Labor Express Radio - Jerry Mead-Lucero Takes Over As Host/producer

Jerry Mead-Lucero Takes Over As Host/producer

In February 2004, Wayne Heimbach decided to retire as the host/producer of Labor Express. His replacement was Jerry Mead-Lucero, a long time Chicago labor activist. Mead-Lucero is a member of the National Writers Union (NWU, UAW Local 1981) and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). He had worked for a short period as an organizer with SEIU Local 880 and has been active with Jobs with Justice, a labor/community coalition, since the mid-1990s, including a few years as the chair of the organization’s Global Justice Committee. Besides labor activism, Mead-Lucero has worked extensively in the Latin American solidarity movement since the late 1980s and in the immigrants rights movement since the mid-1990s. Since 2000, he has been active in both anti-gentrification and environmental justice struggles in the Pilsen neighborhood, a working class, Mexican immigrant neighborhood on Chicago’s south side. Despite his lack of experience in radio broadcasting, Mead-Lucero agreed to take over as host of the program when Heimbach’s departure threatened to end the programs existence.

During Mead-Lucero’s tenure as host/producer, Labor Express has sought to continue Heimbach’s legacy of covering important developments in the Labor movement locally, nationally and globally. Some of the more important issues addressed by the program in recent years include the 2005 split in the AFL-CIO, the race and class dimensions of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, the Congress Hotel strike, labor opposition to the war in Iraq, the struggle for a living wage ordinance in Chicago, labor struggles in Latin America, the growth of the immigrants rights movement, Renaissance 2010 (a plan to privatize 10% of Chicago’s public schools), the CFL’s involvement in the 2006 municipal elections in Chicago, concessionary contracts by the UAW (United Auto Workers union), multiple victories by the CIW (Coalition of Immokalee Workers), the financial and economic crisis which began in the fall of 2008, labor’s involvement in the 2008 Presidential elections, and the occupation of Republic Windows and Doors by its workers, members of UE Local 1110, in December 2008.

Labor Express has also sought to maintain Heimbach’s interest in working class culture and music. Mead-Lucero has added to the repertoire of labor folk songs working class music from many genres, including punk, Latin, and hip-hop. Mead-Lucero has had assistance with hosting and production at times from assistant producer Marnie Goodfriend, a former staff member of SEIU Local 880 and Stacie Johnson a former intern with WBEZ.