Building Power: Labor Leadership and the Union Surge

In this episode of the Blue Dot Podcast, hosts Natalie MacDonald and Brian Koehl sit down with Dustin Reinstedler, President of the Kentucky AFL-CIO, to discuss the state of organized labor in Kentucky and the growing movement for worker empowerment.

Dustin shares his journey from a bricklayers' apprentice to leading more than 131,000 union members across the Commonwealth. He reflects on the experiences that shaped his commitment to worker advocacy, the role unions play in protecting workplace safety, and why organized labor remains vital to building a strong middle class.

The conversation explores Kentucky's position as a labor leader in the South, the challenges facing unions today, including changes to the National Labor Relations Board, and the opportunities created by new economic development projects across the state. Dustin also discusses the increasing political engagement of union members, the importance of electing working-class voices to public office, and why younger workers are driving a new wave of labor activism.

Whether you're a union member, considering organizing your workplace, or simply interested in issues affecting working families, this episode offers an insightful look at the future of labor in Kentucky and beyond.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to the Blue Dot Northern Kentucky's Premier Political Podcast brought to you by the Kent County Democratic Executive Committee. Welcome back to the Blue Dot Podcast, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping communities across Kentucky and beyond. The story of Kentucky is a working class one built in factories, forged in coal mines, and strengthened through union solidarity. Organized labor continues to champion workers' rights, and we're here to help amplify those voices. Thanks so much for joining. I'm Natalie McDonald.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

And I'm Brian Cale. Today we're joined by a leader who's been at the forefront of labor advocacy in the Bluegrass State, Dustin Reinsteadler, who serves as the president of Kentucky's AFL CIO, representing thousands of working men and women across a wide range of industries.

SPEAKER_01 0:51

And that's right, Brian, with a focus on strengthening unions, expanding worker protections, and advocating for fair wages and safe workplaces. Dustin has become a key voice for labor in Kentucky. His work connects directly to the daily lives of workers, fighting for dignity, opportunity, and a stronger middle class. Dustin, thanks so much for being here. Welcome to the Voodoo Podcast.

SPEAKER_02 1:14

Thank you all for having me. What a nice introduction. Thanks.

SPEAKER_00 1:17

Thanks, Dustin. Thanks for joining us. Well, you know, let's start with your personal journey, uh, which is a really great story. Uh you began your union career in 2005 as an apprentice with Bricklayers and Allied Craft Workers Local Four, Indiana, Kentucky. And uh you quickly rose to the ranks until 2023 when you were elected president of the Kentucky State AFL CIO by more than 100,000 union members statewide. Uh, just in general, what led you into the labor movement and ultimately to your role as president of uh Kentucky AFL CIO?

SPEAKER_02 1:50

Well, um the labor movement definitely has a way of finding you. Uh I joined uh the Bricklayers Union not really knowing a lot about the broader scope of the labor movement, just knowing that I wanted to build something uh that was going to last, which is kind of why I got into masonry, brick block, and stone construction. I love the uh artistic part of it, and frankly, I was a young man that wanted to make some money and have some benefits, you know. It did not take me long though, because back then as an apprentice, you had to attend at least, if I remember, six union meetings per year. So I did at least attend some union meetings. I started paying attention to the stuff that was going on, the stuff that my union representative was talking about in those meetings. And then I kind of started aligning myself with uh some of the older people on the job sites that uh were like-minded with me. They paid attention to world issues, to politics, to policy. I think about the time I was a second-year apprentice, I was elected by my local chapter to be the recording secretary, which is not a very glorious position. It doesn't pay anything. You're just taking notes at the at the meetings. Uh, but it was my way of like being involved and being able to contribute something. Um, and then I just started showing up for events and rallies and uh paying attention to things. Keep in mind that was around the time of uh George W. Bush, uh, you know, early 2000s. So back then we'll we really thought he was something, you know, uh a real bad guy. Uh yeah, I think a lot of us will probably trade him now.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

That's for sure. He's looking pretty good right now.

