A Girl Talk throwback episode! This show was recorded live at The Hideout in Chicago on July 25, 2017.

The labor movement is under attack on all fronts in Illinois and across the country. Our governor is like an anti-union Tasmanian Devil, frantically spinning around doing everything he can to hack organized labor to death in our state. Workers and unions all across the city and the state are fighting for fair contracts and livable wages--and facing massive obstacles. With big Supreme Court decisions coming down the pike that could redefine the future of the labor movement, it’s time for a Girl Talk episode that tackles these issues head on.

On July 25, #TheGirlTalk welcomed women who stand up for worker’s rights in the Chicago labor movement and beyond to talk about the threats Bruce Rauner and the Trump administration have on workers’ basic rights--and what it could mean for women and families in our communities.

What is The Girl Talk, you ask? It's a monthly show on the last Tuesday of the month hosted by women (DNAinfo Chicago's Jen Sabella and public education warrior/CPS teacher Erika Wozniak Francis) and featuring influential Chicago women. Though the show features women and femme-identified individuals on stage, we welcome all gender identities and expressions to join us for these important conversations.

Our Guests:
Adrienne Alexander
Adrienne Alexander is Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at AFSCME Council 31, where she’s worked since 2010. She’s better known on Twitter as @DriXander. She originally hails from Georgia, where she graduated from Agnes Scott, a women’s college. After undergrad, Adrienne ventured up to Minnesota where she got her Master’s in Public Policy. Now she’s happily settled in Rogers Park, where her New Yorker husband finally agreed to join her. They’re surviving the Trump years by focusing on their lovely ten month old daughter.

Stacy Davis Gates
Stacy Davis Gates has served as the Political and Legislative Director for theChicago Teachers Union for the past six years. While at the CTU, Ms. Davis Gates has been the architect of bold political and legislative campaigns for the schools and city that all Chicagoans deserve. In 2015, she raised millions of dollars for a coordinated challenge to Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his rubber-stamp City Council and coordinated a collaborative effort to pass a voter referendum for an elected school board in 37 out of Chicago's 50 wards. Most recently, she has led campaigns to pass statewide legislation for an elected school board, strengthen charter operator regulations, and fund public education through an elimination of tax breaks and slush funds for the 1%. In 2017, Ms. Davis Gates was elected Chair of United Working Families, an independent political organization by and for working class people and our movements.

Ms. Davis Gates is currently on leave from the classroom, where she taught high school social studies for over a decade. She attended Saint Mary’s College, the University of Notre Dame, and Concordia University. Ms. Davis Gates lives on the Southside with her husband and three children.

Let us know what you think! Contact us on Twitter @GirlTalkChi or on Facebook @girltalkchicago
Special thanks to the amazing Bleach Party for our theme music. Check them out at http://letshaveableachparty.bandcamp.com/