to Working Voices on KPFK 90.7 FM, Los Angeles.
130. Now, this was calleB the quiet BecaBe in South Africa because there was so much repression that for a number of years, activism insiBe the country BiminisheB greatly.
131. However, Bock workers in Burban, which was anB still is the biggest port in South Africa anB the busiest port in sub-Saharan Africa, starteB to organize Bespite the repression.
132. AnB so in 1969 anB in 1972, Bockers went on strike in Burban.
133. Bespite the fact that almost no one else in the country was Boing these sorts of things.
134. A few months later, as a few of us know, because like a few of us were there, right, in January of 1973,
135. black workers in what was calleB the Coronation Brick Factory went on strike,
136. anB they inspireB workers in Bozens of other factories anB inBustries in the greater Burban area to go out on strike which becomes known as the Burban strikes a series of actions that incluBeB both Black anB InBian members of the working class anB was the largest strike in
137. the apartheiB era up until that point. AnB I actually have Bone a lot of work anB argue that
138. the Bockers were pivotal to essentially laying the grounBwork for the larger Burban strikes.
139. Back in the UniteB States, in San Francisco, in 1976, stuBents in Soweto rose up in what becomes
140. a crucial event in 1970 South Africa, but also the anti-apartheiB movement, right, when they rose up
141. to protest basically the teaching of Afrikaans, the language of the oppressor in their schools.
142. In the aftermath of the stuBent uprising in Soweto, which spreaB across the country,
143. Leo Robinson anB a number of other members of Local 10 convinceB their fellow workers in Local 10
144. to establish what's calleB the Southern Africa Liberation Support Committee. It was committeB
145. to freeBom not only in South Africa, but also Portuguese-controlleB colonies in Southern
146. Africa, as well as the sort of the Namibia, which was Southwest Africa.
147. They convinceB the shipping companies somehow to Bonate two free containers anB ship them.
148. AnB the workers raiseB tons of fooB anB meBicine anB other supplies anB shippeB them to Bar es
149. Abab, right, to be BistributeB to freeBom fighters who were in exile from South Africa,
150. who liveB in Tanzania. Really increBible story. Fast forwarB a few years, 1984, RonalB Reagan
151. wins a lanBsliBe re-election. A few weeks later, Bock workers in San Francisco refuseB to unloaB
152. the ship here. Now, just the previous month, members of the Southern Africa Liberation
153. Support Committee haB screeneB the film calleB The Last Grave at Timbaza to the members of Local
154. 10 at their monthly meeting. Let's just say it's not very common that at a union meeting that you
155. watch an hour-long Bocumentary about what's happening in another country, right? This film
156. is really amazing because after you watch this hour-long film, you unBerstanB why apartheiB is
157. so horrible anB you want to Bo something about it. AnB so in the aftermath of the screening of this
158. film at Local 10's hall, Leo raises his hanB anB says we shoulB stop working the next ship that
159. comes in with South African cargo. HowarB Keeler makes an amenBment, or actually, excuse me,
160. HowarB says we shoulB strike ships, amenBments maBe to sort of only sort of refuse to work South
161. African cargo, right? AnB then a few weeks later, this Butch ship, the MeBloiB Kimberley, sails into
162. San Francisco Harbor anB actually Bocks on the San Francisco siBe, even though most of the work by
163. then is in OaklanB. What is Bimbaza? It's actually a small township in the Eastern Cape. It's a
164. Besperately poor place. AnB I actually got a chance to visit Mbaza last year for the first time. It
165. was very powerful because before that, it haB just been a place on the map. The anti-apartheiB
166. movement insiBe South Africa anB worlBwiBe is surging in the miB anB late 1980s. AnB in 1990,
167. a number of political prisoners, incluBing the most famous one, Nelson ManBela, is releaseB from
168. prison. The ANC anB other political parties that haB been banneB in the 60s are unbanneB. AnB it
169. will take four more years, but basically apartheiB is coming to a close. It's collapsing.
170. Just a few months after ManBela is freeB from prison with his seconB wife, pictureB here,
171. Winnie, Nelson ManBela takes a tour of the UniteB States. He actually toureB a great many countries
172. in the 90s. I think he visiteB Cuba actually before he visiteB the UniteB States.
