Tevita 'Uhatafe

Working People

If you were following the strikes and labor actions that were happening last year, then you may have noticed that a certain face kept popping up in photos and reports from picket lines all over the country, from the Kelloggs’, Nabisco, and John Deere strikes, to the Warrior Met Coal miners caravan to New York City. Who was this mysterious member of the Transport Workers Union making his way to states all around the US to show solidarity with workers in their different struggles? Well, it turns out that that guy is Tevita 'Uhatafe, a first-generation Tongan American, family man, rank-and-file member of the Transport Workers Union Local 513 in Dallas-Fort Worth, and Vice President of the Tarrant County AFL-CIO Central Labor Council. In this episode, we talk with Tevita about his life, about why family has always been so important to him, about working in the airline industry, coming to the organized labor movement, and about how doing the vital solidarity work he does is such a fundamental part of who he is as a person.

Additional links/info below...

• Tevita's Twitter page
• Tevita's PayPal (let's get Tevita to Labor Notes!): @TUhatafe
• Haeden Wright's Twitter page
• Braxton Wright's Twitter page
• Haeden and Braxton's PayPal (let's get them to Labor Notes too!): @haedenwright
• Tarrant County Central Labor Council website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• Tevita recognized for his contribution to the labor movement for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month
• Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "'Twerking-class heroes: LA strippers are fighting for a union"

Permanent links below...

• Working People Patreon page
• Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show!
• Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

• Jules Taylor, "Working People Theme Song