Work Stoppage

Ep 219 - Working Below Subsistence

We start this week with workers advancing the struggle for solidarity with Palestine in the UE and AFT, along with international stories from Brazil and The Netherlands. Also this week, workers ratified major new contracts at Amtrak and Disneyland, and new unions were formed at Prism Reports and The Frick Museum. In our first major story, the ALU Democratic Reform Caucus swept the recent union elections at JFK8 in Staten Island, we discuss their victory and the path forward for the new leadership. We also discuss a report from Truthout on the crushing conditions faced by small farmers in Mexico, fighting water theft and mass pollution from American mega pork producers like Smithfield. Also this week, the Washington Post released a new report on the rising numbers of workers who are employed full time and still unable to afford a roof over their heads. Finally, we finish off by celebrating workers securing the first ever union contract at an Apple Store in the US.

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OT Ep 75 Preview: Cannabis and Labor Pt 3

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month.

In this installment of “The Weed Series,” the gang discusses New York. We cover workers in Syracuse who unionized with RWDSU/UFCW 338, the state of employee protections in New York for lawful cannabis users, the multifaceted disaster of Hochul’s legal cannabis rollout, a cannabis product recall, and once again encounter the scourge of fake unions. John encourages maximum conjecture against the pod’s better journalistic instincts.

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Ep 218 - Unions Against Imperialism

We've got an especially internationalist show this week. After our headlines we start our main stories with some of the recent industrial action taken by French workers ahead of and during the ongoing Olympic Games. Next we discuss the mass protest last week against the speech by genocidal war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington DC, including a historic contingent from the labor movement. Workers in South Korea are fighting to pass a law against absurd fines for striking, but facing major interference from both local and US corporate interests. NUMSA workers at Ford in South Africa recently won a partial victory, securing a bonus after striking against Ford's profit hoarding. We also discuss a recent piece from Prism Reports on the 2 years of the fight for a contract by workers at REI. Finally, we have yet another major union with at Microsoft, as the workers at World of Warcraft this week announced the formation of their own wall-to-wall union, another big organizing win by the CWA.

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Ep 217 - Friends and Enemies

AFT 4 Palestine Petition: https://www.aft4palestine.org/take-action

We've got an absolutely packed show this week, starting off with checkins on the Samsung strike, the IATSE contract ratification vote, and the struggle to unionize workers at Wonderful Nurseries. Our first big story is discussion of Teamsters President Sean O'Brien's speech at the Republican National Convention, the fallout, and the reaction from the rest of labor. Next we discuss the massive, overwhelming strike vote by over 30,000 machinists at Boeing, setting up for a potentially massive struggle this September. Amazon workers in the UK voted on forming the first union at the company, coming up devastatingly short. We also check in on workers around the country continuing to stand up for Palestine, and fight to push the labor movement to take a more active role in that struggle. Finally, we celebrate the big union win by workers at Bethesda Game Studios, who just formed the first wall-to-wall union at Microsoft.

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OT Ep 74 Preview: Cannabis and Labor Pt 2

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month.

In the second episode of this THC-infused Overtime series, the gang investigates the cannabis industry stronghold: California. We examine the status of employee protections for lawful cannabis users, the pesticide and additive issues prevalent in California cannabis, fake cannabis unions infiltrating the state's labor landscape, and the shape of the illegal weed industry across America's largest and most notable producer of sticky icky. John also learns how to say “bona fide”.

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Ep 216 - Standing Strong Against Samsung

Amazon Worker Support GoFundMe's
Keith Williams: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-keiths-family-overcome-hardship
Christine Manno: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-christine-manno-overcome-injury-crisis

First up this week we discuss a strike by 14,000 workers at stores owned by Walmart in Chile, which has shut down over 100 stores across the country. This week we also discuss a trio of stories of the horrific working conditions faced by workers at Amazon, not only in the US but in India as well. Retail giant Dollar General reached a major settlement with OSHA this week regarding its legendarily bad record on safety. A new report published by the UE reveals the horrific conditions faced by the unionists of Occupied Palestine during the ongoing genocide. Negotiations between the NEA, the largest union in the country, and their staff union hit a new low this week as the union locked out their own staff. Finally, we discuss the recent interview by French CGT leader Alex Persson with The Real News, where he calls for worker action to ensure their victory.

