Reply #3: In Labor Movement, A Rising Female Leader: Sandy Pope [View All]

[Better Believe It]

In Labor Movement, A Rising Female Leader
NPR Staff
September 5, 2011

JACKI LYDEN, host: This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Jacki Lyden. Michel Martin is away. Happy Labor Day. Coming up we'll talk about how we're all working so much that there's too little downtime to enjoy a family outing or even a good book. With all of the ways technology allows people to reach us, work life balance is more and more an imbalance. That's in a few minutes but first it is Labor Day.

A day in which we take a moment to think about the millions of Americans in the labor force. Only about 12 percent belong to a union today versus 20 percent a generation ago in 1983. And amid all of the economic uncertainty unions have agreed to contracts loaded with concessions just to keep those they represent employed. This is a criticism (unintelligible) that The International Brotherhood of Teamsters better known as the Teamsters Union and one member is so fed up that she's vying to lead the group.

Joining us now is Sandy Pope, the first woman to run for the presidency of the teamsters. The election is in October. Welcome to the program.

Read the interview at:

http://www.npr.org/2011/09/05/140140278/in-labor-movement-a-rising-female-leader