SPEAKER_02 3:29

That's right. But yeah, so I I just got really involved and they invited me stuff, and I uh really made myself a promise early on that I would never turn down an opportunity to help people uh in in any capacity, you know. Uh so worked my way up. Uh when that same union rep um fell ill and had to take an early retirement, uh I was hired to take his spot. We grew the union pretty largely, also opened up a couple of new training centers in Kentucky, one in Balling Green and one in Louisville, where where they hadn't previously had one. Um then I uh around 2020, I think, was elected as president of the state, Kentucky State Building Trades Council, which represents all 14 building trades unions, still kept my job, because that's also an unpaid position, still kept my job with the bricklayers union. And then when Bill Londrigan retired, he kind of tapped me in and said, you know, hey man, what do you think about trying to make a run for this? And yes, in in uh late 2023, I was elected by 131,000 union members in Kentucky to lead this organization, and uh it's been a blast.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

That had to be a real proud and probably a little bit of a scary moment for you when 131,000 say you're our guy to lead us.

SPEAKER_02 4:47

Yeah, I mean, uh it's it is an honor when uh when you know that the Teamsters, the steel workers, the construction trades, everybody from the baristas to everybody when you already have a lot of pride in the Kentucky labor movement uh and all those unions that I just spoke of, uh, when they kind of tapped you to say, yeah, here, take the wheel, yeah, it's pretty wild.

SPEAKER_00 5:09

I was kind of curious when you were kind of talking about your path and I read your uh biography online. Was I mean, was your like getting involved and kind of taking the big picture view and leadership something like throughout your life, you're kind of one that people kind of tended to fall behind and you said, Well, somebody's got to do this and lead, or was there something specifically about what worker advocacy and and what the union does that really inspired you?

SPEAKER_02 5:34

Probably a lot of both, or a lot of all that. More on the side of the worker advocacy that stood out. Uh there's always a couple defining moments, you know. Um one that I can think of is before I was in any kind of union leadership and I was just working. We were building a power plant in in Gent, Kentucky. And we were, of course, on a union crew, but the entire job site itself was a mix of union and and non-union. And, you know, in in no way am I blaming non-union and it accidents happened, but uh a iron worker fell 60 feet to his death, just uh, you know, a couple hundred feet from where we were working, witnessed that. And the way that the not the company that we were working for, but the contractor that the uh that that gentleman was working for, the way that they handled that and the way that uh they were so much there was so much concern with everyone returning back to work when that happened. Um so kind of the disregard for for human life and safety, that kind of radicalized me a little bit and it made me pay attention to a lot of other things and it really made me kind of uh care about my brothers and sisters in in the construction industry at that time. So just keep a watchful eye because uh many times the company's not gonna protect you, the union will, and your co-workers will.

SPEAKER_01 7:00

And yeah, what I what I hear from you is you know, not only do you have a passion for it, but you said it's been a blast. So I I feel like you're enjoying what you do as well. So that's half the battle right there. It's so important. And and you spoke about all of the labor unions that came together that elected you to this position. So how do you feel the current state of labor is in Kentucky? I don't know if there's some some of the biggest priorities you're looking at, if there's a lot of challenges that you're focused on right now. There's a little bit of a re-insurgence of labor in Kentucky, so that's a positive thing. I think you you touched on that a little bit, but what are you guys focused on right now?

SPEAKER_02 7:34

Uh we're always focused on growth, and that growth really shows up in the form of uh us educating workers to let them know that they do have rights to join or form a union at their workplace or uh finding opportunities for them to join unions where there are job opportunities available and apprenticeships and so on. I think uh the state of the union is very strong right now. We've had another slight uptick year where uh union membership grew again. Kentucky does have the highest union density in of all the southern states, not and not by a little, but by a lot, or around 12% union density in uh private workforce, where, for example, South Carolina is less than 3%, if that tells you anything. Yeah, so Kentucky's always been pretty strong. Uh, we have obviously, I like to say it's it's kind of in our DNA with the coal mining strikes of the early 1900s and all that stuff, right? So whether you're union or not, Republican, Democrat, independent, I think Kentucky workers have always kind of stood together and stood up for injustice. But I say that because what's driving some of this growth is the obvious uh affordability is the term that gets thrown out a lot, right? People yeah, people we've heard a couple of times, yeah, we've heard it a couple of times here recently. Yeah, uh, I mean, so so people are are looking for a good wage and dignity in retirement and health care. Another thing is kind of what I mentioned before, but a voice in the workplace is really important to people, sometimes more often than money. So we see a lot of professional nurses at hospitals, uh, which a lot of people don't list, but there's around 300 union nurses in the state of Kentucky. They make pretty good money, they make good benefits, they have health care, but they really want a voice in the workplace as far as how many uh patients they have to care for at a time, uh, their breaks, uh their shifts, stuff like that, right? So, so working conditions are important. Uh and to your question on challenges, uh, I think the biggest challenge right now is uh when when Trump took his first day into his second term, he basically dismantled the National Labor Relations Board, also known as the NLRB. So people are definitely organizing unions, they're joining unions, and they're uh they're getting their majority votes together to have those unions. However, the with the dysfunctional NLRB, they're not getting those unions.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