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Ep 215 - Slavery to the 113th Degree

We start this week's episode discussing some of the recently announced details of the historic agreement reached by flight attendants at Alaska Airlines, and the strategic foresight shown in their campaign. We have yet another horrific story of prison slavery in the US, this time with a judge ruling that Louisiana can continue to force incarcerated workers to labor in dire conditions even in extreme heat. We learned shocking details this week of attempts by the federal monitor overseeing the consent decree with the UAW attempting to interfere in the union's position on Palestine.  Workers in Turkiye are fighting back against a super exploitative boss and a corrupt company union, all while their real employer, Levi's sits and does nothing. Massachusetts announced a "historic" settlement agreement with Uber and Lyft to raise driver wages in the state, but as we discuss the agreement conceals a lot of major problems. Finally, we close our with a story of successful resilience and determination by Canadian workers at WestJet.

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OT Ep 73: Cannabis and Labor Pt 1 PREVIEW

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month.

The Work Stoppage crew starts a new series examining the conditions for workers and consumers in the exploding cannabis industry. First congratulating the workers at Ascend Cannabis in Aberdeen for joining the Teamsters, we launch an investigation into the conditions faced by cannabis workers across Maryland. We cover the conditions that lure young people into the industry, the structural racism of state licensing programs, an ultimately unsuccessful but highly instructive union drive at cannabis mega-corporation Star Buds, the shape of union busting in the cannabis industry, the supposed utility of labor peace agreements in burgeoning industries, and the current state of employment protections for lawful cannabis users in Maryland. John also becomes somewhat fixated on crabs.

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Ep 214 - The Supreme Court vs Humanity

Another packed episode this week as the class struggle never stops. After quite a few short stories, our first big discussion this week is the massive Supreme Court ruling which overturned 40 years of precedence and threatens to eliminate the ability of agencies like the NLRB to function. Next we discuss a recent story exposing the systemic nature of racism and wage theft in the Minnesota construction industry. Also this week, Amazon drivers in Illinois joined the Teamsters, fight back against exploitation. Negotiators at IATSE reached a tentative agreement this week, a full month ahead of the deadline for one of the year's most watched contract fights. Workers at Dell showed just how far workers are willing to fight for work-life balance, with over half refusing the company's return-to-office mandate. Finally, we celebrate a major contract win as UAW workers at BMW reached a last minute agreement after organizing around a credible strike threat.

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Ep 213 - Moving Forward, Not Standing Still

We've got quick stories from Kentucky, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Greece, Australia, and Japan this week, before we get into a short follow up as the limited energy workers of IBEW Local 46 in Seattle have voted to end their strike. Then we check in with Starbucks Workers United, where despite continued union busting by the company, have continued to rack up tons of new union wins. Also this week, ALU workers in New York voted to officially affiliate with the Teamsters, as the union works to bring its resources to the broader fight to organize Amazon nationwide. The NLRB issued its first "Cemex" bargaining order this week, requiring a Las Vegas casino to recognize and bargain with workers after flagrant union busting during the election. Finally, we close out with congratulations for the staff workers of 1199SEIU, who just won the right to a union of their own.

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Ep 212 - The Butlerian Jihad

After a quick follow-up with the IBEW workers of Local 46, still on strike, we jump into this week's labor stories. First we discuss the Supreme Court's latest ruling gutting the NLRA, making it harder to force companies to rehire illegally fired workers. Next we start some international stories, discussing a massive strike by workers in Nigeria demanding a major increase to the minimum wage. In India, workers have been forced to work without breaks, even for water, while the country endures a 50C (122F) heatwave. We check in on a few stories of the many labor crimes of Mr. Reddit himself, as Elon is now both being sued by multiple workers for sexual harassment AND trying to claw back severance payments to fired workers. We have an extremely dystopian use of AI in the workplace this week at call centers. And finally we celebrate the massive new union formed by workers at Fairfax County Public Schools.