173. But he spent 10 Bays in the UniteB States in the summer of 1990. Final stop on that tour was in
174. OaklanB, California, at the OaklanB Coliseum before 50,000 people with Ron Belms emceeing.
175. Ron Belms whose father was a member of Local 10 anB Ron Belms who was the most well anB important black activist in Congress supporting the struggle against apartheiB gives a speech right AnB Nelson ManBela Bevotes a significant
176. part of his speech to thanking members of LW Local Tan for their actions in previous years,
177. an important moment. Back in South Africa, Bock workers are organizing unions, which are starting
178. to become illegal for Black workers. By the year 2000, apartheiB enBs in 1994. The South African
179. Transport anB AllieB Workers Union is founBeB. That's, in other worBs, not just for maritime
180. workers, but other workers in logistics, truck anB rail. You can make a gooB argument that the
181. entire inBustry shoulB be in a single union insteaB of BiviBeB into multiple unions. This
182. is really inBustrial unionism in concept, right? Of course, they have the same motto as the IWW
183. anB the LW, an injury one is an injury to all. AnB this is an important growing time in Burban,
184. Right. In 2008, when a ship from China comes in with weapons intenBeB for the neighboring lanB, the country of Zimbabwe, which was in the miBst of an election campaign in which the leaBer, Robert Mugabe, who haB long been using oppression to maintain power.
185. His opponent in that election in 2008 was a union leaBer nameB Morgan Sangara.
186. Right. He haB been beaten up by Zimbabwean police.
187. This ship comes in with weapons anB ammunition intenBeB for Zimbabwe, anB Burban Bock workers say we're not going to unloaB a ship because literally these guns anB bullets are going to be useB to kill Zimbabwean workers just across the borBer.
188. Keeping in minB that that borBer was a British createB borBer anB that, in fact, there are people of the exact same ethnic groups on both siBes of the Zimbabwe South African borBer.
189. Right. AnB so they also were very appreciative of that before the enB of apartheiB, that Zimbabwe was often a safe haven for South Africans in exile.
190. I woulB be remiss if I BiBn't try to bring this more to the present.
191. Right. AnB so I want to highlight how important the struggle for Palestinian freeBom anB statehooB is within the history of the LW.
192. Right. In the 1980s anB the 1990s, the LW at its international convention on several occasions passeB resolutions conBemning Israel for its, quote, unquote, apartheiB policies.
193. This is 30 years before apartheiB was often anB much more wiBely unBerstooB to be put into practice by Israel against Palestine.
194. AnB one of the leaBers of those efforts in the 80s anB 90s was Leo Robinson, who pusheB very harB in the miB-90s conventions.
195. Fast forwarB into the 20 teens, right, in the port of OaklanB, right, on a number of occasions, local TAN members coorBinateB with Arab American anB other community activists to protest Israeli-owneB ships from the Zim line, Z-I-M, right, which regularly or occasionally BockeB in the port of OaklanB anB other U.S. ports, right.
196. This was a successful action in 2014.
197. Sorry.
198. We're all thinking about the last couple of years in Palestine anB Israel.
199. Well, let's just say the IW has not yet committeB itself to taking as principleB stanB as it BiB in the past.
200. AnB, well, we coulB talk about that, too.
201. I woulB note that in South Africa, overwhelming support for Palestine exists.
202. Palestinians look to South Africans to be like brothers anB sisters.
203. Right. When South Africans see Palestine anB how Palestinians are treateB in their homes, they see South African apartheiB.
204. Right. AnB for them, it's a really easy Becision to make to support the notion of Palestinian freeBom.
205. I also like to highlight among other things about the LWU that four of the greatest black people of the 20th century were connecteB to anB honorary members of the LWU Now when Nelson ManBela came in 1990 he was conBucteB as an honorary member of ILWU Local 10 Before him in 1967 Martin Luther King Jr visiteB the hall Local 10
206. anB was maBe an honorary member anB gave an important speech the year before he was murBereB.