Yeah, and when you talked about the nursing unions, just pointing out that not only is that benefiting the nurses, as you said, you know, pay and and and being able to take breaks, but that benefits the patients as well. I mean, we're talking about patient safety as well here. And that's it goes for all I think for all of the unions. Not only are you helping the actual worker, but those who are benefactors of the work that's being done.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

Correct.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:23

Yeah, I think uh the healthcare, you were talking about the hours and shifts. I mean, it seems to me, and there's probably other industries, but it seems like that's one where workers could be abused and taken advantage of more than ever. You hear the horror stories of the long shifts and just uh the conditions and the patient loads, especially, I mean, obviously during the pandemic, but any kind of a medical emergency and then the state of health care right now, um, they're just not getting the the support or even the respect that they deserve for the job they do.

SPEAKER_02 10:52

That's right. Uh listen, we've I think a lot of people have a misconception that um union jobs are strictly what you might even call a blue-collar job if you're sweating in a factory or swinging a hammer or putting a shovel on the ground. But we've seen a huge growth in industries like uh massage therapy, uh retail, grocery stores, you know.

SPEAKER_00 11:14

Does uh I was curious, you know, uh we're talking about growth and uh the 10.5 billion and uh new development and new business that was brought in by Governor Bashir in 2025, and I'm looking through what some of those uh industries are and some of those projects, and I'm assuming or hoping that a lot of those mean union jobs. Uh, is that correct?

SPEAKER_02 11:39

The the construction unions are doing an amazing job at handling that amount of work. They're out listen, they're out there organizing, they're going to non-union job sites and recruiting people and saying, hey, we we feel like if you're doing this kind of work that a person a mile down the road, the exact same thing they're doing for this much more plus benefits, and there's there are jobs available right now, why wouldn't you come over and join the union? It's a no-brainer. And um as far as the we've yet to see a lot of these places um start up and become operational and then unions organize uh a new union within that place because I'd mentioned before with the with the NLRB, we've seen what can happen there. But uh, we do, I can actually say that unions are actively organizing a lot of these new facilities.

SPEAKER_00 12:32

Can you uh maybe discuss? I mean, I know that's a huge topic probably, but the NLRB specifically how that most directly affected or negatively impact like like your role or you right down to your membership. Like I I know there are strategic, you know, uh initiatives that are involved that I'm assuming, but uh is there day-to-day stuff that was immediately affected you guys and um, you know, negatively impacted your workers?

SPEAKER_02 13:01

You know, it not so much day-to-day. Um however, it's really easy to get a little disheartened to lose a little bit of the wind in your sails when you know that workers uh out there are told one thing, um, they learn one thing, and they think, oh, we do have the freedom to come together and and this is America, and we can come together collectively for a better life for my family and for my co-workers, and then just to hit that dead end right now. And a lot of people don't fully understand that it's not the union's fault, that it's actually the federal government that's done this, and then people get a little bit of a bad image, or maybe think the union failed them. Um, we we deal with that a little bit. That's unfortunate.

SPEAKER_01 13:44

And when you talk about the dismantling, as you said, what what President Trump did, and we look back at uh what Biden, Biden was very pro-union, and I feel like I think we all kind of saw the writing on the wall, and Trump was very vocal about what he was going to do with with unions, but I also see that there's been this re-resurgence with unions and labor within the Democratic Party as to some of the reasons that you stated before. But we had Democrat Derek Clemens won in Kentucky, he's the president of the United Steel Workers Local 1693. Um, and then we have a fourth generation union worker on our ballot right here in in northern Kentucky running for state rep in in District 64. So I don't know if you could talk a little bit about how how can we strengthen the relationship between the party and the unions. And if you see a resurgence, kind of like kind of swing it back towards the Dems, or if you have any input on that at all.

