Contracts, Crises, & the Cost of Survival: LA’s Hospitality Fight with Kurt Petersen, Co-President Unite Here Episode 143
Release Date: 04/15/2025
Transcript- Episode 153: Why Apprenticeships Are The Pathway To A Sustainable Future Workforce Episode 153
The Future Of Work
00:00:00 Salvatrice For the future, if we genuinely as a community care about the health, longevity, sustainability of our communities, of our local communities, the health of workforce, and I'm not talking about like physical health and mental health, I'm talking about wealth-health of our community, then I'm going to ask the employers to speak to us. 00:00:20 Salvatrice Tell us what is happening, why aren't they engaging? Is it because it doesn't make sense? Is it because it's just...
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Why Apprenticeships Are The Pathway To A Sustainable Future Workforce Episode 153
The Future Of Work
Why don’t we hear about more apprenticeship opportunities for students? Today we’ll discuss the development of apprenticeships and cover what goes on behind the scenes when it comes to funding, planning, executing, and regulating these programs, and why they're so hard to come by. Digging in deep we’ll cover the barriers to apprenticeships and how we can engage and support local employers in order to create more long-lasting apprentice programming. Despite the administrative challenges, creating pathways to trades is crucial for the health, longevity, and sustainability of local...
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Transcript- Episode 152: Powering the Future: Rebuilding Resilient Workforces for Tomorrow with Tracey Pierce, Chief People Officer at LADWP Episode 152
The Future Of Work
Tracey Pierce [00:00:00]: I always believe that people want to do great work. I don't think we get up every day saying, “What can I not do today”? I think people want to do great work, but I don't know that we necessarily take the time to explain, and evaluate, and share. This is what it looks like, and this is why we're doing it, and this is the return we hope to see. And, oh, by the way, if you give this a try and it doesn't work, I'll be the first one to go back to, you know, take the necessary steps to adjust. Christina Barsi [00:00:31]: The workforce landscape is rapidly...
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Powering the Future: Rebuilding Resilient Workforces for Tomorrow with Tracey Pierce, Chief People Officer at LADWP Episode 152
The Future Of Work
In this episode of Future of Work, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo sits down with Tracey Pierce, Chief People Officer at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), to discuss the transformative work happening within one of the largest municipal utilities in the U.S. Tracey takes us behind the scenes on how LADWP is navigating change, innovation, and workforce development during a time of rebuilding for the city. From adapting to climate challenges to harnessing new technologies like AI, Tracey shares the strategies that are helping LADWP build a more resilient, efficient, and future-ready...
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Transcript- Episode 151: Leading a Thriving Region for All: How the LA Chamber is Reimagining Economic Growth with Maria S. Salinas, President & CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Episode 151
The Future Of Work
Maria Salinas [00:00:00]: There was a lot of conversation around technology, the advent of AI and just how jobs were changing. And I can tell you that at that time I was like, we cannot miss out on this moment. We cannot have a generation of students be left out of that opportunity of knowing that jobs are changing, that work is being impacted. Christina Barsi [00:00:27]: The workforce landscape is rapidly changing, and educators and their institutions need to keep up. Preparing students before they enter the workforce to make our communities and businesses stronger is at the core of...
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Leading a Thriving Region for All: How the LA Chamber is Reimagining Economic Growth with Maria S. Salinas, President & CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Episode 151
The Future Of Work
What does it take to rebuild one of the most complex regional economies in the world, while also preparing for the 2028 Olympics and a rapidly evolving workforce? In this episode of Future of Work, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo sits down with Maria S. Salinas, President & CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, to explore how LA’s business community is leading through disruption, rebuilding with intention, and reimagining what workforce development can look like. Maria shares why she believes the Chamber must be a “caretaker of the region,” how public-private partnerships are...
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Transcript- Episode 150: When Goods Move, the Economy Works: Rebuilding L.A. Through Ports, Policy, and People with Dr. Noel Hacegaba, Chief Operating Officer at the Port of Long Beach Episode 150
The Future Of Work
Dr. Noel Hacegaba [00:00:00]: If we want to be better in the future, if we want to be bigger in the future, we need to make sure we don't leave the workforce behind. We need to make sure that we're preparing today, the workforce and the leaders that we're going to need tomorrow. Christina Barsi [00:00:18]: The workforce landscape is rapidly changing and educators and their institutions need to keep up. Preparing students before they enter the workforce to make our communities and businesses stronger is at the core of getting an education. But we need to understand how to change and...