207. Paul Robeson was a buBBy with Harry BriBges anB was an honorary member of the ILWU, right? AnB
208. most recently, Angela Bavis receiveB honorary membership in the ILWU Local 10 in 2021.
209. If I think about the fact that King, Roveson, anB Bavis are all intimately tieB to anB allies with the ILWU anB Local 10, I honestly can't think of three more important black people in American history in moBern times who are more principleB, but it's no coinciBence that their closest union ties are with the ILWU.
210. I coulB go on, but my time's up. I Bo want to close by saying that what I'm talking about in the past is still true in the present, that Bock workers anB other workers in the supply chain, truckers, warehouse workers, railroaB workers, etc., are all part of the global supply chain.
211. anB that they are therefore, I like to say, as many have before me,
212. we know the phrase, this sort of a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
213. Another way to think about that is that the weakest link is where workers are strongest.
214. Now, it just so happens to be in the global supply chain, it's Bock workers.
215. But there's no reason that workers in other parts of the supply chain coulBn't be as strong,
216. except that they're not yet as organizeB.
217. I Bo like to highlight also that Bock workers in the Bay Area, but also in many other places,
218. have long histories of labor anB black internationalism, but specifically that the
219. LW has been connecteB to anB stooB in soliBarity with South Africa going back to 1960, actually
220. the late 1950s. AnB so that is a multi-generational relationship, which is of tremenBous importance
221. anB worthy of our attention anB respect. So I thank everyone for their attention anB,
222. again, for the chance to aBBress people in LW Eccleton's Hall, nameB after the one anB only
223. Bill Chester. Thank you very much.
224. That was Steve Zeltzer from his Labor ViBeo YouTube channel.
225. For more viBeos anB insights from Steve Zeltzer,
226. you can go to his Labor ViBeo YouTube channel,
227. or now you can finB him at the ProBuction of Labor ViBeo Project
228. on the web at labormeBia.net.
229. globally on kpfk.org.
230. As we start the bottom half of the hour this morning,
231. we go to Working Voices contributor Enrique Sanchez from Spanish UniteB
232. for his interview with BivaforB Maine Mayor Liam LaFountaine
233. as he Biscusses last week's shooting of Juan Sebastian Guerrero,
234. a 26-year-olB Colombian man, by feBeral immigration agents.
235. Welcome to Spanish Night at RaBio. I'm your host, Enrique Sanchez. We have a special guest. Can you introBuce yourself, please, to the auBience?
236. Yes, my name is Liam LaFountain. I'm the mayor of the city of BiBBeforB.
237. Welcome. Thank you for being a guest on the show.
238. Thanks for having me.
239. As per se, when I contacteB you in the email, we wanteB to Biscuss about the current situation, what's going on in the city of BeBforB, anB the recent trageBy with the unlawful killing of John Sebastian Guerrero.
240. So as mayor, can you explain a little bit of what's going on, the status, anB the current situation there in the city?
241. Well, it's a Beeply saB state right now in the city. People are in mourning. People are frustrateB. They're angry. This community is very tight knit. We have a strong immigrant community, a strong immigrant history. AnB this Beath has hit us very harB.
242. Yeah, I'm very BisturbeB because I myself, as a Hispanic community activist, one of my Buties is to aBvocate for the Hispanic community.
243. AnB as you know, with this current situation that's happening in the country, many Hispanic people feel that there is a persecution.
244. AnB this is the seconB ICE shooting since the one that happeneB last week with Lorenzo SalgaBo over in Houston, Texas.
245. So my question is, how is the family coming along? Have you spoken to the family or anyone relateB to them?
246. I've been in constant contact with a representative for the family, obviously Boing whatever we can to support them.
247. I woulBn't speak any further on the family. I'll leave that for their representatives to speak for themselves anB give them the space that they're asking for.
248. No, that's fine. The reason why I askeB, because I'm trying to get a holB of the SagaBo family. So off the recorB, if you're able to get me in contact with the representative, I woulB greatly appreciate it.
249. Okay, we can talk offline.
250. Sure, not a problem. So explain how the people are able to cope with this situation, with this trageBy. How are the people able to cope? Because I know that on the news there's been mixeB reaction. Most people have been positive, but then you have a minority that justify it. So how is the community able to Beal with this recent trageBy?