SPEAKER_02 14:33

I have a lot of input on that. We're really yeah, we're we're really excited about what's happening right now. Yeah, I mean, not everybody's gonna win. I want to put that out there, but this uh this primary, we had, I believe it was 42 union members run for some kind of public office from Wow from yeah, from state senator to state rep on down to magistrates, the dog catcher. You know what I mean? Uh but it's it it's people dog catcher's important.

SPEAKER_01 14:59

We can get them in office. I don't care what the position is.

SPEAKER_02 15:03

Yeah, right. Every job's important. Um but look, like people I think are this is what excites me. People are waking up, you've got the working class, and then you've got basically the Epstein class at this point. Uh we have a government that um covers up for these people, uh, gives them bailouts and everything, and then they're trying to convince working class people that the other working class person is their enemy. Um, and and I really do think people are starting to open their eyes to this and come together. Um, the the Democrat Party has always been unwavering on their uh support of organized labor. Um they've always been open door with me personally, and as a lobbyist that works in Frankfurt, I can tell you that it is 100% open door, 100% you bring ideas to them. It is definitely the party of the working class here in Kentucky. And that's not to say there aren't some good Republicans that help us too, because there certainly are. We couldn't get done what we do without them. Uh, but the the two party platforms, when comparing organized labor issues or even working class issues, uh there's quite a difference.

SPEAKER_00 16:11

Well, that's great to hear. And the just the gap between the haves and the trying to get's is I would call them not the have-nots, but uh the billionaire class, the Epstein class, and the rest of us is is widening. And uh, you know, I just think, as you said, people are waking up because I think uh they're focusing on the corruption, and you know, we're spreading the word more and more on the corruption. It's right there in front of our face. We just we just saw Don Jr. and Eric now with Kazakhstan and their uh mining, and it's some multi-million billion dollar deal, and it's right out there in front of us. And it's you know, I think your average American is looking at that and say, you know, it's enough. And I think these midterms is where they're gonna let their voices be heard and then we're gonna start turning the corner.

SPEAKER_02 16:58

Yeah, I think so. It's also really interesting to see what DSA's been doing lately. They've had had some success, not only in elections, but in their organizing and and mobilizing. I've met some really fine people from DSA from Louisville and Lexington as I travel, stay talking to workers. I I really appreciate their alignment with uh working class issues also.

SPEAKER_00 17:20

Yeah, right. I think uh read a couple articles about uh some people are freaking out because democratic socialists are like, oh my gosh, socialism, because they don't really understand what the DSA stands for. And I just want to throw a note out real quick that Heather Cox Richardson, who everybody knows that I follow and really admire, she has a great tutorial on all the different terminologies, socialism, communism. So to your point, that there's it's very strong. They're it's a rising movement, a progressive movement, and I think uh everybody should take a step back and try to really learn what they stand for uh before they you know kind of prejudge because uh they're they really are the party and people who are fighting for the working class.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Yeah, and and you said earlier that the the Dems and Frankfurt, you know, of course we have Governor Bashir, they're they're open door with you. They're come in, give us your ideas, let us know uh how we can help. So obviously the AFL CIO plays a critical role in shaping some of the public policies that are out there. Are there any and we I know we just finished the legislative session, but are there any key legislative priorities that that you guys are focused on right now that you're going down to Frankfurt and and saying, let's let's talk about this?

SPEAKER_02 18:31

Sure. Um, you know, Governor Bashir, as he unfortunately comes towards the end of his last term, has met with me uh on a couple occasions recently, and we've provided him with some examples and had some discussions of things like executive orders and regulations that that he can legally do to help working class people. He's already executed some of those. He's raised some pay for some state workers, some other issues that have gotten lined out, and he I know he's working on some more. I think timing's really important for that. But we look forward to seeing him roll those out. And if the supermajority in Frankfurt decides to claw those back, we're gonna shine a big light on it and try to show people exactly what's happening. Uh so I do applaud the Bashir administration for his open door, open phone. Uh, we communicate easily and regularly. As far as the House and Senate caucuses, great group of people that, I mean, they're small but mighty, you know, and they stand firm on their beliefs for working class people. They're a pleasure to work with. As far as policy, we made a lot of noise early this year when session first started. When Gary Clemens was elected to the Senate, we knew he was gonna come in basically fearless. And the first bill that he filed was the repeal of right to work. And that was Senate Bill, I believe it was Senate Bill 163, uh, made a lot of noise. So much that Republican leadership called me in for a meeting to find out more about it. Not that's not necessarily a win, but uh to get those conversations going um is progress, and we appreciate Gary doing that. Uh and then also union member and state representative Adriel Camuel from the Lexington area, she filed a companion bill in the House. We're for the start. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:22