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[Unlocked & Remastered] 1962 Interview with Elizabeth Gurley Flynn

While looking for recordings of Elizabeth G. Flynn I found this in the Walter P. Ruther Online Library at Wayne State University. The audio player was broken on the website, but I figured out a way to downloaded the source audio anyway. It was also very low quality so I put a little effort into remastering it so everyone can enjoy it. Solidarity.
-Lina

Source: https://reuther.wayne.edu/node/12892

Original Description: A conversation with Elizabeth Gurley Flynn in which she discusses her upbringing and entry into the political scene as the “girl orator,” her organizing efforts and labor defense work on behalf of the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.), and the evolution of her political beliefs. Of particular interest is a description of her arrest under the Smith Act and her years spent in prison at the Women’s Reformatory in Alderson, West Virginia.

Keywords: Industrial Workers of the World, Communism, Socialism, Lawrence Strike, Joe Hill, Herbert Hoover, Bill Haywood, Joe Hill, McCarren Internal Security Act, Smith Act, Palmer Raids, Tom Mooney, Sacco and Vanzetti Trial

OT Ep 72 Preview: Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Pt 6

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month.

By the time she was in her mid thirties, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn had been on a non-stop, nationwide tour of the class struggle in the United States, joining every fight she could. That work made her one of the most beloved organizers in US history, but also took a toll on her health. Joining the Communist Party in the late 30s following years of convalescence on the West Coast, Flynn spent much of her later years in leadership and mentoring the new generation of fighters for the working class. But her experience in workers legal defense became critical, as the Party faced a massive assault following World War 2, sending Flynn to prison at age 65. Throughout her life, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn never wavered for one moment in her total devotion to the working class and the struggle against oppression. She stands as an inspiration to everyone who fights for a better world, and her life story is full of rich lessons for organizers today.

Series Sources:
The Rebel Girl by Elizabeth Gurley Flynn
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn: Modern American Revolutionary by Lara Vapnek
Women and the American Labor Movement by Philip Foner
https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/women-in-labor-history/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Gurley_Flynn
https://www.cpusa.org/article/cpusa-statement-on-the-removal-of-elizabeth-gurley-flynns-historical-marker-in-new-hampshire/
https://libcom.org/article/1909-missoula-free-speech-fight 
https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/industrialworker/iub/v1n39-nov-23-1907-iub.pdf

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Ep 211 - The Teamsters Take On Amazon

Starting our labor news this week we discuss big union election news by healthcare workers in California, construction workers in Quebec, and Starbucks workers all over the country. In our first main story, we discuss attempts to quash organizing around Palestine by conservative leadership in a major AFSCME local in NYC. Next we cover this week's update in the historic UC stand up strike for Palestine, as the University administration continued to try to crush the strike in court. For our big story this week we discuss the surprise announcement of the ALU affiliating with the Teamsters to add national muscle to the fight against the e-commerce giant. Finally, we discuss the ongoing strike by the IBEW workers of Local 46 in Seattle, fighting the greed of general contractors and also for respect on the job.

Also, as we discuss at the end of the show, we're trying something new! Submit your stories about bad bosses, organizing wins, and other workplace tales to our new Google Voice number!

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OT Ep 8 (Unlocked): The Repressive State Apparatus – A Brief History – Pt 1

This week we are going deep into the vault of the many Overtime series we have done to bring ALL of the listeners something that feels applicable to the times we face right now. Some of our views on these important topics have been slightly reexamined since 2021 when this episode came out, but overall it still covers this history well. To get all 4 episodes in this series, become a patron. We appreciate the support.

Join us down the rabbit hole on this first part of a series of patrons-only Overtime episodes where we discuss an overview of the history of the US repressive state apparatus, and how it has been used to crush working class movements.  In this episode we discuss the history of violent state suppression of strikes, and how the federal government worked hand in hand with private armed forces like the Pinkerton’s to infiltrate and crush early labor unions.  We talk about how repression of the movement changed with the legalization of collective bargaining and the ejection of communists from the major unions during the Red Scare.  We also get into some of the early covert programs developed to fight left-wing movements and Black liberation groups, COINTELPRO and Operation Mockingbird.  Future episodes will go over programs like Operation Gladio, Operation Condor, the CIA’s involvement in the drug trade, Operation Cyclone, and more in the long sordid history of US covert warfare.  All with the ultimate goal of understanding the violent tactics used by the US against working class movements around the world, so we can understand how that affects our movement today.