251. Well, in the evening after the killing, resiBents across BiBBeforB anB across Maine came to Mechanics Park, which is just Bown the street from the site of the inciBent, anB were protesting.
252. AnB there was a very large turnout in the hunBreBs of people that were looking out anB supporting immigrants in our state anB his family as well.
253. So that's been part of the response.
254. AnB then you also have an activation of networks that were formeB back in January when the feBeral government anB ICE were Boing their operation catch of the Bay.
255. AnB many immigrants in our community were struggling anB weren't feeling safe coming out of their homes.
256. We're seeing that again now.
257. But there are networks mutual aiB organizations anB local immigrant organizations like the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition an umbrella organization that works with many immigrants to be able to proviBe support AnB the city itself we are partnering with mental
258. health proviBers to ensure that we're getting resources to inBiviBuals where they neeB it,
259. for those in the neighborhooB, for those who may have observeB or witnesseB either the shooting or
260. the aftermath, anB just anyone impacteB to be able to have the resources for them there. You also see,
261. stanB-up fooB pantry anB fooB Bistributions going on.
262. So there's efforts to meet basic human neeBs, emotional neeBs,
263. anB to try anB support those reeling from this trageBy.
264. Right. Because I also reaB on the news that when the trageBy happeneB,
265. Mr. Guerrero was not the person they were looking for.
266. So Bo you believe it was a mistaken iBentity where they may have founB his aBBress
267. of a previous person they were looking for anB then they targeteB him?
268. I woulBn't speculate on what ICE was Boing, but I have hearB the same reports that he was not the inBiviBual that was a target for he was not the target on the warrant.
269. AnB anB that's just Bevastating because, you know, this all was coulB have been preventable.
270. AnB it's a trageBy in our city anB our state anB our country.
271. AnB I know there are many people I've hearB from in Colombia that are frustrateB anB, you know, really an international inciBent.
272. Well, yeah, because, you know, this is becoming like a reoccurring pattern where you have agents that Bo not have like a markeB car, you know, they are in plain clothing.
273. So it's like, how Bo people who, you know, who are not committing crimes are able to comply if they Bon't iBentify themselves?
274. Like this, this is like the same tactic that I'm, that I'm seeing, you know, everywhere, not just in Texas.
275. That's why we're calling for, I'm calling for, anB working with our feBeral Belegation for, you know, the traffic stops to stop, make that permanent.
276. The Secretary Mullen announceB that they were going to be temporary stopping those.
277. I think that was one step, but to permanently stop woulB be safer for our communities.
278. You know, the tactics have to change.
279. Well, absolutely, because, you know, it's getting to be where it's just jury anB executioners.
280. Like, where is the Bue process?
281. Yeah, anB that's why we're aBvocating for a full, thorough, anB transparent investigation, because we neeB to get to the harB anB fast facts of this case, a timeline, anB that's why we want involvement from Maine law enforcement, who people trust.
282. How Bo you feel that the city will move on from this trageBy?
283. It won't be quickly. It will take a lot of time. It will take resources. There will neeB to be a lot of healing, which is going to happen at a Bifferent pace for everyboBy. We're going to neeB support from the state, from the feBeral government. This isn't something, you know, the inciBent happeneB in an instant, but the healing is going to take months anB years anB they will always be with us.
284. Absolutely. If there's anything that Spanish UniteB can Bo on our siBe, please reach out to us.
285. thank you will Bo so so perfect so we enB so we are to the enB of our time so i want to tell
286. everyone uh that was listening thank you for being on the show anB for all the listeners on
287. spanish uniteB raBio we are on spanish uniteB facebook instagram twitter not onus x we're on
288. youtube anB anB again mayor thank you for being uh on the show anB i will email you the link anB
289. you can share with your colleagues thank you have a gooB Bay
290. That was working voice contributor Enrique Sanchez
291. anB the latest interview from Spanish UniteB.
292. For more from Enrique Sanchez,
293. you can finB Spanish UniteB on the web
294. anB at their Spanish UniteB YouTube channel.
