The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has been in negotiation with UPS to demand better pay and working conditions. It is highly likely that there will be no agreement before the July 31 deadline, and that UPS workers will go on strike, making it one of the largest labor actions in U.S. history. To discuss, we FEATURE Erica Smiley. Smiley is the executive director of Jobs With Justice. A long-time organizer and movement leader, Smiley has been spearheading strategic organizing and policy interventions for Jobs With Justice for nearly 15 years. Prior to taking up her current position with the organization, Smiley served as organizing director for Jobs With Justice developing campaigns that resulted in transformative changes to how working people organize and are civically engaged at their workplaces and in their communities. Serving as one of the lead architects, Smiley has been instrumental in developing the strategic vision of Jobs With Justice to build power for impacted working people through expanding their collective bargaining power as one way to redefine and claim their democracy, while addressing issues of inequality and poverty. Prior to joining Jobs With Justice, Smiley organized with community groups and unions such as the Tenants and Workers Support Committee (now Tenants and Workers United) in Virginia and SEIU Local 500 in Baltimore. Media includes: Chicago Tribune, The Washington Free Beacon, Reuters, MSNBC.

SAG-AFTRA has gone on strike, joining the WGA on the picket line. This is the first time since 1960 that both actors’ and writers’ unions have gone on strike together. To discuss, we SPOTLIGHT Erin T. Hill. Hill is an assistant professor of media and popular culture at the UC San Diego Department of Communication and worked in film development in New York and Los Angeles before undertaking study of the media industry. Her primary interest is in historical and contemporary media production in the United States, with particular focus on intersecting issues of gender, race and class in creative labor sectors. Her first book, Never Done: A History of Women's Work in Media Production (Rutgers UP, 2016), examines the role of feminized labor in U.S. film and television production from the 1890s to the present and draws connections to the ongoing struggles of women and people of color in integrating key creative fields in contemporary Hollywood. Hill’s current research investigates the development sector, where projects are scripted, financed and planned. Hill teaches courses on American film history, history of broadcasting, feminist production history, media industry labor, contemporary Hollywood business practices, and race, gender and labor in media production, cultures of production in creative industries, science fiction films, comedy on TV/in media, and media theory. Media includes:The Wrap, Mic, The Daily Bruin.

A judge has blocked Iowa’s six-week abortion ban, reverting the law so that it would still be legal to have an abortion up to 22 weeks. To discuss, we FEATURE Caryn D. Riswold. Riswold is a feminist theologian in the Lutheran tradition. She is professor of religion and serves as the Mike and Marge McCoy Family Distinguished Chair in Lutheran Heritage and Mission at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. In 2012 she was one of 20 faith leaders participating in the Faith and Reproductive Justice Leadership Institute at The Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C., and has served in leadership roles with the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education as well as the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts. She speaks regularly around the country to public, academic, and religious audiences on topics related to feminism, Christian theology, politics, women, higher education, and social justice. Media includes: Feministing, RhRealityCheck, Patheos, State Journal Register, Jacksonville Journal-Courier.

The BBC has reported on allegations of sexual misconduct, racism, and bullying by staff at McDonald’s in the United Kingdom. To discuss, we FEATURE Saru Jayaraman. Jayaraman is the co-founder and president of One Fair Wage, the co-founder of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC United), and director of the Food Labor Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley. She has been fighting to raise wages and working conditions for restaurant and other service workers for nearly 20 years. Saru authored Behind the Kitchen Door (Cornell University Press, 2013), a national bestseller, and has appeared on CNN with Soledad O’Brien, Bill Moyers Journal on PBS, Melissa Harris Perry and UP with Chris Hayes on MSNBC, Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, The Today Show, and NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.

Israeli president Isaac Herzog met with President Biden as unease rises in the White House about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hardline government. To discuss, we FEATURE Naomi Chazan. Chazan is a senior research fellow at the Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace and at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, where she co-chairs the Center for the Advancement of Women in the Public Sphere (WIPS) which she co-founded with Professor Hanna Herzog. Chazan was one of the founders of the Israel Women’s Network and is also active in a variety of women’s, human rights, and peace organizations. She served as the president of the New Israel Fund (2009–2012) and is a member of its international board. She served as chair of the Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was a visiting professor of government at Harvard University and the University of Chicago, a research fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard, and a research fellow at the Center for International Studies at MIT. She has written and edited many books on comparative politics and has published numerous articles on African politics, the Israeli-Arab conflict, politics in Israel, and the status of women. Media includes: The Jerusalem Post, Israel Broadcasting TV, Israel Broadcasting Radio.

Many regions of the world are facing record breaking heat waves, with a large portion of the U.S. south and southwest inundated with sweltering heat. Heat alerts have been sent from California to South Florida. To discuss, we FEATURE Julie Pullen. Dr. Julie Pullen is an oceanographer and meteorologist working on climate resilience and climate solutions. Her expertise spans climate, weather and water with a particular focus on earth system modeling and observing. Currently an ocean climate tech investor with Propeller Ventures, she has served on National Academy panels for climate and earth system prediction and headed the multi-million dollar DHS-funded National Center for Maritime Security. As a scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory, she pioneered the coupling of models of the ocean and atmosphere. Pullen currently serves on the Steering Committee of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Commission on the Weather, Water, and Climate Enterprise. Media includes: Scientific American, Wired, CBS, NBC.

Russia has put a halt to grain deal that has allowed Ukraine to export grain. Without the deal, prices of grain will skyrocket making food inaccessible to poorer countries. To discuss, we FEATURE Karen A. Tramontano. Tramontano is the chief executive officer at Blue Star Strategies, LLC and provides corporate, institutional and public sector clients with results-oriented strategies. In her previous work experience, Tramontano played a critical role in shaping some of the most important global policy issues of our time, including China Permanent Normal Trade Relations, environmental and labor standards in multilateral, regional and bilateral trade agreements, and world-wide poverty reduction strategies that focus on creating jobs and employing the Decent Work Agenda. From 1997 to 2001, Tramontano served as Deputy Chief of Staff to President Clinton and as counselor to Chiefs of Staff Erskine Bowles and John Podesta. Tramontano's White House portfolio encompassed a wide range of issues, including international trade, transatlantic relations, and economic and financial issues involving the U.S. Treasury and Department of Commerce. Tramontano continues her work with President Clinton through the Global Fairness Initiative (GFI), of which she is Founder and President. GFI is a non-profit organization working to promote a more equitable and sustainable approach to globalization to ensure its benefits reach all people. Media includes: Bloomberg, Forbes, Politico, NBC.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup begins tomorrow in Australia and New Zealand. To discuss, we FEATURE Qiana Martin. As an award-winning entrepreneur, soccer visionary and Super Bowl ad creator, Martin's journey of defying expectations has transported her from playing street soccer with guys in parks to traveling the world participating in the sport and helping global brands connect with soccer fans. Drawing from an exceptional record for landing game changing opportunities, Martin's company Eat Soccer was awarded an opportunity to produce two events in New York City on behalf of the Chelsea F.C. and World Jewish Congress’ Red Card for Hate Initiative. Her unique expertise, innovative approaches and diverse cultural experiences have garnered features withForbes, Inc, Fast Company, Men’s Health, Huffington Post, Our World with Black Enterprise and U.S. News & World Report.