Union Talk Podcast

Latest Episode, 3/25/25

Economic Opportunity or Destruction?

Everyone in America deserves the freedom to thrive. Join AFT President Randi Weingarten on Union Talk as she interviews workers, policymakers and experts who are confronting the issues working families face and championing solutions from the classroom to the bargaining table to Congress to secure opportunity, justice and a voice in our democracy for all. If you care about great public schools and affordable higher education, healthcare as a right, unions, an economy that works for all and a thriving democracy, Union Talk dives deep into these issues and demonstrates that together we can accomplish for our families and communities what is impossible to do alone.

More Episodes

2/27/25

Wrecking Ball: Teachers on the Devastating Impact Trump’s Education Cuts Will Have on Kids

Direct from the classroom, four teachers join AFT President Randi Weingarten to talk about the devasting impact that President Trump’s and Elon Musk’s education cuts will have on their students and communities. From ripping away services for special education students and supports for impoverished kids to robbing working-class students of Pell Grants and the chance to go to college, social studies teachers Heather Stambaugh and Rodney Fresh and special education teachers Marsena Toney and Jennifer Graves give a firsthand account of how these cuts will hurt kids. They also discuss ways they are standing up to protect kids and preview actions happening across the country on March 4 to stop these cuts.

1/17/25

Union Talk ON STRIKE: Oregon Healthcare Professionals Stand Up for Better Care Conditions

5,000 nurses, physicians and other medical professionals are on strike in Oregon, the largest healthcare strike in the state’s history. After a day on the strike line, Dr. Lesley Liu and Rebekah Van Dyke, RN, join AFT President Randi Weingarten to share why they’re on strike and how they’re standing up for their patients, their profession and a fix to a healthcare system that puts profits before patients and caregivers.

12/18/24

Finding Common Ground

AFT President Randi Weingarten sits down with two union members — one who voted for Harris and one who voted for Trump – to discuss not only what the November election meant to them, but how we can all find common ground within our union to fight for workers across America.

11/18/24

The Power and Future of Unions with Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su

AFT President Randi Weingarten goes one-on-one with Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su to discuss the transformative power of labor, the recent rise of labor unions and how we can secure a better future for our kids by connecting education and industry in exciting ways.

11/3/24

2024 Election Ground Game

AFT President Randi Weingarten invites election canvassers and organizers to discuss the importance of talking face-to-face to get out the vote during the crucial last few days of election season. Her guests are Labor Council for Latin American Advancement Westchester Chapter President Maria Kercado, Yolanda King from the Detroit Federation of Teachers,Ashanti Wood from For Our Future and Kate Sundeen from the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.

10/29/24

The Very Real Dangers of Trump’s Project 2025

AFT President Randi Weingarten sits down with Joe Radosevich, vice president of campaigns and outreach at the Center for American Progress, for a searing episode about how Donald Trump’s Project 2025 would decimate public education, our healthcare system, labor unions and our systems of justice—and how we can fight back.

9/30/24

Keep Marching, Progress is Possible

9/20/24

Behind the Scenes of the DNC with Minyon Moore

8/19/24

Union Talk Keeping Teachers Ahead of the AI Curve

7/24/24

AFT President Randi Weingarten’s 2024 State of the Union Speech

6/27/24

Special Education Done Right

6/20/24

A Union Talk Recap: Pride and Power

5/16/24

AFT Celebrates 10 Million-Book Giveaway and the Power of Reading

5/8/24

A Union Talk Recap: Teacher Appreciation Week with ‘Abbott Elementary’ Actor Sheryl Lee Ralph

