3155 - Inside The UPS/Teamsters Deal; NYC Safe Injection Sites w/ Vinnie Perrone, Rebecca Lewis

It's Hump Day! Emma speaks with Vinnie Perrone, President of Teamsters Local 804, to discuss the recent tentative agreement reached between the Teamsters and UPS. Then, Emma speaks with Rebecca Lewis, senior state politics reporter at City & State New York, to discuss her recent reporting on the introduction on safe injection sites in the state. First, Emma runs through updates on the slow uncovering of the Maui wildfires death count, Biden’s environmental regulations, FBI shenanigans, the continuing abuse of Dianne Feinstein, DNC’s new chair, fascist politics in North Carolina, and RFK teaming up with a sitting GOP Rep, before diving into the spectacular fall of Rudy Giuliani and his myriad ongoing legal battles – from the Trump indictments to his own interpersonal and financial abuses. Vinnie Perrone then joins as he helps to contextualize the historic agreement made between the Teamsters and UPS, walking through the massive concessions from UPS’ side (aka decent labor practices), from Holidays to anti-labor technology, before tackling the major victory on the Teamsters’ front: the elimination of UPS two-tiered wage system. Expanding on this, Perrone walks Emma through the myriad elements of UPS’ system that needed restructuring, and how the deal helped bring about 7,500 full-time promotions, before parsing a little further through new policies on certain anti-labor tech and workplace environments. They wrap up the interview by discussing the Teamsters’ labor action within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent influx in labor action in the US. Rebecca Lewis and Emma then dive into what Safe Injection Sites are, and how they made their way to the forefront of the harm reduction debate around drug abuse in the US, tackling their immense success for decades outside of the US, and the proven lack of any negative impact on local drug use. Next, Lewis walks Emma through recent statements made by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York awkwardly targeting the recent small-scale Safe-Injection Sites, despite the Districts’s long-standing role within the US judicial system, and the genuine support across NYC Mayors for this initiative. Wrapping up, Lewis parses through the slow introduction of this policy over decades of shifting public opinion toward drug addiction, and how the battle will be waged moving forwards.

And in the Fun Half: Emma and the MR Team reflect on the fascist inclinations that come over the wealthy when it comes to the homeless and impoverished, Amber from Northern Virginia dives into Gov. Youngkin’s anti-trans agenda, and Tim Pool posits the idea of Chinese Space Lasers starting the Maui wildfires. Armando from Portland on how to protect places (like Maui) from disaster capitalism, and Michael Flynn wonders why the Jews didn’t push back against Nazi discrimination. UAW president Shawn Fain absolutely eviscerates the anti-labor narratives against both autoworkers and Hollywood workers, and Jason Whitlock perfectly demonstrates the astroturfed absurdity of the right’s new Anthem, plus, your calls and IMs!

Find out more about the Teamsters agreement here: https://teamster.org/2023/07/weve-changed-the-game-teamsters-win-historic-ups-contract/

Check out Rebecca's reporting here: https://www.cityandstateny.com/voices/rebecca-c-lewis/17230/

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow

Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/

Join the Majority Report Discord! http://majoritydiscord.com/

Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/

Get the free Majority Report App!: http://majority.fm/app

Check out today’s sponsors:

HelloFresh: Go to https://HelloFresh.com/50majority and use code 50majority for 50% off plus free shipping!

Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter:

@SamSeder

@EmmaVigeland

@MattBinder

@MattLech

@BF1nn

@BradKAlsop

Check out Matt’s show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning

Subscribe to Brandon’s show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse

Subscribe to Discourse Blog, a newsletter and website for progressive essays and related fun partly run by AM Quickie writer Jack Crosbie. https://discourseblog.com/

Check out Matt Binder’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder

Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/

The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/