Contracts Coast to Coast, the Emerson Union Victory in the Pacific – Episode 5

Season 1, Episode 5

While presenting a glamorous front on Sunset Boulevard, Emerson College’s Los Angeles campus (ELA) has been host to many underappreciated faculty members.

ELA may be a long way away from main campus, but it is attended by the same students who are hoping to wrap up their degrees against the backdrop of the Hollywood sign. These students are taught and supported almost exclusively by affiliated faculty.

Join us as we catch up and celebrate a hard won contract with the affiliated faculty union at ELA, learning more about their battle through their union contract negotiations to receive the same benefits as their colleagues did on the east coast only a few years prior.

Track Listings

  1. Lost Fast First Pass by HalfheartedAttack © copyright 1945 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.
  2. Old Man Psycho by HalfheartedAttack © copyright 1945 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.

Burnout – Episode 4

Season 1, Episode 4

Burnout, the story of capitalism gone wild!
The ambitions of working people to do the best possible, to exceed, to go above and beyond, and to do more are celebrated, as they should be. But how do we honor these hard workers? Too often with unappreciated (read unpaid, undercompensated) work the good intentions of enthusiastic workers are often capitalized by corporations and institutions. And Emerson College, much like many other higher education institutions, doesn’t turn out to be an exception here.
In this episode, our members rate their burnout levels and go on to grill dysfunctional capitalism!

The episode was heavily inspired by an online Bustle article titled “Have We Been Thinking About Burnout All Wrong?” by Eve Ettinger (published March 7, 2022) which was recommended by union member, Dan Crocker. The full article can be viewed at https://www.bustle.com/wellness/burnout-definition-what-we-get-wrong

Track Listings

Lost Fast First Pass by HalfheartedAttack © copyright 1945 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.

Transcript available at https://unityunmuted.com/category/transcripts

Work From Home – Episode 3

Season 1, Episode 3

The Pandemic! It has changed us (maybe forever), there is no denying that. But is higher education ready for the change? Universities may be cutting-edge in producing new scientific theories and critical writing but when it comes to operation and work culture, academia is not known for its flexibility. The staff union fought for the health and safety of their members through the darkest and hardest days of the pandemic. While working from home may have been the obvious solution for many companies, the challenges of establishing new working conditions at Emerson were daunting.

Track Listings

Lost Fast First Pass by HalfheartedAttack © copyright 1945 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.

Looking back and looking forward

Season 1, Looking back and looking forward

We asked the Emerson Staff Union members to share their personal experiences and thoughts after a full year of the pandemic!
Life had changed and so had work and people’s working conditions.
They told us about the good, the bad, and the ugly of working during the pandemic era.

Track Listings

  1. Old Man Psycho by HalfheartedAttack © copyright 1945 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY-NC-SA 3.0) license. / Edited from original
  2. Reverie (small theme) by _ghost © copyright 2010 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: Pitx / Edited from original
  3. shimmer by airtone © copyright 2022 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.
  4. Between Worlds (Instrumental) by Aussens@iter © copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: (Smiling Cynic)
  5. Old Man Psycho by HalfheartedAttack © copyright 1945 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.

Making Of A Union, Part 2 – Episode 2

Season 1, Episode 2

More on the ingredients and recipe of making a union.
What does it take to start a union from scratch?
Who is resisting and who is pushing? Why do higher education employees need a union?
We talked to the founders of the Emerson Staff Union and asked them to tell us what drove them to join the rising movement of American workers in organizing their colleagues and becoming a part of SEIU Local 888 in Boston.

Track Listings

Lost Fast First Pass by HalfheartedAttack © copyright 1945 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.

Making Of A Union, Part 1 – Episode 1

Season 1, Episode 1

What does it take to start a union from scratch?
Who is pushing and who is resisting? Why do higher education employees need a union?
We talked to the founders of Emerson Staff Union and asked them to tell us what drove them to join the rising movement of American workers in organizing their colleagues and become a part of the SEIU Local 888 in Boston.

Track Listings

Lost Fast First Pass by HalfheartedAttack © copyright 1945 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.

Season 1 Teaser – Transcript

Season 1 Teaser – Transcript

[♪ “There is Power in a Union” by Joe Glazer and Bill Friedland fades in ♪]

John-Albert Moseley The staff were like the stepchild that you hid in the attic.

Shaylin Hogan Equity as it pertained to wages, treatment, and policies. I think that’s really been the pillar from day one.

John-Albert Moseley You know we got tired of being invisible and having no voice and being paid horribly low.

Illona Yukhayev I think most of us didn’t know we were supposed to be angry at this moment because we were so shocked. We’re like, “What is happening, do they really not have any money? Can they really not help us out here?”

Shaylin Hogan We saw people who were being treated as lesser either because of their race, their gender.

Anna Feder Like lots of employers, “We’re a family you know but a family that’s going to let you go without a paycheck because you have some kind of medical emergency.”

Estelle Ticktin At one point, I had two part-time jobs, freelance jobs on top of this job and I was sleeping on the couch in my apartment because I could only afford one bedroom and my son needed his own space. For people not to be able to afford to you know to work here just was so unfair.

Shaylin Hogan I grew up in a union household and so I knew about the protections and some of the benefits but until I was really part of a union drive it didn’t occur to me how much of his employment I took for granted as a kid.

Illona Yukhayev Because we had a large group of people who were as upset as we were and were willing to show up for actions, that’s how we got where we were.

Anna Feder How do we get to pay equity for women–it’s with unions.

Illona Yukhayev When you have a union what you have is a structure to work within.

Shaylin Hogan You are officially engaged in union activity and you are federally protected from recourse.

Anna Feder I see the union as we’re doing the institution a huge favor by holding them to their values.

John-Albert Moseley The union contract can make Emerson an employer of choice.

Tim Douglas Unity Unmuted is a loud, proud, production of the Emerson Staff Union. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.

[♪ Music fades out ♪]