It's a seat at the table. It's a seat at the table, and like you said, you had so many people stand up to run. Like I said, we have William Whalen here in District 64. He's he's fantastic. I know he's done some work in Frankfurt as well. And I I was so excited when uh when that seat was won uh for for uh Clemens. So that was it was it was so exciting. I was so happy to see that.

SPEAKER_02 20:44

Listen, we had Robert Bell, a union member, uh, win his primary in Louisville. We had uh Mitra Subetti win the primary in House Seasure 30, also a union member. April Whitaker for I think it's city commissioner in the Lexington area. She is a Y Una member, the Labor's Union International. Lots of good victory stories there. And I'm pretty proud to say that the ones that lost their primary jumped in and started helping the person who beat them. That's great. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 21:12

That's that's the way that's the way it should be. You know.

SPEAKER_00 21:15

I mean, those union victories, they're gonna bring their their values and you know, fairness and equity and and really an understanding of what it takes to to lead a uh you know, to have a dignified life, you know, to everything they do. I think it's gonna benefit people across the board.

SPEAKER_02 21:31

Yeah. It's giving me it's giving me some, you know, some wind in the sails, too. I mean, I at at this point I'm thinking I might run for something. You never know.

SPEAKER_01 21:39

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 21:41

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:43

Well, um, you know, as we as we said earlier, um, union membership is on the rise. Sixty percent of voters in a recent poll favor making it easier to join a union. So it sounds like, you know, with everything that's going on, I mean we discussed the future of organized labor looks pretty good. And uh what appeals do you make out to younger workers? Is there, you know, are there special programs or is there anything that any message out to the younger people who are starting to look at, hey, what do I want to do? What path do I want to choose that they may not be considering this and it might be learn more about the union, how it could benefit them?

SPEAKER_02 22:19

Actually, the the younger workers are where it's at. I'm telling you, is it? Yeah, it is. Because not only, I mean, they're they're the most tuned in. They know, they see what's happening nationally right now. They also can compare their grandparents and their parents and their buying power and the fact that I mean, this is no secret. Uh young people are complaining that they're having a hard time buying a house, the interest rates, the down payment, right? I mean, it's they're they're stuck in rent traps and payment traps, and just about 100% of their income goes as as outcome, out the door, right? Just just to live, right? So you're basically just living to work, working to live. It's a it's a horrible cycle. They see that, and they're good. They're young people are really good at using um this little thing that we call a smartphone right here, keeping them connected. They're really good at organizing, they're really good at speaking up. I I applaud their bravery. I just want them to stick with it and keep trying. And when we have a better federal administration that allows our um freedoms to function again, uh I think union membership's gonna probably explode. Sounds great. That's great.

SPEAKER_01 23:30

And and what about for people like me who I'm not part of union? What advice can you give to someone who wants to we want to get involved? How can we support labor advocacy, uh labor organizing? You know, we're we're trying to give voices on platforms like this, like our podcast. And um, you know, are there other ways that non-union um workers can can get involved?

SPEAKER_02 23:51

Many ways. So again, as I've been traveling the state talking to workers, both union and non-union. And when I say this, I mean literally if I pull over in the middle of nowhere, Kentucky, and get gas, I'm I I just strike up a conversation with the person at the pump, with with the person working inside, whatever, right? The person delivering the bread, the soda drinks, everything. So you just talk to people, see what's going on. And it's it's a common theme. So we created a lot of a lot of people would say to me, Well, I don't I wouldn't even know how to join a union. So we created a tab on our website, how to join or form a union. It's got some simple questions like what part of the state you're from, what industry you're in, are you having any issues on your job site? And then that connects you. It'll have the union representative organizer from that industry to reach out to you to find out more about how they can help you. But we've seen some success in that. If if you're looking to just help, just to be an ally, you can obviously sign up for our newsletter, which is gonna let you know what we've been up to and what we have coming up. You can also we have the FLC IO, but we're an umbrella over all the unions and also what's called a CLC, which is a central labor council. And I know where you guys are from, they have a very strong the Northern Kentucky Central Labor Council. Um surely you guys know uh Tim and Jim and all those people. Absolutely. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:12

