Archived Radio Show

September 4, 2023

Original Radio Show  ID:
WSA230904

Listen to the Show on the Mp3 Player below

Duration 57 minutes

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Featuring

Click the Name to access the Segment below

1. Commentary by Elaine B. Holtz,  Host of Women's Spaces 

2. Guest: Lisa Maldonaldo, Labor Representative, California Nurses Association (CNA)

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1. Commentary by Elaine B. Holtz:  Today is Labor Day. Joining me in the studio is Lisa Maldonado, Labor Representative for the California Nurses Association. Lisa has an extensive background in labor relations and union organizing and we will be talking about the history of Labor Day and her involvement in labor relations.

Susan Chunco at Homeless Action in 2018 (Creative Commons)

Congratulations to Susan Chunco whose name has been placed on the Living Peace Wall in Sebastopol, California. The Peace Wall A monument of granite panels topped by a bronze hippie peace symbol honors and quotes prominent nonviolence activists and social justice figures. Created by Michael Gillotti, unveiled Oct. 2015 in downtown Sebastopol, no-nukes self-proclaimed "Peace town USA." Four names are added each year.

A bit about Susan Chunco. Susan first became an activist protesting the war in Vietnam, and in recent years has served on the board and as treasurer of the Peace and Justice Center of Sonoma County, collating the Sonoma County Peace Press and tabling at activists’ events for multiple organizations. One of the original advocates for Camp Michela (Remembrance Village), she continues to act as community liaison for the local homeless encampment.

A shout out to the National Women’s History Alliance celebrating forty-three years of bringing Women’s History to the world. A special thank you and Congratulations to Co-Founder and Executive Director Molly Murphy MacGregor. An amazing accomplishment. Rumor has it that Molly will be stepping down as Executive Director at the end of the year. Between you and me, that is yet to be seen.

Special Happy Birthday to my beautiful Great Grand Daughter Satori Trinity Jensen who turns five on September 6. I can hardly believe five years have passed and here she is playing soccer and in kindergarten. I am grateful to have lived long enough to be a Great Grandmother.

Today, The first Monday of September, which is today, is Labor Day. A little history:

For our second musical break we will play Which Side Are You On?. Here is a little history of the song:

2. Our Guest, Lisa Maldonaldo, shares the early influences of her mother and grandmothers. in her working-class family. Her father crossed many times from Mexico. Once a farmer did not want to pay him and his comrades and called Immigration on them, but the Immigration officer first demanded the workers be paid their due first. The story of the Labor movement is the story of immigrants. Examples are Emma Goldman and Delores Huerta. We are told to work to be rich, but still many hardworking folks are struggling to live. When working for the ACLU on the homeless situation, Lisa had to tell many people that they had to move out of the area, which was only a Band-Aid and no solution. They really needed better wages.

Presently Lisa is working for the California Nurses Association (CNA), which is facing shortages of staff at Kaiser Medical facilities. As a union, CNA can stand up to the big corporation's urge to make more profits at the expense of labor, which also helps patients get better care. The nurses are also countering artificial intelligence (AI) and remote telemetry replacing trained nurses visiting patients.

Polls are showing that 80% of young people support unions. They notice the wealth gap as not benefiting them and greater society.

About our Guest: Lisa Maldonaldo, is, as she describes herself, an Attorney, Union Thug, Troublemaker, Boat Rocker, Revolutionary & Nice Mexican Girl all in one! At present she is the Labor Representative at California Nurses Association (CNA). Lisa is a member of the Board of Directors of the Bilingual Broadcasting Foundation, Inc., who holds the license of Radio KBBF.

She is the Former Executive Director North Bay Labor Council at AFL-CIO, Former Area Director at SEIU Local 1021. Also, she has previously worked as Field Director of the ACLU of Northern California where she coordinated field campaigns on issues such as racial profiling, the death penalty, marriage equality and immigrant’s rights. She served as a Campaign Coordinator for the California Faculty Association and the Political Director of the San Mateo Central Labor Council.

Lisa has a degree in Political Science from San Francisco State University and a JD from the University of San Francisco Law School.

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Guest Links:

The California Nurses Association (CNA) - affiliate of the National Nurses United (NNU) - website:   https://www.nationalnursesunited.org/california-nurses-association

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 Herstory

Our history is our strength. Check out important dates to remember in herstory at the National Women's History Alliance,, where the date descriptions were sourced unless otherwise indicated.

Herstory's Event:

September 2, 1948 (1986) – Christa McAuliffe, New Hampshire teacher, selected in 1985 to be the first teacher in space, died aboard space shuttle Challenger.

September 3, 1920 (1966) – Marguerite Higgins, first woman to win Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting (1951) for coverage of the Korean War.

Herstory Birthdays - focussing on Women who made an impact on the Labor movement:

September 3, 1921 (1985) – Ruth Orkin, denied admission to the Cinematographer’s Union because she was a woman, went to New York where she filmed a street-scene series and then to Florence where she shot “American Girl in Italy” in 1956.

September 4, 1906 (1988) – Elaine Yoneda, Communist labor organizer with the International Longshoreman’s Union, argued for free day care for women and equal pay for equal work in 1930s, interned in 1942 with her Japanese American husband because she felt family should stay together.

September 8, 1945 (1995) – Esther Rome, with 13 other women, created the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, the basis for the groundbreaking health manual Our Bodies, Ourselves, which provided accurate information on women’s health.

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Announcements  

Monday, September 11 2023, 11 AM PT # repeats 11 PM PT, the show will feature Faith Ross of Petaluma Blacks for Community Development on their health fair event Path to Health and Wellness on Saturday 9/16/2023. Radio KBBF 89.1 FM, North SF Bay or live streaming at https://kbbf.org/live <

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Wednesday, September13, 2023, 11 AM PT, repeat of Monday's show that featured Faith Ross of Petaluma Blacks for Community Development on their health fair event Path to Health and Wellness on Saturday 9/16/2023.  Radio KPCA 103.3 FM, Petaluma, CA. https://petalumacommunityaccess.org/kpca 

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Music Selections

The Opening and Closing Theme song The Woman in Your Life is You is done with permission of the Composer and Singer Alix Dobkin ((August 16, 1940 – May 19, 2021) Alix Dobkin death was just announced - Thank you for all you did for Lesbians to be recognized and Women to be honored. May you rest in peace. See our Interview with Alix Dobkin on 12/1/2014 and our Memorial to Alix Dobkin on 5/24/2021

The Woman in Your Life is You by Alix Dobkin from the album Living with Lavender Jane (2010 Women's Wax Works) - www.alixdobkin.com

Bella Caio, sung by Betsy Rose and the Womansong Chorus from the album Welcome to the Circle (Paper Crane Music). 

Which Side Are you On by Bev Grant from the album We Were There: Songs of Women Labor History (Human Condition Music)

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Link:  Spinitron.com Playlist for Women's Spaces Show