3265 - Grocery Unions Fight For Better Contract In Minnesota; WIC Program Expiring

It's Hump Day! And Emma is BACK! Sam and Emma speak with Rena Wong, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) local 663, to discuss the recent strike efforts by grocery workers in Minnesota. Then, they speak with Abby Vesoulis, national politics reporter at Mother Jones, to discuss her recent piece entitled "A Nixon-Era Food Program for Babies and Pregnant People Is Running Out of Cash'. First, Sam runs through updates on US retaliations to the Jordanian drone strikes, House and Senate politics, Elon’s $56 billion bummer, anti-trans legislation in Florida and Utah, DOJ proceedings against Cory Bush, Sinema’s fundraising downfall, Trump’s legal expenditures, and corporate awareness about climate change, before touching on Larry Kudlow and Marjorie Taylor Greene’s pitch to the Fox audience on the impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas. Rena Wong then joins, diving right into the role of UFCW Local 663 in representing many of Minneapolis’ essential workers, and the major issues facing their treatment at the hands of their employers. Wong begins by walking through the major transformations that 663 underwent over 2023, pushed by blatant disrespect from the corporations and their proposals that completely ignored the massive sacrifice their workers undertook during the pandemic, and the incredible profits that resulted from it., tackling the issues of payment, cost of living, and inflation, as well as severe and illegal anti-union campaigns from employers. After touching on the major strike actions that Local 663 undertook last year – including one in the lead-up to Christmas – Rena wraps up with the major factors behind the union’s transformation and the central role of unions in providing employees with the tools and strategy to stand up for each other and themselves. Abby Vesoulis then walks through the major role the WIC program plays in providing millions of mothers, infants, and children in the US with proper nutrition, and the incredibly obvious benefit it provides to society, before stepping back to walk through the inner workings of the program, how it connects with mothers and children, and how it uses its funds. After touching on the GOP’s pressures to cut funding for the program, and their successful attempt to delay its funding, Vesoulis wraps up by looking at the devastating impact cuts to the program could have on millions of Americans.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma discuss Israel’s continued desecration of Palestinian civil society in Gaza and beyond, the US and IDF’s poor attempts to defend these actions, and the Israeli government’s complete lack of respect for the life of anyone – even their own hostages. They also touch on the insanity that is Donald Trump’s foreign policy, talk with Joe from Florida about his issues with the program, discuss being pro-Palestine in Europe with a caller, and watch Benny Johnson talk pop-star psyops, plus, your calls and IMs!

Find out more about the UFCW local 663 here: https://www.ufcw663.org/

Check out Abby's work here: https://www.motherjones.com/author/abby-vesoulis/

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