I'm back I'm Charles Showalter you listening to the union as Labor start Radio thank you very much for tuning in we enjoy your company we like hanging out with you and we appreciate all the wonderful things Jew doing for your community folks don't forget go to our website w w w dot the union edged dot com sign up for our activist newsletter download a free app for your i Phone or your Android so you can listen his radio program anywhere in the world anytime really makes it kind of cool or well you know just take a look the really cool swag that we have on the Web site we appreciate that and we're excited to have you with us today joining us from the hill we have Sarah 1st Sarah welcome back thanks so much for having me we appreciate you being here a bomb scare exits are being felt in Senate battleground states. Do we actually have insurers simply just raising rates or do we have insurers point out completely or what what do we have so the combination of all the data that I looked at. For the most recent story actually look at all of them to leave the state and we've heard about some of the big players United Health. Leave changes but it's also a smaller and regional exchanges and the net result of that is that about $25.00 people across the country to go and he insure legal. At least multiple channels in at least one insurer leaving every town next year. Why. Why is it when it's still profitable I mean it's you know united in the rest of these multimedia state national insurers they're still doing very well for themselves. They may not have the profit margin it's. Within some of these areas but if you take them in totality across the state or across the country they're still doing pretty good yeah. Well it depends on who you're looking at a lot of the some of the bigger players like United haven't invested in the same way they haven't put in the resources they're not they're not looking at the they're not offering the same products that other companies are offering that are actually helping them to make money so some of these bigger companies have not trimmed down their offerings to actually get to a point where they can make a profit so that's what we're seeing in income combination with the enrollment not being as high as people thought they are sicker people than expected so all of this is sort of coming together and we're seeing answers just say you know this isn't worth it for us to go around we're going to be focusing on the markets where we are have already been seeing the financial success. Of the packages that are not profitable for some of these companies are they offering too many bells and whistles are they offering the the double double platinum plan or what are you that's a new one from a. Well so the companies that have been doing well on the exchanges there's one company called Malina these are plans that have specialized in Medicaid offerings before entering the Obamacare exchanges because they already knew how to cater to low income people who are lower income and can say you know maybe these are narrower networks maybe they're higher out of pocket costs but at least there's a plan that you can afford so that seems to be what definite are a lot of health experts right now so the trends are heading for some of these larger companies that's not where they decided to go and so they're deciding to drop out its entirety is that going to leave communities under served. Well there's on the map that is from Kaiser news. Cover health they have been putting out they've been tracking the number of insurers that say they're going to be leaving and there are a very large number of counties about one 3rd of counties in the United States are only going to have one insurer next year so that is a monopoly that is not good for health competition matter who's talking about this and so that's a big concern to be the 1st time that will really seen this in the 4 years that Obamacare has existed and what is the impact on the Senate races in those battleground states so we're just now starting to see Republicans take advantage of the bad news for Obamacare on the campaign trail we've entered that really crucial post Labor Day stretch ahead of the campaign and of a lawmaker is increasingly part of their ad campaigns as part of their stump speeches but they're introducing goals about in the House and the Senate bill the fact that the insurers are are leaving in the states that are also a very crucial battleground little the Senate and potentially the White House this is just you know there's there's new ammunition here for Republicans to be to be talking about the failures of this law which even some public health experts say they are we are seeing some bad news here that needs to be addressed by the next administration. Very interesting I'm thinking about Pennsylvania a battleground state the Senate race with Senator Toomey is definitely in question and but it seems to me that we've got a robot just. Affordable Care Act participation in this state m m I'm missing something here. So in large parts of Pennsylvania there will be only one of 2 insurers offered next year that doesn't mean that their arch parts of Pennsylvania that don't that aren't seem very competitive places but for the 1st time we're going to see Philadelphia only have one option is and that's echoed in other places like Charlotte North Carolina only one option so this is. You know with these these aren't that finalized there could be some last minute changes but right now this is how the picture looks for the fall all right I didn't realize that Philadelphia was going down the one option do you know offhand who that company is. I don't know Philadelphia specifically Ok I will try and find out and thank you I did not I did not realize that Philadelphia was going down to one option is very interesting indeed. Is there anything else that we should be taken away from this today sir. Well it just it really just shows. Yes it really raises questions about what the federal government and what Congress to do and whether they can work together to get insurance through this as an enticing opportunity for them and that is the question here is a lot of companies are going to be willing to the mix of the financial risks and whether they're going to didn't meet with the market places is sustainable and viable for the long term which there's always politics involved in this is the leaders of the House and Senate and of the White House know it's not worth it and we're you know we're we're not going to the students are continuing and this is going to be a massive shake up. Well there you go Sarah