Work Stoppage

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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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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OT Ep 70 Preview: Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Pt 4

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Following the Bread and Roses strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1912, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn became a national name in labor. Her organizing skills and rousing speaking were sought after by workers all over the country. Flynn helped organize many epic struggles during this period, including a 6 month confrontation between workers and mill owners in the silk capital of the US, Paterson, NJ, and a violent struggle for justice by miners in Minnesota. In all these efforts Flynn faced increasing levels of repression and persecution for her organizing. Taking up the cause of workers' legal defense, she began an effort to free workers imprisoned for fighting for their rights that would last the rest of her life.

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Ep 206 - No Time Like Today

We continue our host shuffle this week as Dan is back, but John is away. We do run through a bunch of headlines but our focus this week is on a few stories. The biggest story in the country, the fight by college students against the genocide waged by our government in Palestine, is also a labor story. The attack on these students is an assault on any concept of rights but also on the labor movement, because ultimately solidarity is both our greatest weapon and the ruling class's greatest fear. We discuss the fascist crackdown on dissent across the country and the ways workers are fighting back. Also this week, we discuss a new piece by Alex Press at Jacobin on the union busting at PEN America, where bosses have been slow rolling contract negotiations for over a year and a half.  The UAW continues to make huge gains, with nearly 4000 workers at Penn finally winning a grad student union, and another potentially historic vote upcoming next week at Mercedes in Alabama.  Finally, we close out celebrating the first win of many by the new Pharmacy Guild at CVS.

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Ep 205 - Resistance University

After a few headlines touching on a vetoed farm worker bill in Maine, Amazon organizing in Canada, a life changing win by GM sanitation workers, and UFCW rank and file action updates, we begin this week with a massive protest in Argentina to defend the university system. Then we talk about striking Indiana University graduate student workers which leads us directly into talking about the resistance camps in defense of Palestine at universities around the world. We then move back to more explicitly worker news with UAW workers at Daimler Truck who won massive gains in a TA that they will now vote on.  Amazon Flex workers are way more exploited than you likely imagine but many are fighting back. Finally, we talk about how the FTC banned non compete clauses!

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OT Ep 70 Preview: Elizabeth Gurley Flynn 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.

The strike by textile mill workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts in January of 1912 was one of the biggest labor struggles of the era, and launched Elizabeth Gurley Flynn onto the national stage. Already famous among radical workers for her fiery speaking abilities, her role in organizing the workers in Lawrence was critical to the strikes' success. Ensuring that all workers in town, even across 25 different nationalities, were included on equal footing, Flynn helped the workers unite stronger than ever before. Even in the face of brutal physical repression, false criminal charges, and even the kidnapping of children, the Lawrence workers stayed strong and defeated the mill bosses. The lessons of this strike, both the good and the bad, would shape Flynn's organizing career for the rest of her life.

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Ep 204 - The First of Many

This week we are very lucky to be joined by Mel Buer, Staff Reporter for The Real News Network while Dan is away. We begin by talking about WGA workers at Sesame Street who won a TA after threatening to strike, making a conversation with children about working conditions loom over the non-profit Sesame Workshop. We celebrate 1700 performers at Disney Land filing for a union to join 21,000 other unionized workers at the park. Then we move to the story that is making international headlines where VW workers in Chattanooga won their union vote to join the UAW, making them the first non-union automaker to win a union election in the US since 1941! Google has retaliated against 50 workers for participating in or even being near bi-coastal actions in defense of Palestine. No Tech For Apartheid is demanding that Google shut down Project Nimbus which facilitates the ongoing genocide of Palestinians. We have a deep discussion about automation and how it affects workers while talking about UPS destroying sorting facility jobs with little regard for the workers. Starbucks continues its union busting campaign despite agreeing to bargaining, and finally we discuss how unionized weed workers won a great contract by threatening to strike on 4/20.

Check out Mel's work @ https://therealnews.com/author/mel-buer and follower her on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/mel_buer

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Unlocked Interview: The Modern IWW

We talk about a lot of labor history on our show, and one of the organizations we've come back to again and again is the Industrial Workers of the World. We've talked about the epic struggles in the early 20th century, but where is the IWW today, a century after its peak? We're joined by IWW Organizer and Trainer Maria Cunningham for a discussion of the modern IWW. We talk recent history, some prominent campaigns the IWW has led over the last few decades, and how the organization works in the 21st century.

To check out the IWW, go to iww.org or redcard.iww.org

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Ep 203 - North of the Border

We've got another episode jam packed full of new labor stories this week. After a run through the headlines, we've got big news from Canada, as workers at two Amazon warehouses in British Columbia have filed for a union election. Trader Joe's workers in Chicago have also filed, fighting a vicious union busting campaign. BU Grad workers have been on strike for weeks, fighting for wages to survive in one of the most expensive cities in the country. The CTU is gearing up for their next contract fight with a vision for working class democracy by including demands to end student homelessness. In our second Canadian story of the week we discuss the potential for a major rail strike, as Canadian rail companies are just as aggressive at cutting safety measures as their American counterparts. Finally, we discuss a rare bargaining order brought on by a bribe of bourbon.

OT Ep 69 PREVIEW: Elizabeth Gurley Flynn 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.

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was already an organizer before she even left High School. Traveling the industrial cities of the northeast to speak for workers, she quickly decided to dedicate her life to the cause of the working class. Her work with the IWW would take her across the whole Northern half of the country, and bring her in contact with many of the most towering figures in US labor history, like herself. Continuing her frantic pace of organizing even while pregnant, Elizabeth never backed down from a fight. 

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Ep 202 - Our Invincible Solidarity

We start our labor news updates this week with a big one from the UAW as 5000 workers at Mercedes Benz in Alabama have filed for a union election. Next we've got an update on Amazon, where illegal union busting continues at sites across the country. Also we discuss updates on union busting campaigns at REI, where even managers are getting fired for being pro union, and Trader Joe's, where managers referred to pro union workers as a "gang." We've got several stories about idiotic uses of AI this week, from a chatbot in NYC that gives people illegal advice to university admins trying to replace striking grad students with LLMs. Finally we discuss the incredible victory by thousands of hotel workers in LA winning life changing new contracts.

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OT Ep 68 Preview: Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Pt 1

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

Normally our history series tend to focus on mass movements, on structures, on the broad forces at play in the class struggle. But just because the class struggle is the motor of history, doesn't mean that individuals don't play critical roles. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was one of those exceptional working class leaders forged in struggle who played an outsized role in many of the most pivotal labor struggles in US history. Political agitator, firebrand public speaker, labor organizer, IWW legend, Communist Party leader, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn played countless roles in the pursuit of liberation. In this series, we'll discuss her incredible life and what lessons we can learn from her lifelong devotion to the cause of the working class. 

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