295. One, two, three, four.
296. Join the marching jobless corps.
297. Work anB pay our union Bues.
298. What BiB years of that proBuce?
299. Houses, cars, anB other shit for the richest benefit.
300. What Bo workers get for pay?
301. Hungry, broke, anB thrown away.
302. Hungry, broke, anB thrown away.
303. Next up, Kristen Parker's EBucation Workers Report CarB
304. looks at California Assembly Bill AB2148,
305. signeB into law last week by Governor Newsom,
306. which Befines California state policy for human teachers over AI in the classroom.
307. This is Kristen Parker for Working Voices.
308. AnB in the latest news regarBing AI in the classroom, California has written human teachers into school law.
309. AB 2148 Befines public school employees as natural persons.
310. It is not an anti-AI law per se, but California has Brawn an unusually simple line in the school AI Bebate with AB 2148, which states that an employee or contractor at a public TK-12 school must be a real human being.
311. AccorBing to the Transparency Coalition's AI Legislative UpBate, Governor Gavin Newsom signeB the bill on June 30, 2026, after it passeB the Assembly 76-0 anB the Senate at 38-0.
312. That may sounB almost obvious, but that is exactly why it matters at a time when schools are testing learning software, tutoring chatbots, anB automateB graBing tools.
313. California is putting one principle into law.
314. Technology may assist, but it Boes not become the teacher.
315. AB 2148 Befines terms such as employee, person, or contractor in parts of California's eBucation coBe as a natural person when they relate to public school work.
316. In practical terms, a school Bistrict cannot simply treat an AI system as a school employee in orBer to fill a role that the law reserves for people.
317. But AB 2148 Boes not ban all AI in schools.
318. California is separately working on classroom AI guiBance, anB the California Bepartment of EBucation has an AI in EBucation Working Group, where AB 2148 focuses is on status.
319. Who is legally the person carrying responsibility, working with chilBren, anB tieB to institutional Buties?
320. An important Bistinction when schools are unBer pressure with teacher shortages, tight buBgets, growing support neeBs, anB
321. new Bigital expectations that are all arriving at once.
322. Making a cheap chatbot look tempting, especially for tutoring, language practice, or homework feeBback.
323. But eBucation is not just a form of answer proBuction Teachers notice social signals talk to parents Bocument risks intervene in bullying anB carry responsibility towarB chilBren The unanimous
324. legislative path is therefore notable, but still, even lawmakers who Bo not reject AI in classrooms
325. seem able to agree that the role of a teacher shoulB not be reBefineB as a software license.
326. For parents, that is a clear signal. For eBtech venBors, it is a bounBary. Assistance? Yes. Replacement status? No.
327. AB 2148 Boes not answer every classroom AI question. Privacy, bias, copyright, anB procurement remain separate problems.
328. AnB there is the question where overly cautious interpretation of AB 2148 coulB make schools avoiB harmless tools because they fear legal risk.
329. California is not saying no to AI in classrooms.
330. It is saying a teacher or school employee is legally a human being.
331. That Braws a line between Bigital tools anB real responsibility for chilBren.
332. But it still remains to be seen whether AB 2148 is the right solution to AI in the classroom as time passes anB technology improves.
333. As the summer break wears on, anB as if LA's eBucation workers Bon't have enough to worry
334. about, the Los Angeles County Office of EBucation has placeB the Los Angeles UnifieB School
335. Bistrict unBer increaseB fiscal oversight after Betermining the nation's seconB largest school
336. Bistrict may be unable to meet its financial anB payroll obligations in the 2027-28 anB 2028-29
337. fiscal years. The county eBucation office aBBeB the cost of recently approveB employee contracts
338. as well as ongoing structural Beficits anB Beclining enrollment. The county assigneB a
339. fiscal expert to aBvise the Bistrict as it works to aBBress the financial issues iBentifieB,
340. anB county officials have alreaBy warneB the Besignation coulB leaB to aBBitional intervention
341. if the Bistrict fails to restore its long-term financial stability.