Ep 210 - 4811 Will Strike You All

We start this week with a brief update on national negotiating with Starbucks Workers United and the continued growth of the union. We also follow up with the Boeing firefighters of IAFF I-66 who ratified a new contract this week, ending a nearly month long lockout. The Department of Labor finally announced some higher than usual penalties for child labor at Hyundai. The historic stand up strike for Palestine at UC continued to grow this week, adding thousands more strikers at three more campuses. We also check in on rideshare driver organizing in the UK, where hundreds protested by blocking traffic. Finally, we discuss a report in Labor Notes on how workers at Stellantis are fighting back against the company's attempts to undermine last year's contract wins.

Also, as we discuss at the end of the show, we're trying something new! Submit your stories about bad bosses, organizing wins, and other workplace tales to our new Google Voice number!

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Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter,  John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

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Ep 209 - Worker Power for Peace

We briefly discuss new ULP charges against Amazon for surveillance, Boeing's latest lowball offer to their locked out fire fighters, Teamsters at MolsonCoors winning a tentative agreement, and Scarlet Johansson fighting the theft of her voice by AI to start out with some headlines. Also this week, dockworkers in Oakland are pushing for the ILWU to blockade military goods to Israel. Academic workers in UAW 4811 carried out the first week of their historic stand up strike for Palestine, and are expanding to UCLA and UC Davis this week. The NCAA announced this week a potentially historic settlement that would result in players finally receiving SOME compensation for their labor. Legal aid workers at NYC non profit Mobilization for Justice held strong for over 3 months and finally this week won a new contract meeting all their key demands. Finally, we celebrate the union win by character actors at Disneyland in California.

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Overtime Episode 71 Preview: Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Pt 5

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month.

The first Red Scare following the US entry into World War 1 threw the US left into intense turmoil. Though Elizabeth Gurley Flynn had left the IWW over organizational and strategic differences, she was swept up in the Palmer Raids alongside many of her comrades. She would devote much of the rest of her life to the legal defense of workers imprisoned for opposing war or fighting for their rights on the job. She fought for years to release thousands of political prisoners locked up for opposing the draft and criticizing US entry into the war. Through this work, Flynn also came into contact with one of the most historic cases of political persecution of this period, the legal lynching of Sacco and Vanzetti. Throughout the 1920s, though no longer a part of the IWW, Flynn remained a fixture of the US labor struggle, continuing to criss cross the country in defense of workers rights.

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Ep 208 - Wins Within a Loss

We've got another packed episode after a ton of news in the labor movement this week. First, workers in Quebec have successfully formed the first recognized union at an Amazon warehouse in Canada. Next we discuss efforts by agribusiness giant Wonderful Nurseries to overturn California labor law to fight the UFW. We've got a lot of news about the UAW this week. First, the historic political strike by UAW Local 4811 workers at the University of California in defense of the right to protest. Then, of course, we have to discuss the union election at Mercedes, which didn't go the union's way this time, but represents massive progress. Finally, we close out with some good news as workers making electric buses, also in Alabama, won a historic new contract with record raises, and discuss a recent interview with Sara Nelson on her push to bring full union democracy to the AFA.

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Ep 207 - Planes, Trains, Automobiles, and Firefighters

The whole gang's back together for the first time in a month! This week, we saw faculty at both NYU and UNC-Chapel Hill, among other schools, launch grading strikes to demand amnesty for protestors brutally arrested during encampment sweeps. Also this week, train drivers in the UK launched yet another series of rolling strikes as the train operators continue to believe they can get away with not paying drivers. In another major act of corporate hubris, Boeing has locked out their in house firefighters after demanding they accept a top rate that only arrives after 19 years on the job. The UAW election at Mercedes is this week and the company is running scared, pulling out all the stops to try and halt another landslide victory. We also check in on the rampant union busting at Apple stores around the country, as they catch a lot less heat than Starbucks for using many of the same tactics. Finally, we congratulate the fight attendants of Breeze Airways for their union election win to join the AFA!

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Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter,  John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

More info on the show at http://workstoppagepod.com/