Words and Work

In honor of the upcoming Cesar Chavez holiday, Ted Prezelski speaks with Cam Juárez. Cam talks about growing up in a farmworker family as one of "Cesar's kids." Cesar Chavez and his movement led him into a life of public service, including his current work as a ranger at Saguaro National Park.

Ted Prezelski talks to Ken Kennon, whose recent book Marriage of Earth and Sky is about his parents who were leaders in education and the arts in the Ozarks. He also talks a bit about his activism and his previous book, Prisioner of Concience.

We chatted with Erica about her effort to organize workers at Defenders of Wildlife last year, but we are getting an update from her on what happend when her now-former employer had to face the National Labor Relations Board.

Ted Prezelski talks to James Watson of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. James is a one time Tucsonan and worked at the Ratheon facility south of Tucson for years. He talks not only about his work with the union, but about their new programs for veterans.

Ted Prezelski talks to Marcelino Flores, newly elected president of AFSCME 449, which represents government employees. Flores talks about his labor advocacy, as well as the workforce development programs he manages for Pima County.

Ted Prezelski interviews Evan Tuohy, the newly elected vice president of AFM Local 33, which represents musicians in Tucson.

This week, workers at a Starbucks in Tucson had a one day strike to demand that management recognize their rights as unionized employees. Ted Prezelski talked to several of them.

Ted Prezelski interviews Michael K. Ward, author of Ghost Riders in the Sky, a biography of Stan Jones. The book is named for the popular song that Jones wrote during his time as a park ranger in Death Valley. Just like Jones, Ward was a park ranger at Death Valley as well as Tucson's Saguaro National Park.

Ted Prezelski talks to Paul Ingram of the Tucson Sentinel. Ingram covers many issues, most notably the border. He talks about that topic and what a lot of people get wrong about it.

Ted Prezelski talks to Javier Soto of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Javier talks about the work he does as an electrician as well as the work his union does training workers.

Ted Prezelski has another visit from Ryan Kelly, who gives an update on labor in Southern Arizona.

Ted Prezelski talks to Chris Cheely of SMART, a union that includes railway employees. Chris talks a bit about the history of the railroads as well as a recently averted strike.

Ted Prezelski talks to Luci Messing, a long time Tucson teacher.

Ted Prezelski talks to Ryan Mims. Mims is originally from Arizona but works on the staff of AFGE in California. He has written a novel called Midnight Train to Everywhere.

Ted Prezelski interviews Sue Blakely, who had family members on both sides of the Bisbee Deportation, an event that involved the arrest and deportation of 1700 striking miners and their supporters from Bisbee, Arizona in 1917.

Ted Prezelski interviews Kaelon Fox, who serves as the FC Tucson representative for the United Soccer League Players Association.

Ted Prezelski speaks with Bennito Kelty about becoming a journalist and what got him from Colorado to Tucson.

Ted Prezelski interviews one of the stars of Reservation Dogs, Jon Proudstar. Proudstar just finished an appearance at San Diego Comic-Con where he rolled out a new run of his series Tribal Force, a comic featuring Native American superheroes.

There has been a wave of organizing by Starbucks employees (known as "partners" in the company's parlance) and Tucson has its first unionized location. Ted Prezelski speaks with Starbucks worker Ivan Modesto about the issues that led to their organizing.

Ted Prezelski interviews the two founders of the Labor Radio Podcast Network, an online clearinghouse, organization and help desk for various labor podcasters and radio shows across the country.

Henry Barajas recently announced that he will be appearing at Tucson ComiCon in September and will also be having a Batman story published around that time. Given that, we are revisiting last year's interview with him.

Ted Prezelski interviews Dylan Smith about the Tucson Sentinel, an online publication he started after the Tucson Citizen shut down. Smith is also the founder of LION, an association of publishers of community-based online newspapers.

Ted Prezelski talks with Becky Pallack, operations executive of Arizona Luminaria, an online newspaper serving Tucson.

Ted Prezelski asks Charlie Bertsch about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and we get to hear a lot of unexpected insights.

Ted Prezelski speaks with Jefferson Carter, a Tucson-based poet and educator.

Ted Prezelski talks to Charlie Bertsch about his recent article about the Tucson music scene for the Battleground and a number of other topics.

Ted Prezelski interviews Erica Prather who organized a union at Defenders of Wildlife. She talks about her work there, labor issues at the organization as well as how she became active in union organizing.

Ted Prezelski interviews Ryan Kelly about actions for workers at both Amazon and Starbucks in Tucson. He also talks about love for Scabby the Rat.

Ted Prezelski interviews Patrick Whitehurst, an author that recently moved to Tucson. Whitehurst discusses the book Murder & Mayhem in Tucson along with his crime fiction.

This is the week that many of us honor Cesar Chavez, so Ted Prezelski has a chat with the UFW leader's grandson Alejandro Chavez. They talk about the legacy of his grandfather, how he got into community organizing in Arizona and his current work in Washington.

