- Playing
- The Right to Organize
- From
- Sarah Elzas
"There's right and there's wrong-- and this is wrong," says a worker who was fired for trying to organize her coworkers at an Aramark uniform cleaning facility in Missouri. This happens to over 20,000 people each year. They are fired for minor infractions, or even trumped up charges, because they openly support unions in their companies.
Through phone interviews with three people who were recently laid off for unionizing--at Aramark in Sikeston, MO, Comcast in Oakland, CA, and the Hilton at LAX--this piece explores what it's like to be harassed and then fired for standing up for their right to organize.
This piece was produced for Air America's Workin' It, and aired June 3, 2006.
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Piece Description
"There's right and there's wrong-- and this is wrong," says a worker who was fired for trying to organize her coworkers at an Aramark uniform cleaning facility in Missouri. This happens to over 20,000 people each year. They are fired for minor infractions, or even trumped up charges, because they openly support unions in their companies. Through phone interviews with three people who were recently laid off for unionizing--at Aramark in Sikeston, MO, Comcast in Oakland, CA, and the Hilton at LAX--this piece explores what it's like to be harassed and then fired for standing up for their right to organize. This piece was produced for Air America's Workin' It, and aired June 3, 2006.
Broadcast History
Aired June 3, 2006 on Air America
Transcript
SUGGESTED HOST INTRO:
More than 20,000 people are fired each year for openly supporting unions in the companies where they work. They are fired for minor infractions or even trumped up charges. Their crime: handing out union cards, distributing fliers, holding meetings. Independent producer Sarah Elzas has this story of three people who paid a price for excercizing their legal right to organize a union:
OUTRO: (sign off exists, with New York location; you can cut it off and have the host credit the producer) This piece came to us from independent producer Sarah Elzas
-------------------------------------
BURNS: My name is Zena Burns. I work in Aramark Uniforms, that's in Sikeston, Missouri
NARRATOR: ARAMARK UNIFORMS PROVIDES CLEAN GARMENTS TO HOSPITALS AND LABS. BURNS' JOB: TO DO THE FINAL SORTING OF THE CLEANED UNIFORMS BEFORE THEIR FINAL DELIVERY.
BURNS: I love my job....
Read the full transcript
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Traci Tong
Posted on July 18, 2006 at 08:16 PM | Permalink
Review of The Right to Organize
Decent newsy story that would do well to air on Labor Day.
Elzas gives us three stories of people getting fired for trying to organize. All interviews are phoners and are decent quality.
Pacing is fine... could be cut for time.
Piece opens with first Union organizer. I would have wanted a different open that introduces me to organizer and more sound rich. But otherwise it was fine.