Coronavirus and Class War is a series of discussions and stories of workers on the frontline who are speaking out and stepping up where the state and federal government are failing, in this unprecedented health crisis. Airs every Thursday beginning April 23, 2020 at 7:30 pm et. on WBAI 99.5 fm and at 8pm on soundcloud and other streaming platforms.
We're back for a May 1st Special episode to commemorate International Worker's Day! Happy May Day!
For our May Day special, we're looking at the struggles of Delivery Workers in New York City - we speak with Katya and Juan Carlos, two delivery workers affiliated with Los Deliveristas Unidos, an up-and-coming Delivery worker organization. Katya is a Spanish-only speaker so Lupita Romero helped interpret this segment with us.
Lea Ramirez and Julian Guerrero take on the debate around worker misclassification by Uber, Lyft, Doordash, and other App-based companies explaining how this issue is creating a second-class status for working people across the globe.
April 23rd, 2021 marks one year of our series, Coronavirus and Class Struggle, on famed Lefty community radio station, NYC's WBAI 99.5 FM.
A few members of the Working Class Heroes Collective, Khadija Mehter, Lea Ramirez, and Julian Guerrero, reflect on one year of producing 32 episodes of interviews, reporting, and discussions on working-class struggles based in New York City. They discuss what they learned, how important support for independent media is needed to report on ongoing struggles, and what lies ahead for the Working Class Heroes Collective.
On this week’s show, we discuss Guantanamo Bay, why it must be shut down, and why we need justice for all detained and formerly detained prisoners
Khadija Mehter speaks with Mansoor Adayfi, who was just 19 when he was taken to Guantanamo Bay, where he spent over 14 years detained without being charged with a crime, and Dr. Maha Hilal, co-director of Justice for Muslims Collective, an organizer with Witness Against Torture, and a council member of School of the Americas Watch.
On this week's episode of Working Class Heroes Radio, we speak with Jasmine and Kali of Southern Solidarity, an organization dedicated to liberation, mutual aid, and the cause of unhoused people, mainly in New Orleans and now, right here in New York City.
They spoke to Lupita about their efforts, what role they see mutual aid can play in the struggle for liberation, and how people can take up the cause of unhoused people.
Khadija Mehter and Mel Gonzalez host the show and also break down the rising number of undocumented immigrants who are unhoused and at risk of evictions in the wake of the pandemic.
On this week's show of Working Class Heroes Radio, Julian Guerrero speaks with restaurant workers, Natalia Tylim and Gary Inman, both members of the Democratic Socialists of America and organizers with the Restaurant Organizing Project.
They'll be speaking with us about the struggles of the Restaurant Industry, especially with regard to the ongoing pandemic and their efforts to organize better work conditions through the Restaurant Organizing Project.
Lupita Romero and Danny Katch host the show and speak with Stella Becerril, the organizer of the Street Vendors Project about the recent victories as well as the continued struggles of street vendors as essential workers who have been continuing to serve the public.
On this week's show of Working Class Heroes radio, we speak with Prakash Churaman, the young Guyanese immigrant from Queens who spent 6 years incarcerated without a fair trial.
Now that Prakash is out on bail, Julian Guerrero asks him about his experience with the criminal justice system, how he's coping with being back home and what his struggle for freedom from the Queens District Attorney's grip might entail.
Lupita Romero and Mel Gonzalez host the show, lay out our latest headlines, and break down the issue of pre-trial detainment in New York City's criminal justice system with the help of Carl Hamad-Lipscombe, director of advocacy and policy at the Brooklyn Community Bail Fund.
On this week's show of Working Class Heroes Radio, we speak with Aaron Petcoff, a software engineer, member of the Democratic Socialists of America, and a volunteer with the Tech Workers Coalition.
Lea will be speaking with Aaron about the current role of the tech industry in the U.S., Tech workers' efforts to unionize, as well as the potential for the Tech Labor movement under the new Biden administration.
Khadija and Mel host the show and discuss Covid19 and New York State's response to it, including disparities in vaccination distribution and the problems with vaccine registration technology today.
From budget cuts to Trump's attempts to the sabotage mail-in voting system, Postal workers are fighting to save the US Postal Service.
On this week's show of Working Class Heroes Radio, Julian Guerrero speaks with city letter carrier, Frank Couget, about the struggles that Postal workers have been fighting throughout the Trump administration.
Khadija Mehter and Mel Gonzalez host the show, give us our latest headlines and talk about President Biden's first 100 days in office and what kind of president he will be to working-class people. Dariela Maradiaga calls in to speak about her brother's pending deportation, (Javier Castillo Maradiaga), and how ICE is ignoring Biden's moratorium on deportations.
On this week’s show of Working Class Heroes Radio, we speak with Chris Smalls, a former Amazon worker who was fired after organizing a walkout to protest the violation of COVID-19 safety standards in the warehouse by Amazon management.
Lea Ramirez and Danny Katch talk with Chris about his experience, what conditions were like for Amazon workers, and what led him to help found the Congress of Essential Workers.
Lupita and Julian also break down the new Tax the Rich campaign in New York by a coalition of progressive organizations.
On this week's episode of Working Class Heroes Radio, we discussed the ongoing hunger strike of over 140 people across immigrant detention centers in New Jersey, who are fighting for their lives, demanding immediate release from indefinite detention as Covid19 cases rise in prisons.
Lupita Romero spoke with Marcial Morales, who was formerly detained at Bergen County Detention Center in New Jersey, as well as, Mary A., whose fiance is still detained at the Hudson County Detention Center. They speak about the terrible conditions inside the detention centers and how people are striking for their freedom.
On this week's episode of Working Class Heroes Radio, we speak with organizers from the Frack Outta Brooklyn Coalition and the No North Brooklyn Pipeline campaign about their efforts to stop the construction of a liquefied natural gas pipeline under Brooklyn by National Grid, a London based energy company that is asking New York State to help pay for its completion.
Khadija and Danny give us this week's headlines and take a special on the ground report from Lupita and Mel on the ongoing struggle in New Jersey to shut down the Bergen County Detention Center. Julian speaks with Monique Roberts, a tenant organizer at Housing Organizers for People Empowerment (HOPE), Pati Ankalli, a member of Mi Casa Resiste and the Frack Outta Brooklyn Coalition, which is a Black, Indigenous and people of color-led coalition fighting the pipeline and Fabian Rogers, also a tenant organizer with HOPE as well as with the Brownsville Resident Green Committee.