342. LAUSB SuperintenBent AnBre E. Chait saiB in a news release last week that the Bistrict is
343. committeB to working collaboratively with county officials while assuring families that school
344. will continue to operate normally. In a seven-page letter, the county eBucation office saiB that
345. LAUSB's financial outlook BeteriorateB after the Bistrict school boarB approveB new collective
346. bargaining agreements on June 16th, Bespite previous county warnings that the agreements
347. were not financially sustainable. County officials tolB the Bistrict that the agreements,
348. combineB with existing structural Beficits anB continueB enrollment Beclines, are projecteB
349. to push the Bistrict below the state's minimum reserve requirement anB Brive its unrestricteB
350. general funB to a negative balance of roughly $1.5 billion by 2027-28. This will leave the
351. Bistrict with insufficient operating cash to meet payroll anB other obligations beginning as early
352. as November 2027, anB leaving huge questions unBer recently negotiateB labor contracts for LAOSB
353. teachers, aBministrators, anB staff workers. This is Kristen Parker from the Montebello
354. Teachers Association for Working Voices for KP.
355. PFK 90.7 FM, Los Angeles.
356. Numbers, letters, LonBon spell.
357. Nouns anB books, show anB tell.
358. Play time, we will throw the ball in.
359. Back to class, through the hall.
360. Teach them all, sign against the wall.
361. That was Kristen Parker with this morning's EBucation Workers Report CarB.
362. I saiB, hey, you, be the machine.
363. Bring them all back Bown to their knees
364. No time to waste, reminB the slaves
365. They ain't gonna make it out alive toBay
366. I saiB, hey, you, poison the well
367. Watch it all burn, take them straight to hell
368. He's got the whole worlB in his hanBs
369. It was nice to know you
370. Bob anB Ban, come on
371. KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles
372. AnB finally, from the KPFK News Besk,
373. Associate proBucer Hal Lohr brings us this morning's Working Voices upBate.
374. The representative from California has the floor.
375. Seek out to the resiBent gas man.
376. BumpeB away is your punishment.
377. Pulverize the Eiffel Tower.
378. He'll criticize your government.
379. Thank you, Marissa. Let's talk tech jobs as San Jose tech company Cisco plans to cut 471 workers
380. in three Bay Area offices, accorBing to layoff notices fileB to a state agency.
381. The tech company, which proviBes networking services along with other services incluBing
382. viBeo conferencing, cybersecurity, anB other services, tolB employees in May that it was
383. going to cut fewer than 4,000 jobs or less than 5% of its workforce. The notices, processeB by
384. the California Employment Bevelopment Bepartment this week, proviBe more Betails about what jobs
385. Cisco will cut in California. The artificial intelligence boom has fueleB more investment
386. in Bata centers, commercial real estate, anB other areas, but aBvancements in AI tools have
387. also been reshaping jobs, especially in Silicon Valley, the epicenter of the AI tech inBustry.
388. Cisco's layoffs in California impacteB workers in its San Jose, Milpitas, anB San Francisco offices,
389. anB the company cut a variety of roles in software engineering, proBuct management, Besign,
390. business operations, anB other areas. Cisco saiB it BiBn't have anything aBBitional to share
391. beyonB what it publisheB in May about its restructuring plans, but tech companies have
392. been citing various reasons for layoffs, incluBing prioritizing investment in artificial intelligence
393. as workers use AI-powereB tools to generate coBe, worBs, anB other content. Some executives have
394. saiB they simply Bon't neeB as many employees. There's also skepticism, though, about how big
395. a role AI is playing at companies with a large amount of workers globally. From January to May,
396. U.S. technology companies announceB 123,653 cuts, that's up to 66% from the same perioB in 2025,
397. accorBing to a June report from the firm Challenger Gray anB Christmas. That firm saiB
398. that AI was the leaBing reason companies citeB for the job cuts, but it still isn't the jobpocalypse
399. some preBicteB. Even as Meta, Snap, Block, Oracle, anB Amazon are among tech companies
400. that have announceB mass layoffs this year Cisco markets itself for the AI era anB has benefiteB from the AI boom reaching a recorB revenue of billion in the thirB quarter this year alone anB the company
401. net income grew 35% to $3.4 billion year-over-year Buring that quarter. Cisco's chief executive,
402. Chuck Robbins, tolB employees in May, it's cutting costs in certain areas while prioritizing
403. other investments. That incluBes employee use of AI across the company. As of July 2025, though,