Ted Prezelski talks to Anakarina Rodriguez about the upcoming Cesar Chavez holiday in Tucson and the meaning of the holiday for her. She also discusses her work with the National Domestic Workers Alliance, which seeks to extend labor protections to domestic workers.

Ted Prezelski interviews Wes Oswald, a teacher at Manzo Elementary School. They discuss teaching during the pandemic and recent issues at the legislature.

Ted Prezelski interviews Spyncer Wilson, who is with a group of back-of-the-house workers at Prep and Pastry, a local chain of restaurants in Tucson.

Ted Prezelski interviews Annie and Beth Holub about their new project, a Substack to reprint the writing of their father, Hugh. Hugh Holub started a satirical newspaper in the 1960's that eventually became a blog in the 1990's. The Substack can be found at https://bandersnatch.substack.com/

Ted Prezelski interviews Karla Schumann, Political Director for Teamsters Local 104 and the head of the Arizona chapter of Pride at Work, the AFL-CIO constituency group for members of the LBGTQ community. In the interview, Karla brought up the name Gary Kapanowski, a leader with the United Auto Workers. To find out more about him, check the following links: https://themetropole.blog/2020/01/15/the-kapanowski-challenge-the-intersection-of-sexuality-labor-activism-and-deindustrialization-on-the-shop-floor/ https://reutherlib.blubrry.net/2020/06/18/this-union-cause-the-queer-history-of-the-united-automobile-workers/

Ted Prezelski interviews Dan Stuart, musician and author of a series of novels about a character named Marlowe Billings, a fictionalized version of himself.

Ted Prezelski interviews Jeffrey Holsen, a bass violinist for the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and member of the American Federation of Musicians.

Ted Prezelski interviews Mari Herreras, a journalist for several alternative weeklies and currently a staffer at the University of Arizona Press.

Ted Prezelski interviews Pamela Powers-Hannley, an Arizona State Representative and member of the National Writers Union.

Audio from the rally for Home Health Care Workers put on by the Pima Area Labor Federation held in Tucson on December 16, 2021.

Ted Prezelski talks to Rev. (and Maj.) Owen Chandler, one-time pastor in Tucson now a US Army chaplain. He talks about his book Bridge in Babylon, which is about his time as a reserve army chaplain in Iraq.

Ted Prezelski interviews Tucson author Scott Lunt to talk about his book of RV adventures, Sun Blocked.

Hank Stephenson, who has written for numerous publications in Arizona, talks about his new project, a Substack called Arizona Agenda. Hank's work can be found at https://arizonaagenda.substack.com/

Ted Prezelski interviews Steve Diamond, member of the National Writers Union, Tucson Chapter

Ted Prezelski interviews Ryan Kelly, an NWU member. Ryan also works as a staffer for the Pima Area Labor Federation and he talks about the state of organized labor nationally and in Southern Arizona.

Ted Prezelski interviews Sarah Garecht Gassen, an outgoing editor at the Arizona Daily Star. She talks about how working at a daily paper has changed over the last 25 years and her future plans.

Ted Prezelski interviews Ryan Kelapire, outgoing editor of the Arizona Desert Swarm blog. He discusses writing about WIldcat sports and how he became a journalist.

Ted Prezelski interviews Alice Whittenburg about her writing and her involvement in the labor movement.

Ted Prezelski speaks with Clayton Sinyai of the Catholic Labor Network, a group that describes its mission as  a place for Catholics who find inspiration in Catholic Social Teaching on labor and work and share a desire to support workers in their struggle for social justice.

As part of Labor Day week, an encore of Ted Prezelski's interview with Teferi Gebre.

Ted Prezelski talks to long time Tucson journalist and author Greg McNamee about his life and career.

Ted Prezelski interviews Susan Whittaker, Dispatch Officer, IATSE Local 405. Most of IATSE 405's members are responsible for stage and trade shows, something there has not been a lot of for the last 18 months. She talks about the challenges to her fellow workers and what the union has been doing to support them.

Ted Prezelski interviews Jim Nintzel, executive editor of the Tucson Weekly and several other local publications. Ted and Jim talk about his time at the Weekly and training young journalists.

Ted Prezelski interviews Spyncer Wilson and Jennifer Skinner of the Prep and Pastry Organizing Committee. They discuss issues in their work place and what it's been like to try to form a union.

In this episode, Ted Prezelski interviews David Dickerson, a local author who has made appearances on This American Life. Dickerson talks about his career in writing, which has included time writing greeting cards and questions for Jeff Foxworthy's American Bible Challenge. The TED Talk that is referenced on the show can be found here: https://youtu.be/7MnCjpw7iBI

On this episode, Ted Prezelski interviews Teferi Gebre who talks about his experience as an immigrant who now helps lead the AFL-CIO. Also, he talks about his work on behalf of the PRO Act here in Arizona.

Ted Prezelski interviews NWU member Joe Ferguson, who wrote at the Arizona Daily Star, Arizona Daily Sun and Arizona Daily Wildcat (he notes that he's made the trifecta of the "Arizona Daily" newspapers). In addition to his work in journalism, he is now working on housing issues, a subject he talks about at length in this interview.

