>> we've never slowed down. schools and businesses went virtual and we powered a new reality, because at mediacom, we are built on keeping you ahead. >> mediacom support c-span as a public service along with these public -- television providers giving you a front rosie to democracy. -- row seat to democracy. >> a call for richard trumka, eric in buffalo new york, good morning. what union do you belong to? >> local 41 idw,idw, i want to s

been the best thing that's ever happened to me. wages, health benefits, pensions, and every person i talked to said that i wish that i got into union at a younger age. free education. it's good programming and it has a bad name. we have to be productive and we are very productive with our wages and scale, right to work is wrong. lee don't understand -- people don't understand the true purpose of the union in today's day and age. guest: i couldn't agree more. i would like to amplify a few things you said and that you said, greta. one of the best kept secrets in the country is about education. other than the military, unions provide more education every year than any other group

through an apprenticeship program. we create the most skilled workers and because they are the most skilled workers, they can get higher wages. employers compete and they outbid everybody in the industry because our workers are more competitive and productive. and then we bring them back in every couple of years to retool them. to get them training on the new skills they need. and the kids union has a cone of excellence where they tell people how to get better, be more productive. they drive that so that our employees are the most competitive out there and can pay the best wages and get the best benefits. that educational component is important. because we look to the future. as jobs migrate to a different era we are changing the apprenticeship program so that the ibw doesn't just do

electrical work, but solar work, wind. they are skilling people up for the changes in the economy. it's a tremendous thing. it's a delightful career with job security. host: palmer, and shreveport, louisiana, a democratic color. caller: -- caller. caller: i was a member of locals in houston and shreveport for almost 50 years. i made a decent living all the way. and some locals let me down at the tail end. that's neither here nor there. but i was a union worker. i would do it all over again. i was the union worker ever since i got out of the service in 1956. we need unions. thank you. guest: i also want to amplify

what homer said. while women get lower wages in the general economy, on a union job, women don't get lower wages, they getting pay -- they get equal pay. blacks and people of color don't get discriminated against, they get equal pay for the jobs they do. it is really a civil rights thing as well. we protect them. we end discrimination. we fight hard to make sure that our members are treated fairly and the late -- and equally. the contract guarantees that. that's one of the best things about the union, it's a civil rights movement as well as a labor movement. host: a text from tony, in florida, who wants to know. he keeps hearing that unions oppose vaccination mandates by state and local governments. does afl-cio support vaccine mandates? guest: we do.

it's important. if you are coming back into the workplace you have to know what's around you. if you come back in and you are not vaccinated, everybody in that workplace is jeopardized. if we don't know whether you have been vaccinated or not, we can't make the proper accommodations to make sure that you are protected and everyone else's protected. the best thing that can happen is a vaccination. so we could prevent all of these variants from going on. and here's the next step. after we get everybody vaccinated in the united states, we have to help people around the world get vaccinated so that more and more variants don't start springing up and jeopardizing us and our economy. so we don't see another shutdown like we saw last year when covid

first hitch. it's an important thing. the president has done a great job on covid. what we need to do now is give -- get more people vaccinated. the mandate is an acceptable way to do it. host: jason, in baltimore, wants to know -- he says i'm a union ironworker. i would like mr. trumka to explain why he sold us out? how is the green new deal inevitable under the democratic rule going to benefit anybody outside of the electrical union? how can steel be produced with solar panels? how you could even make solar panels without stripmining? he should take the time to apologize to the pipeline workers and resign publicly. guest: i appreciate his point of view. unfortunately for him, the vast majority of our membership agrees with the positions that we have taken. you should know that i don't take these positions.

these positions come from the rank-and-file to the unions. and the unions come to the executive council. they tell me what policies they want. climate change is real. we have to address it. that doesn't mean that people have to be left behind. we have insisted that as we change, as these jobs change, so that you go from a high paying carbon fuel energy job, if those jobs are made union we can increase them and they become family supporting jobs for lower carbon. if not there will be a lower standard of living for people who transition. we will fight hard to make sure that won't happen. that's one of the mainstays that we have done. how do you make steel in the united states? first you protect the steel from people that sheet, like china -- that cheat, like china. china drives people out of the market and undercuts the

american market. we can compete anywhere in the world of the rules are fair. we fight to make sure those rules are fair and the competition is fair. so that they don't dump steel onto the market at a lower price to drive companies out of the market. we help negotiate the usmca with canada and mexico which has big changes that protect us. it's a constant battle. and i will still follow the policies of the rank-and-file and what my affiliate say they want. host: next up, on the republican line. caller: i really have to laugh. i have been working retail for over 30 years. i would never, on death, be a part of the union. they are the biggest ripoff artists in the world.