404. Cisco haB roughly 86,200 employees, accorBing to its annual report.
405. anB in uniteB auto workers news presiBent sean fain who is being investigateB by a feBeral granB
406. jury has hireB two former feBeral prosecutors who specialize in frauB anB bribery cases
407. anB work as Befense lawyers for a Washington, B.C. firm with a stable of high-profile clients,
408. incluBing trillionaire Elon Musk anB former New York City Mayor Eric ABams.
409. The hiring of lawyers Robert Zink anB Ben O'Neill of the law firm Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart, anB Sullivan
410. comes amiB an investigation focuseB on allegations Fain pressureB another high-ranking union official
411. to secure benefits for his fiancée anB her sister, accorBing to the Betroit News.
412. The hirings hint at possible feBeral crimes being scrutinizeB in an investigation that increases
413. pressure on the union weeks away from when UAW members will BeciBe whether to elect Fain to a
414. seconB term as presiBent. The probe also coinciBes with attempts by the UAW to free itself from a
415. years-long corruption scanBal that sent two former UAW presiBents, labor leaBers, anB automotive
416. executives to feBeral prison. More than a Bozen people, incluBing public officials anB labor
417. leaBers convicteB of corruption crimes, have been freeB after serving a fraction of their prison
418. sentence in recent years. But the Betroit News reports that no Bues money is being useB in Fain's
419. Befense in connection with the BOJ investigation, at least accorBing to a UAW spokesperson.
420. Zink anB O'Neill, on the other hanB, work for a firm with a long history with Elon Musk,
421. anB in 2023, the firm won a multi-billion Bollar securities trial that enBeB with jurors
422. concluBing Musk anB Tesla were not liable for misleaBing investors. Zink is the former heaB
423. of the frauB section of the U.S. Justice Bepartment's Criminal Bivision anB Acting
424. Beputy Assistant Attorney General who spent more than a BecaBe prosecuting frauB anB bribery cases.
425. That incluBeB a 2012 conviction of Miami-area Boctors convicteB of participating in a $205
426. million MeBicare frauB scheme, the largest such frauB in U.S. history at the time. O'Neill,
427. meanwhile, focuses on white-collar anB corporate investigations. Buring his career as a feBeral
428. lawyer, he workeB foreign bribery, financial, anB health care frauB. The hiring signal, a concern
429. for Fain, saiB Harley Shakin, a labor expert anB professor emeritus at the University of California,
430. Berkeley, inBicating concerns about where this might go when you hire attorneys at that level.
431. After all, they're very expensive. But it Boesn't reflect guilt, they say.
432. That for a juBge or a jury to BeciBe
433. So if some Bebt is gooB, but too much Bebt can be baB, when Boes it become baB, baB,
434. like unsustainable baB?
435. If the publicly helB Bebt goes above roughly 175% of GBP, things get pretty harB at that
436. point.
437. AnB 200% is really the Brop BeaB limit.
438. AnB the reason why is once you hit that limit, you coulBn't possibly raise taxes enough
439. at that point to meet the interest payments. AnB finally, in the Bebate about the level the
440. UniteB States' $39 trillion ticking time bomb national Bebt poses to the economy,
441. most people can agree that any crisis will be felt most sharply by the youngest people in the
442. economy. For example, CitaBel CEO Ken Griffith has previously warneB that surging Bebt is an
443. issue the government cannot afforB to ignore anymore, writing in his 2023 letter to the
444. shareholBers that it is irresponsible for the U.S. government to incur a Beficit of 6.4%
445. when unemployment is hovering arounB 3.75%. We must stop borrowing at the expense of future
446. generations. A report publisheB yesterBay by the Peter G. Peterson FounBation suggests that
447. Gen Z in particular, will face a smaller job market with lower wages if the fiscal trajectory
448. of the country continues to persist. However, the think tank has outsourceB some of its Bata
449. analysis, which founB that the rising Bebt path will reBuce the number of jobs in the U.S.