In commemoration of this week's anniversary of the Bisbee Deportation, Ted Prezelski interviews Mike Anderson. Anderson is a historian in Bisbee as well as a member of the union whose strike ended in the deportation, the International Workers of the World, also known as the Wobblies.

Ted Prezelski interviews his brother Tom about the book Californio Lancers. The book details the history of the Native California Cavalry, a mostly Latino unit of the Union Army in the Civil War.  Tom and Ted aren't just brothers in the union sense, but are in fact twins, so their voices are going to sound a lot alike.

Ted Prezelski interviews Kristen Randall, a member of the National Writers Union. She edits and publishes Southern Arizona Connection, a monthly community publication that serves smaller communities south of Tucson. She talks about the importance of publications like Connection for places like Arivaca, Amado and Green Valley. She also talks about her role as constable in midtown Tucson, part of her job is serving evictions. She has transformed her role into a service provider for people on the verge of eviction and has become an advocate for affordable housing.

Ted Prezelski interviews Henry Barajas, former reporter for the Arizona Daily Star and the Tucson Weekly. Barajas's latest book is La Voz de M.A.Y.O.: Tata Rambo, a graphic novel about Barajas's great grandfather, Ramón Jaurigue, who went from being an orphan to an important community organizer in Tucson. Barajas talks about his career in journalism and his process in writing a graphic novel.

Ted Prezelski talks to Phoenix-based writer Sarah Land, author of So There's a Sibling. Sarah talks about writing a children's book and there's a little soccer too.

In this episode, Ted Prezelski talks to Paul Stapleton-Smith of IATSE local 415 and former chair of the Pima Area Labor Federation. Topics range from what IATSE is to the importance of the labor movement in politics and the community.

Ted Prezelski speaks with Andrea Ibáñez, a Tucson-based mystery author. Ibáñez is the author of the Deadly series, a group of novels centering on North Carolina police detective Steve Thibault. She also discusses a political novel that she wrote, Romance in the Desert Southwest, which is based on her time working in Arizona politics.

Ted Prezelski interviews Tom Zoellner, a former reporter for the Arizona Republic and author of several books, including his latest, the National Road. The National Road is about the realities of life and geography in various parts of the country. Tom also talks about the January 8th shooting and politics in Arizona.

Ted Prezelski interviews Jim McLauglin, President of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 99. UFCW Local 99 primarily organizes workers in the retail sector in Arizona as well as parts of New Mexico and Utah. Ted and Jim talk about the challenges faced by his members during COVID, as well as organizing efforts at Amazon and in the marijuana industry. NOTE: I was told that another episode was uploaded in place of this one. This is the correct episode.

Ted Prezelski interviews Greg Evans, who splits his time between Tucson and Prague. His work has included being a science fiction author, translator and editor of both the Occupied Tucson Citizen (https://occupiedtucsoncitizen.org) and Cafe Irreal (http://cafeirreal.alicewhittenburg.com).

Ted Prezelski interviews Mansur Johnson, a Tucson-based author who has written In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great, a two volume travelogue of his following the route of Alexander the great, along with books about his time as an assistant to American Sufi teacher Samuel L. Lewis. Johnson also talks about his time working on sets during Tucson's 1990's movie boom.

Ted Prezelski talks with planetary scientist Erik Asphaug, who wrote When the Earth Had Two Moons: Cannibal Planets, Icy Giants, Dirty Comets, Dreadful Orbits and the Origins of the Night Sky. The book is an exploration of both the history of our solar system and the history of planetary science. The discussion touches on science education as well as the place of astronomy in popular imagination.

Ted Prezelski interviews organizers of the United Campus Workers, an effort to unionize employees at the University of Arizona and Arizona State University. The movement was launched in September of 2020 and is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America Local 7065.

Ted Prezelski talks with Lydia Otero, former professor at the University of Arizona. She talks about her current book as well as topics covered in her 2010 book, La Calle: Spatial Conflicts and Urban Renewal in a Southwest City. Words and Work is a presentation of the Tucson Chapter of the National Writers Union and Downtown Radio.

Ted Prezelski chats with Fred Yamashita about HR 482, also known as the PRO Act. The PRO Act is regarded as the most important piece of pro-labor legislation in decades. Yamashita is a member of the UFCW and was once the director of the Pima Area Labor Federation in Tucson.

Our interview with A. J. Flick went long, so a story about a certain country artist was cut for the on-air broadcast. Here is the full story from A. J.

On this episode, Ted Prezelski talks to A. J. Flick, member of the National Writers Union, Tucson Chapter. Flick was a long time reporter for the Tucson Citizen (RIP) who covered everything from music to the courts. She talks about Toxic Rage, her 2018 book about the murder of Dr. Brian Stidham as well as her other work in journalism.

Ted Prezelski talks to NWU Vice President David Hill about his book, The Vapors, and also about the National Writers Union and the Freelance Solidarity Project.