thank you very much for being with us today thank you for helping us understand this a little bit better how do we find out more about you and what you do for the help . Of that story out today on this it's at the Shell dot com and also on Twitter Sarah Farris you can read neither And if you include us at that you know jewelry tweeted for you and we'll talk again soon Ok All right thanks so much thank you we appreciate it there was a surfer of the hill talking about the Affordable Care Act in the insurance companies backing out of. Their involvement in oftentimes leaving it down to wine play or in some of these communities which turns it into a monopoly. And you know I got to tell you I would not be surprised to find out that in some places the insurance companies are being you know they're they're losing money. And that's why they're point out but they're making a lot of money in other places too south can even doubt me n. If you let it but that's another story meantime I'm sure will show alter You're listening to the union edge of Labor's talk radio let's get America working we must build maintain and repair our nation's crumbling infrastructure. Teamsters support a bipartisan approach to creating good jobs for American workers learn more and let's get America working dot com Teamsters strong America stronger. Looking back I'm chilled Showalter You're listening to the union and Labor's Talk Radio thank you very much for tuning in and we appreciate you hanging out with this for me afternoon that's for sure folks don't forget go to our Web site. That you know edged dot com sign up for our activists newsletter download the free app for your i Phone or your Android and don't forget if you are in the Grand Rapids area September 23rd between it's a Friday between $5.00 and $7.00 at Teamsters hall for 06 we're having a get together Union edge cut to the chase radio in many others we're all getting together or talking about radio what we should be doing and. That's a front so we're If you're in the Grand Rapids area Teamsters all looking for 06 if you're in Lansing the so to Labor Council is putting together a boss get ahold of the folks at the Lansing Michigan Central Labor Council to get you on the bus and well there you go can't be done with a cent now came. Right now we're talking with Carmen Rojas she is the c.e.o. Of the workers lab Carmen welcome Union edge thank you so much for having me thank you very much for being with us today we appreciate that tell us a little bit about the workers lab what you guys do and I understand that you've got a new app to help get it done. So we are a that really a lab we are a place where we experiment with ways to build power for working people in the 21st century economy were founded by the Service Employees International Union really. Not all of the different ways that working people can have a greater voice greater mobility and greater power in the workplace above and beyond collective bargaining So what we can do is both how. Actual experiments so what are apt work or report is a great example of that to try and test the ways that technology or that new forms of organizing our new ways of organizing our economy can be helpful to increasing powerful where these people are out of work and report really came out of a set of conversations that we started having with cities across the country who were passing minimum wage laws that were struggling with the enforcement of those laws and we were interested in trying. Figure out how technology could be helpful in. Getting data the whole is experiencing in ways that and how that they think violations in the workplace how can we better understand how to connect those workers to the set of services both legal representative of and government services that can help. Fight back. And in trying to figure out how more broadly technology it is and it isn't helpful when we're talking about low wage workers we experience a great level of vulnerability and exposure to weight and husband safety violations in the workplace. It sounds to me like you get your hands full on God bless you for you know grabbing hold of both ends of that snake at the same time you know I think I think to myself. That there are so many things that are wrong that go on in the average workplace outside of a unionized workplace we're outside of a unionized industry even just the industry being unionized is a big help a lot of times. So I'm thinking to myself you're trying to reach out to people all across the country and say hey you know what are you experiencing and you're trying to qualify that and quantify that and get that information out to others so when you get something that works in beating it back everybody else can learn about it and do the same thing utilize perhaps some of the same tactics. To be to back in your community right that's right and it's also the other side by grabbing both ends of the snake I also want to make sure that as technology is becoming sort of more ubiquitous Is this like the saying that in our everyday life that we understand the limits of use and the limits and the opportunities of using technology to increase workers' visibility and increase worker voices so this is an opportunity for us to understand in this particular area of wage theft and health effects safety violations. How technology can be helpful and cannot be helpful when trying to resolve issues of friendly enforcement and I like a lot of what we're learning is that. At the end of the day a lot of the cities counties and states that there was possible for us sourcing health and safety laws are extremely under-resourced. Find it and you know I find it really difficult so for me the question is Ok so can technology be helpful can can take knotting accident even a bit of a bridge to help address some of these issues when you only have to inspect Texas has to OSHA and specters for the entire state is right right you know and and that's why you have things like West Texas happening and exactly right and there but for the grace of God It didn't take out all the kids in town because it happened at night when it blew up right next to the elementary school that's right you know so Carmen my. You know my thought is you know I'm an old fashioned kind of guy I'm on a radio program we're on in 30 different markets every week you know so it's it's a kind of thing where this is one way of getting the word out do you keep any statistical data on what you're finding because you know as well as I do you're going to have people out there saying Well taxes has people out there checking on these sites every day what they