Yeah, they've got Tim on, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:14

Yeah, so that's what you want to do is connect with your Central Labor Council for a kind of a more localized effort. I think that stuff's really important. Aside from that, you know, we got we have people that come up to me that have never been in union, but because maybe their dad was or the grandfather was, they'll always buy a Ford truck. Uh they'll always buy yeah, they'll always buy, you know, the union made candy bar instead of the non-union candy bar. They'd never shop at Walmart. Instead, they'll shop at Kroom Creek.

SPEAKER_01 25:45

And even our printing, all of our print printing we do is union print. You know, it's got to have the union union seal on it. So all those little things, you know?

SPEAKER_02 25:52

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:53

Well, uh Dustin, it was great having you on. Before we go, is there anything you wanted to add that we maybe missed? Uh I you was very uh heartening listening to you, and it sounds like there's it's very exciting. There's lots of opportunity and uh some really it sounds like some positive changes coming up for all of us.

SPEAKER_01 26:11

The website we need your website too, before you go.

SPEAKER_02 26:14

Oh yeah. Uh so it's just Kentucky State AFL CIO. And you know, we're actually our our social media's have taken off. Uh I hired a uh communications director. It's been about uh maybe a year and a half now, year and a quarter, and our social medias did exactly what we hoped to to reach a larger audience. Uh I think within the first year we had already had something like a million and a half touches from people. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:40

That's great.

SPEAKER_02 26:41

So definitely look us up on social media. You you'll get a little entertainment, especially if you do TikTok and everything. Uh we do throw some stuff in. We also make it educational and make sure that you can connect with people if you want to.

SPEAKER_01 26:55

Well, we have uh we have a YouTube channel for this podcast, and when we had Tim Dunny on, it's one of our our most um engaged uh podcasts. So people are out there looking for this content and looking for information on labor unions.

SPEAKER_02 27:09

So it's yeah, we'll Yeah, we've been inspired by you all and by others. So we actually have our po first podcast episode coming up soon. We've just invested in all the equipment. We built a podcast room at the office. It's gonna be called clock it's gonna be called clocked in.

SPEAKER_01 27:25

Nice.

SPEAKER_02 27:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:27

Nice.

SPEAKER_02 27:27

You know, it's called a play because it uh play back to the young people. Young people use that term if you're if you're clocked in, it means you're paying attention, right? Right. And obviously also if you're clocked in, you're on the job. So we we're really excited about it. And I don't know exactly when the first episode is gonna drop, but it won't be long.

SPEAKER_01 27:47

Let us know. We'll be sure to share that and promote that because I know our listeners would definitely wouldn't be in and uh interested in that as well. So thank you.

SPEAKER_00 27:56

Yeah, no, I I just really appreciate what you said about the young people out there and how engaged they are and how they're really, you know, driving some of this change with that engagement because you know, I've got I've got three kids in their 30s and they're all very involved. And when I hear people my age or other anyone really just saying, oh, they don't care, they're just off doom scrolling or whatever, it really aggravates me because I find the exact opposite and you've just reinforced that. I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_02 28:24

Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_00 28:25

Well, thank you so much for joining us, uh Dustin. We wish you best of luck and uh stay in touch and maybe we can have you back on when we get past these midterms and uh we might have some exciting news to share and you know we can kind of see where we're gonna progress to next.

SPEAKER_02 28:41

I'll be there. Good to see everyone. Hope to see you all soon.

SPEAKER_00 28:44

All right, thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 28:46

Yeah, appreciate it. And thanks to all of our listeners for tuning in to the Blue Dot Podcast. If you've enjoyed this conversation, be sure to share it with someone and keep the dialogue going. And don't forget you can join the conversation at our Facebook and Instagram pages or at Blue Dot Podcast.com. If you like listening to the podcast, consider donating to help fund it, which you can also do by clicking the donate link at Blue Dot Podcast.com. Until next time, stay curious, get back to focus and never ever stop fighting for what matters. Peace out, everybody.