Activists around the country have rallied to stop the persecution of Black women prosecutors. Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby is facing 40 years in prison on trumped up charges initiated by the Trump Justice Department. Host of Human Rights and Justice radio show Nkechi Taifa, and political commentator and podcast host Angela Rye share more about the case of Marilyn Mosby, which they call “an egregious tragedy of justice.”
Marilyn Mosby served as the State’s Attorney for Baltimore from 2015 to 2023. She gained national attention following the 2015 police killing of Freddie Gray, when she led the charge to prosecute the officers responsible for his death.
For more information on Justice for former DA Marilyn Mosby, sign the Color of Change petition – https://campaigns.organizefor.org/petitions/pardon-for-attorney-marilyn-mosby
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Following the Teamsters United Parcel Service contract over 12,000 mostly part time workers were permanently laid off. UPS says it has plans to reduce the number of workers by 100,000 using AI and robotics in their warehouses. Portland IBT 162 UPS worker Tony Cochran spoke with Pacifica’s Steve Zeltzer about the layoffs. You can find out more about the independent Teamsters Organizing Committee at https://independentteamstersorganizingcommittee.org/
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This week thousands of auto workers at Mercedes Benz’s Alabama plant will be voting on whether the United Auto Workers union will represent them. The recent victory of UAW at Volkswagen in an overwhelming vote is a sign of a growing tide of union organizing in the South for the first time since the 1930s. The UAW wants to organize 150,000 auto workers, mostly in the South, and that would not only change the labor movement but transform the US. Already three southern governors have warned that this union drive must be stopped. UAW president Shawn Fain has also said he wants all UAW contracts to expire on May Day 2028 and for other unions to join together for a general strike.
Shawn Fain spoke at the Labor Notes conference in Chicago about these recent victories and what they portend.
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On Friday May 10, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution accepting Palestine as a member. Pacifica’s Don Debar spoke to human rights and labor lawyer Dan Kovalik.
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At the University of Toledo’s May 2024 graduate school commencement ceremony, Maha Zeidan, a Palestinian Muslim American graduating law student, and the president of the graduate student association gave a timely speech calling for unity and action regarding the war on Gaza and the state of affairs in the United States.
The University of Toledo says, as a State Institution, it is committed to protecting community members’ First Amendment rights, including free speech, press, and assembly on all our campuses.
And that concludes today’s edition of Capitalism, Race & Democracy. We thank all of Pacifica’s sister stations and affiliates who contribute to the production of this show. Today’s program was produced by the Capitalism, Race & Democracy collective, with contributions from Akua Holt, Nkechi Taifa, Steve Zeltzer, Don Debar, Ann Garrison and Polina Vasiliev.
Thanks for listening!
Music:
Hozier – Nina Cried Power ft. Mavis Staples
GMacCash, “On Strike”
Mike Stout, “Time for a General Strike”
Macklemore, HIND’S HALL