4/30/24

The Transformative Power of Community Schools

4/16/24

Experiential Learning: Where Passion Meets Purpose, with Gov. Wes Moore

3/28/24

Standing Together: Fighting for a Unified Israel

3/21/24

Women’s Rights in Focus: Celebrating Women’s History Month

2/27/24

We Were There: To Rustin, with Love, Part 1

2/27/24

We Were There: To Rustin, with Love, Part 2

2/20/24

The Promise and Threats of AI with Rep. Ro Khanna

2/13/24

A Union Talk Excerpt: Teaching Honest History

2/7/24

A Union Talk Excerpt: Finding the Real Rosa Parks

1/30/24

A Union Talk Excerpt—After the Shootings: How to Help Our Kids and Ourselves

1/16/24

How to Preserve Democracy in 2024

12/27/23

Innovation and Tech Partnerships Expand Career-Focused, Hands-On Learning in NY

12/20/23

Pro-Student, Pro-Public School Victories in School Board Elections

11/22/23

A ‘Union Talk’ Excerpt: Are School Vouchers Good for Education?

11/13/23

The Core Values of the AFT

11/6/23

How to Rescue Teachers from ‘Beyond Burnout’

10/16/23

A ‘Real Solutions’ Excerpt: Engaging Students Through Career and Technical Education

10/10/23

A ‘Real Solutions’ Excerpt: Social Media and Our Kids

10/2/23

Real Solutions: Creating Joyful and Confident Readers

10/2/23

Real Solutions: Creating Joyful and Confident Readers

9/25/23

The Promise of Community Schools

9/1/23

The Real Lives of Teachers

7/28/23

How Education Is Bridging the Divides Between Jews and Arabs

7/25/23

Randi Weingarten’s Keynote Speech at TEACH

6/27/23

Pride and Power

6/23/23

Engaging Students Through Career and Technical Education

5/8/23

Teacher Appreciation Week with ‘Abbott Elementary’ Actor Sheryl Lee Ralph

3/29/23

In Defense of Public Education

3/20/23

Why Workers Need Paid Leave Now

2/28/23

Finding the Real Rosa Parks with Soledad O’Brien

2/22/23

Are School Vouchers Good for Education?

2/3/23

The Promise of Community Schools

1/31/23

Randi Weingarten Goes One-On-One with Govs. Michelle Lujan Grisham and J. B. Pritzker

12/20/22

Reading Opens the World: Building a Nation of Confident, Joyous Readers

12/12/22

How to Fix the Healthcare Staffing Shortage

11/4/22

2022 Midterm Roundtable with Congressional Candidates Nikki Budzinski, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Rep. Jahana Hayes and Robert Zimmerman

10/3/22

Solutions to the nationwide teacher and school staff shortages

9/16/22

White House “Back to School” Panel Discussion

8/5/22

2022 American Federation of Teachers Convention Highlights

7/21/22

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten’s 2022 State of the Union Speech

6/21/22

After the Shootings: How to Help Our Kids and Ourselves

6/9/22

Guns and Hate: Buffalo, Uvalde and Other Tragedies

5/12/22

Social Media and Our Kids: A Conversation with Facebook Whistleblower Frances Haugen

1/21/22

Omicron, Boosters and Schools

12/08/21

Teaching Honest History

11/22/21

COVID-19 Vaccines and Children

11/01/21

Do you have student debt? New Changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and how this can help you!

10/07/21

From the Bedside: A Conversation with Nurses Caring for COVID Patients

09/22/21

Prioritizing Student and Staff Safety in the Classroom

09/04/21

Labor Day with Labor Secretary Marty Walsh

09/04/21

A Safe Back to School for All

About UnionTalk

On Union Talk, AFT president Randi Weingarten interviews workers, policymakers and experts who are confronting the issues working families face and championing solutions. From the classroom to the bargaining table to Congress to the streets, Union Talk looks at the past, present and possible ways the labor movement and unions are vehicles to secure opportunity, justice and a voice in our democracy for all. Different episodes of Union Talk do deep dives on great public schools and affordable higher education, healthcare as a right, unions, an economy that works for all and what it takes to maintain a thriving democracy. Union Talk tells the stories that demonstrate that together we can accomplish for our families and communities what is impossible to do alone.