In this episode, we talk with Shareatha Escobar, who is the Vice President of SEIU Local 925, one of the unions on campus. She is also a patient services supervisor at Northwest Hospital. In our conversation we discuss how she came to the UW, her journey with 925, and the ongoing contract negotiations with UW.

In this episode, we talk with Jake Grumbach, who is an associate professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. Before that, he was an associate professor at the University of Washington and a faculty associate for the Bridges Center. At UW, he taught Introduction to Labor Studies, one of the core courses of the labor studies minor. In our conversation we discuss the increasing popularity of quantitative research in the social sciences, movement building in and outside work, and the changing politics of Gen Z.

In this episode, we talk with Bisma, Maya, Niki, and Sara, the research team behind the Student Worker project from the Bridges Center. The student worker research project is a study from the Bridges Center that seeks to provide a better understanding of student workers – those who balance the demands of higher education with employment – and their relationship with work. In our conversation we discuss how the project got started, the survey and interview process, and the most surprising revelations they’ve found so far.

In this episode, we talk with Dontazz Williams, who is a food service worker at the Plaza Cafe at the UW Medical Center. He is also on the bargaining team for the Washington Federation of State Employees at UW. In our conversation, we discuss conditions on the job, his advocacy for his fellow food service workers, and the importance of standing together.

In this episode, we talk with Gina and Zho, two student organizers with the Popular University for Gaza Liberated Zone at the UW-Seattle campus. In our conversation, we discuss what divestment from Israel could look like, negotiations with UW administration, and life at the Liberated Zone.

*This episode was recorded on May 17th, the day the Liberated Zone was announced to have concluded.

In this episode, Anita and Maya discuss the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, a privately owned immigration prison that contracts with ICE and has been scrutinized for substandard conditions. We also talk with Esmeralda Ibarra, a Building a Movement intern with La Resistencia, a local grassroots organization that centers their work around the Northwest Detention Center. Trigger warnings: mention of suicide, inhumane prison conditions.

Building Bridges will take a hiatus for the next two weeks. See you in May!

In this episode, we talk with Jonathan Gonzalez, an organizer with Teamsters 117 and a Bridges Center alum. In our conversation we discuss Jonathan’s experience with the labor movement in different contexts, the process of a union campaign, and his perfect victory at the Woodland Park Zoo.

In this episode, we talk with Levin Kim, who is the president of UAW 4121, the union for academic student employees, postdocs, and research scientists at the University of Washington. In our conversation, we talk about the ongoing contract negotiations between UAW 4121 and UW, the wave of unionization at universities across the country, and the power dynamics in higher education.