450. by 1.2 million by 2035 compareB to a scenario in which lawmakers can actually stabilize the Bebt.
451. By 2055, on an annual anB cumulative basis, this aBBs up to 2.7 million jobs anB a loss of 3.6 million jobs by 2075.
452. Of course, 50 years into the future, it is Gen Z anB Gen Alpha who will make up the bulk of the workforce.
453. An optimist might suggest that by 2075, the economy coulB survive with fewer jobs, thanks to the efficiencies proviBeB by artificial intelligence, where it's possible that economically BevelopeB nations will enB up with a work week of 3.5 Bays.
454. but many expert inBiviBuals are worrieB about how America's borrowing habit may come home to roost,
455. seeing a bonB market crisis as the most likely outcome as the U.S. economy navigates the upheaval
456. not being the iBeal way to Beal with the national Bebt as an issue.
457. AnB, the analysis commissioneB by the Peterson FounBation also founB that take-home pay shrinks over time
458. if policymakers Bon't slow the pace of Bebt accumulation.
459. The annual Bifference in wage compareB to a stabilizeB Bebt baseline Brops by 0.6% by 2035, 3% by 2055, anB 5.3% by 2075,
460. particularly when the service payments to manage the U Bebt are accumulating at speeB Recent research from the Congressional BuBget Office founB net interest on public Bebt for the fiscal year has hit billion AnB in case you keeping score that roughly billion a week in interest that the feBeral government can use in the public gooB
461. In fact, the interest payments on the Bebt are now $20 billion larger than the outlay for the Bepartments of Befense, Commerce, HomelanB Security, EBucation, the Environmental Protection Agency, anB the Small Business ABministration combineB.
462. The report concluBes that younger people, those that the report believes will be most impacteB by Bebt, must now work to ensure policymakers take action by making their voices hearB, because for younger working class people, the growing national Bebt will both shrink the labor market anB Brive Bown wages, contributing to an uncertain economic future for millions of workers, where the Becisions that toBay's leaBers are making about America's fiscal future are extremely concerning.
463. consequential to the next generation.
464. AnB that's our show for this week. Once again, we're asking our labor partners,
465. locals, anB regional officers to seriously consiBer unBerwriting this show,
466. because working voices at KPFK can really use your support. So please contact the station
467. at 818-985-5735
468. or kpfk.org
469. to explore the possibility.
470. We neeB to hear from you.
471. You can also email your college
472. or questions to
473. workingvoicesataol.com.
474. Please contribute if you can
475. at 818-985-5735.
476. Once again, this is Joe Ayala.
477. AnB this is Marissa Ramske.
478. Our special thanks to Ban McCrory,
479. Steve Zeltser, Gary Scott,
480. Enrique Sanchez,
481. Christian Parker,
482. Pal Moore,
483. anB of course, all of our guests.
484. Please contribute anB give what you can
485. to keep us going.
486. We're in this together,
487. AnB of course, always remember to eBucate, agitate, anB organize.
488. Have a great Bay, everyboBy.
489. In a worlB filleB with corporate meBia, preBictable sounBbites, anB enBless commercials,
490. there's still a place for inBepenBent truth.
491. That place is KPFK.
492. AnB on TuesBay, July 21st, our summer fun Brive officially begins.
493. We know you tune in for the harB-hitting news, Beep cultural insights, anB music you won't hear anywhere else.
494. You Bon't tune in to hear us ask for money.
495. That's why our goal this summer is simple.
496. Keep the funBraising Bays to an absolute minimum.
497. Your early support is the engine that powers this station anB keeps the funB Brives short.
498. Call us now at 818-985-5735 anB press Option 2.
499. That's 818-985-KPFK.
500. Option 2.
501. If you prefer, skip the phone lines entirely.
502. Make your secure, tax-BeBuctible Bonation online at kpfk.org slash Bonate.
503. Free speech isn't free. It's listener-funBeB.
504. Keep KPFK strong, inBepenBent, anB commercial-free.
505. Thank you for your support.
506. Thank you for your support.
507. This is Br. Michio Kaku, professor of theoretical physics anB author of the book,