don't tell you what they don't tell you is of got to people that you know that's exactly right you know so what we are hoping to do is one collecting data on hotspots those places so we're testing worker report in 3 cities and in Santa Clara County silos a California in Oakland California and in Seattle Why. Seems we have 3 The partner organizations that are helping us both get the job out as well as working to make sure that the workers we have issues are getting responded to what we want to be able to know is do what you're describing one Identify hot spot in a specific place so we don't know in Oakland and so I asked of the fact whether or not 5 has the highest incidence of health and safety violations or hospitality that we have no idea and it's all. Retrospective data and what we want to be able to do is offer real time data on the ng the street is a sectors that are the greatest violators to push for greater regulation of those industries and. We also want to know whether or not workers will use a technology like this. To actually address their issues you know I Heidi I think that we have. Again we we are experimenting and I am really excited about work the report but I also believe like you mentioned like Imo schools 1st and then that I believe like one the was organizing also is very helpful to it and can't be disconnected from whatever we do if you're absolutely right in Carmen I'm an old dog organizer and I have been organizing thank God for many many many years and I got to say this. Is not there's not one single tool that gets it all done but when you use a number of tools and you use them together and use them fact of Lee in conjunction with each other there my goodness there are there are very few things that a dedicated group of organizers can not affect right and so I think that that's right so it. Here's what I want to do I mean we got about 4 minutes left but . In this is we're just barely scratching the tip of the iceberg on this one because this is this I believe is an awesome thing my God is yes if it works people will use it people will tell their friends about it more people will download it more people will use it you will get more and better information and that cycle will just continue to feed itself in and this is a great thing. Mike My question to you is how do we get the app how do we find out more what's your Web site sure so our website for the workers lab is w w w dot the workers lab worker plural come and then for good reports I think go on to your. Store and it is both. Apple and Google Android friendly and download work to report we are even though we are testing the app and 3 cities we are collecting data from across the country really to China and validate whether or not people are downloading them that app and what of it is shoes that people are reporting so I really encourage people to go on to their app store their phone and download that happen check it out and give us feedback you can e-mail us at info at the workers Lab dot org dot com sorry and if you have any feedback questions about that we need to send them to us because this is a nuance in the way that it gets better is by having seen back on it right and Carmen see. Here's what I want to say I this is I think this is good tech I think this is a good thing we want to help. We want to get the word out we want to help get more a people to download the app I'm going to have talk to Britney because I need help . But you know where I'm going to find a teenager Ok you know but the long and short of this is this is the kind of thing that you know this is one it's a great tool to I think people are going to use it 3 if they use it and you're starting to get really good data you know that just blows those old conver you know those old arguments out there well we don't need to have unions because we've got OSHA we've got em sure we've got the a.f.l. Are a half hour. Well in the meantime some of our Republican friends have been undercutting and defunding all of those great organizations as rapidly as they possibly can that's exactly right yeah so yeah we want to be able to make the case that workers are experiencing every day a level of exposure and vulnerability and especially low wage workers that is unfair accidents and that we actually need to double down on investment intuitionism a 4th letter and this is organizing We want to make sure that workers. Have power and ways in the 21st century workplace and this is one of the things that we are investing in in order to make that happen so you find I am signing you but you sign me up to me favor stay on the line is we transition to break give us a Web site one more time it's in w w w the workers Lab dot com The tablets but you know. Yes I think b.n. B.n. Listen stand a line I'll be with you no 2nd I'm Charles show alter You're listening to the union edge Labor's Tanya. Just a great. Way to educate yourself. To the. Welcome back I'm sure I'm sure Walter you're listening to the Union Address Labor's Talk Radio thank you very much for tuning in we enjoy your company we like hanging out with you and we appreciate all the wonderful things that you're doing for your community hey folks don't forget go to our website. That union Edge dot com sign up for their act of his newsletter download the free app for your i Phone or your Android and well you can take a look at the really cool swag that we have on the website we appreciate it very much. Right now we're talking with Greg Santana he is with the Asian Pacific American labor Greg I did it again. Like. I always get there wrong but welcome back how you don't. Get thank you so much for having me Always a pleasure always a pleasure So Greg what do you guys up to I know that you know the election season is going on. You know I'm sure that you and many of your staff are out whipping up the troops getting people registered to vote and all that kind of stuff but what's going on. Absolutely absolutely yes why don't we start with our election work Apollo has been doing election work since we were founded more than 20 years ago and this year we're focusing our efforts in the data Virginia Pennsylvania and targeted races and California Washington and New York you know we have a campaign called every vote counts we work to get folks registered educated out to vote and make sure that they have the resources through Election Day And so we've been really ramping up specially post Labor Day and we look forward to really going from the being marginalized to the margin of victory which is what we're seeing now is a growing and booming Asian American approach to the Condor populat