my older brother has worked in the food industry for over 30 years. i saw how whenever my brother needed the union, they were not there for him. all they are interested in is taking your dues and waving you out the door. when i see this guy sitting here, talking about how unions are so necessary. just listen to him say that climate change is real. climate change is a marxist hoax that this guy is pushing because he's a marxist. and he gives hard-working union dues to liberal democratic candidates who squander the money. i let my work ethic speak for me . i never needed a union. i was promoted. i moved up. this guy checks off all the marxist boxes. women get paid less in the workplace. who knows this? i got paid more than a lot of people throughout my career

because i had more experience and i did a superior job to what they did. that's why i got paid more. host: a response. -- let's get a response. guest: that caller did a lot of i, me, and my. workers do better when they stick together. here's the facts. unions provide higher wages for members, whether you're are black, brown, a woman, or anyone else. you get higher wages and better benefits. you get more time off. you get more job security. you get a better retirement. you get more likely to be able to vote on election day. that you are focused on what you did is a good thing. everyone should have initiative and i applaud you for having initiative. but i can tell you something, you want to talk about a joke? you going up against amazon and

thinking you were going to move amazon is a joke. it takes people standing together to get better benefits. i chuckle because whenever there is a last resort, whenever you don't have an answer, you always resort to marxists. i don't even know what up marcus -- a marxist is, quite frankly. but i do know that corporations are too strong, workers are too weak. the only way to balance that scale is to change the labor law , to get people to come together so they can negotiate better benefits. that helps everyone, when we get higher wages in the get more money in our pockets. that creates demand. that demand crates jobs. host: dan is a democratic caller from wisconsin. and a union member. caller: ironworkers, joined in

1979. i worked for two years in a country, i got minimum wage and i started at four dollars an hour and i thought that was great. i joined a union i'm making four times that. more than what most people work in 10 years. the company didn't do anything after two years and i joined a union and i went to nine dollars an hour. but what happened after that, ronnie reagan. the biggest union buster that we have ever had in the world, not only did he bust up the unions and take away our advantage of building our things, he got greenspan to create $6 billion in money. did that ever kill our country. this is where we are at. i don't know where we are ever getting it back again. the only way we are ever getting a back again is to start evening the playing field a little bit.

it is exactly right, companies have way too much power over the human condition i lived in the south of france 35 years ago. the worst mistake i ever did was come back. the europeans know how to treat their people. i tell you what. if we had workers going back and forth away your past, you would want to live like a european. they enjoy life. they want to work hard. they just don't want to get ripped up by conflict. is america would experience that, we would probably reshape our whole ballgame. host: before hugh:. how much did you paying -- before you go, how much did you paying union dues? guest: minimal. i graduated when interest rates were 20%, believe it or not.

there was no call for the high wage of union back then because the economy was not given that opportunity. now we have a strong economy, some of the workers probably should pay more than i paid a few years ago. but i tried it both ways, i thought i was on the right track until reagan came the office. host: richard trumka you can respond, but on average, what are the average cost of dues for union member? guest: it varies by union. each one has its own formula. they are set by the rank-and-file. they vote on that at a convention and set their dues rates to what it is. whatever the amount is paid by union, the amount that they benefit you in higher wages, better benefits, and more time off greatly exceeds the amount

of money that you pay induced in -- in dues. and you have people in right to work states, they come to the union and demand to be represented at the same level without paying dues. and the law says that we are required to represent them. if there's anything unfair about america, that's pretty unfair from everybody's point of view. the fact is, union dues are an investment. people there had the organization they need, the bargaining they need, they have the people to represent them on the job whether it is in health and safety or grievance procedure to protect their rights and make sure the employer lives up to the contract. host: what percentage goes to your office in washington. guest: it is minuscule. i have not had any increases

2004. that was the last time it was increased, 2004. host: richard trumka, we thank consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i rise today wit sen. schumer: i rise today with some horrible news about the passing of a friend richard trumka who left us this morning. lost a fierce warrior at a time when we needed him most. just yesterday rich was lending his support to the striking miners in alabama. followin