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When Goods Move, the Economy Works: Rebuilding L.A. Through Ports, Policy, and People with Dr. Noel Hacegaba, Chief Operating Officer at the Port of Long Beach Episode 150
The Future Of Work
When global tariffs go into effect, how long before the impact hits workers in Los Angeles? In this episode of Future of Work, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo welcomes back Dr. Noel Hacegaba, Chief Operating Officer at the Port of Long Beach, to discuss how one of the country’s busiest ports is helping to rebuild L.A.’s economy. He unpacks how the supply chain crisis pushed ports from being practically invisible to absolutely essential, and what lessons are driving the next chapter. From zero-emissions goals to workforce pipelines, Dr. Hacegaba shares how the supply chain crisis turned ports...
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Transcript- Episode 149: Building Belonging: How the YMCA Shapes Community Recovery with Victor Dominguez President and CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles Episode 149
The Future Of Work
Victor Dominguez [00:00:00]: Nonprofit organizations are truly, are truly the heartbeat of community because we are serving communities every single day and are truly in tune of what is happening and the resources that are so desperately needed. And if we're really going to look at creating that overall economic stability, to create that long sense of belonging, the nonprofit organizations have to work together. Christina Barsi [00:00:27]: The workforce landscape is rapidly changing, and educators and their institutions need to keep up. Preparing students before they enter the workforce...
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Building Belonging: How the YMCA Shapes Community Recovery with Victor Dominguez President and CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles Episode 149
The Future Of Work
What if rebuilding a community starts with belonging? In this episode of Future of Work, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo sits down with Victor Dominguez, the first Latino President and CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles, to explore how the Y is redefining itself as a Center for Community Well-Being. With over two decades of service, Victor shares how the YMCA responded to the Eaton fires, expanded programs like the Foster Youth Initiative, and is measuring long-term impact through powerful social indicators. Victor unpacks how nonprofits can anchor recovery efforts, why youth development and...
info_outlineWhat if the 2028 Olympics didn’t just bring medals, but a housing revolution? In this episode of Future of Work, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo sits down with Kurt Peterson, Co-President of Unite Here Local 11, to explore the mounting pressures facing hospitality workers in Los Angeles, and the explosive opportunity that the 2028 Olympics might represent. Peterson doesn’t mince words. From natural disasters like wildfires to economic disruptions like COVID-19, hospitality workers have repeatedly borne the brunt of crisis after crisis. And while tourism is rebounding, the industry’s recovery has largely left workers behind. Peterson argues that the real crisis now isn’t just wages, it’s housing. As the world turns its eyes toward LA in 2028, Peterson makes one thing clear: if the Olympics can afford luxury, it can and must afford dignity, equity, and a place for workers to call home.
You’ll learn:
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What mega-events like the Olympics could mean for Labor Rights.
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How employers use crises to cut labor and what unions are doing about it.
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How housing became the central fight for LA workers.
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Why the decommissioned Santa Monica Airport could be LA’s housing lifeline.
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Learn why Unite Here Local 11 is prepared to stage an unprecedented strike during the 2028 Olympics.
About the Guest:
Kurt Petersen is Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11, representing over 35,000 hotel and food service workers across Southern California and Arizona. A Notre Dame alum with studies in theology and philosophy, Kurt nearly joined the Jesuits before earning his law degree from Yale and organizing with the United Farm Workers, where he helped secure Washington State’s first farm worker union contract. Since 1995, he has led efforts that brought over 25,000 workers into UNITE HERE and helped transform Local 11 into a major political and labor force. He’s currently leading the largest hotel strike in U.S. history, with over 10,000 workers striking 175 times at 54 hotels. The resulting contracts include historic wage increases and are set to expire just before the 2028 LA Olympics. Kurt was recently named to the Los Angeles Times 2024 LA Influential list alongside Co-Presidents Ada Briceño and Susan Minato.
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