Working Beyond Unions [Labor Day Special Encore]
It’s been decades since the U.S. has had a powerful labor movement and recent efforts to revive it have mostly fallen flat. But there is hope for a new labor movement that goes beyond the unions.
Due to Economic Concerns, Gulf Coast Residents Still Support Big Oil
Many of those most closely affected by the devastation of the gulf spill are, in fact, not calling for any change at all.
Small Farms, Big Future
We go to California, America’s leading producer of fruits, vegetables, and dairy, to see some examples of how the nation’s agricultural industry is slowly but surely moving away from factory farms.
How We Survive: Getting Creative About Jobs
We look at how the unemployed are getting creative about making ends meet, from starting their own businesses to work-sharing.
Companies Choose Shared-Work Program Over Layoffs
Instead of laying a few people off during a downturn in business, companies can choose to decrease the hours of all of their employees, and government provided, partial unemployment benefits can help make up for the rest. In Connecticut, more than 500 companies have gone the work-share route. Correspondant Melinda Tuhus has more.
Bay Area Non-Profits Help Create Jobs by Supporting Micro-Enterprise
Despite Obama’s words of support of small business, experts say some aren’t relying on government, but more and more on community groups and micro-lenders. That’s what Making Contact correspondent Li Lovett found, talking to micro-entrepreneurs in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Crisis in Public Education – An Hour-Long Special
On this special one-hour edition of Making Contact, we’ll hear who bears the burden of budget cuts to education, and the driving forces behind them.
Lessons from Latin America
We hear from activists and experts who say the U.S. can learn a lot from social movements in Latin America.
Crisis as Opportunity: Voices from the U.S. Social Forum
This June, thousands of grassroots activists converged on Detroit, Michigan to attend the 2010 United States Social Forum. We were there and on this edition of Making Contact, we’ll bring you some of the local and international voices we found.
Working Beyond Unions
It’s been decades since the U.S. has had a powerful labor movement and recent efforts to revive it have mostly fallen flat. But there is hope for a new labor movement that goes beyond the unions.