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A weekly labor news podcast covering workers‘ struggles around the world from a revolutionary left perspective.
Episodes
Monday Nov 13, 2023
Monday Nov 13, 2023
This week we are very happy to to be joined by Maximillian Alvarez Editor in Chief of The Real News Network and host of Working People Podcast. We start with highlighting some of the many brave actions by workers, activists, and unions in solidarity with Palestine in opposition to those complicit and exacerbating the genocide being enacted by Israel. From people blocking weapons ships in Oakland and Tacoma to Italy and commitments to action from unions in Belgium and the UK to solidarity statements in defiance of the AFL-CIO by the APWU. We then get to the TA reached by the Las Vegas Culinary Union which boasts some major gains. In Quebec, Canada 420k public workers strike for one day and vow to strike for longer if their demands are not met. We cover Tesla's open statement on their intent to break labor law and how workers in Germany and Sweden are showing the company the might of worker power. Starbucks continues to break the law by once again promising raised to only non-union workers and SBWU workers are planning another massive action to fight back against the massive union busting company. In a huge story, SAG-AFTRA has reached a TA after 118 days on strike. We only have a few details at this point but we are excited for this possible major victory. We wrap up the episode celebrating another major union victory for Cornell Grad Students who won their union vote with 96% in favor!
Support the Starbucks Red Cup Rebellion: https://starbucksworkersunited.controlshift.app/calendars/red-cup-rebellion
Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX
Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter and Bluesky, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee
Thursday Nov 09, 2023
Thursday Nov 09, 2023
If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month.
One question that has arisen over and over in the history of revolutionary movements has been: what about the military? Does it make sense to try and organize soldiers, sailors, and airmen, especially if they come from working class backgrounds? Or is it a futile effort to try and break into such a hierarchical, rigid system? In this series, we'll examine some of the history of attempts to organize soldiers into unions both in the United States and in many other countries. For our first episode, we'll start with some attempts at union organizing in the US military in the immediate aftermath of the Vietnam War. We discuss what issues caused soldiers to dissent, how movements formed and disbanded, and what results, if any, were achieved by these groups. In future episodes, we'll look at US movements in the era of the all volunteer military, and expand the discussion to other militaries around the world.
Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX
Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee
Monday Nov 06, 2023
Monday Nov 06, 2023
This week we are joined by Alexander Edward of Minion Death Cult and long time UPS worker! We start with some follow-up on Walgreens and CVS walkouts, felony vandalism charges being dropped against University of California Grad Student Workers, and the Las Vegas Culinary Union where 35,000+ Workers are set to strike on Nov 10th. In our main stories we start with actions by workers with the support of many organizations to shut down INKAS, an arms dealer sending weapons to Israel in order to perpetuate their genocide on Palestinians. The fight by the RMT and the British public to save ticket stations has won the battle with the Tories and attempts to destroy ticket worker jobs and replace them with kiosks has failed. We then talk about 4500 Portland Teachers and staff who are on strike across the city from 80 schools. In media news, journalists at the Daily Herald fight back against union busting and the NYT Tech Guild walks out over the NYT's return to office policy. U-Penn grad students revitalize the GET-UP union movement and file for an election and face repression from the administration. REI union workers and customers hold a day of action in protest of the company's recent illegal firing of 275 workers. Finally we celebrate the victory of Disney Animators who joined the Animation Guild.
Organize an action in defense of Palestine: https://www.shutitdown4palestine.org/
Sign the Daily Herald petition: http://tinyurl.com/5n7w22jd
Thursday Nov 02, 2023
Thursday Nov 02, 2023
One of the biggest labor stories of 2023 has been the historic Stand Up Strike by the UAW, with the union taking on all of the Big 3 US automakers at the same time for the first time ever. After six weeks on strike, with nearly 50,000 autoworkers on the picket lines, this week the union reached agreements with all three companies. These agreements, though they remain tentative until the rank and file determine if they're good enough, contain historic gains. We break down each agreement, discuss the wins made at each company, as well as the ripple effects already impacting auto workers at other companies.
We will return to our regular bonus schedule next week with a new series discussing the history of attempts to form unions within the military. So check out our Patreon for that series and all our in depth bonus content.
Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX
Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee
Monday Oct 30, 2023
Monday Oct 30, 2023
Support Starbucks Workers: https://starbucksworkersunited.controlshift.app/calendars/red-cup-rebellion
We're back with another week of labor struggle. We start with a brief discussion of the incredibly racist labor policies of the British Navy. Next we discuss the supposedly amazing work conditions at Nintendo of America which CEO Doug Bowser claims are so good employees don't want a union. Two more major healthcare walkouts were launched this week on the West Coast, in Washington and Oregon at PeaceHealth and California at Providence. Starbucks Workers United announced their biggest day of action yet, Red Cup Rebellion 2, on November 16. The NLRB announced a new rule defining joint employers, we break down the potential impacts. Two groups of undergrad workers won their unions this week at Harvard and the University of Oregon. Finally, we close with our discussion of the UAW's Stand Up strike, which saw major escalations at GM and Stellantis this week and a tentative agreement at Ford.
Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX
Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee
Thursday Oct 26, 2023
Thursday Oct 26, 2023
If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month.
We're back to our regular bonus schedule this week with another episode on labor cinema. This week we have two historical dramas from the 1970s, Joe Hill and The Molly Maguires. First we discuss the 1971 Swedish biopic of the legendary IWW organizer and songwriter. Joe Hill follows the life of the young immigrant worker as he worked his way across the US, experiencing the full range of abuses workers faced in the early 20th century. Next we discuss The Molly Maguires, the 1970 drama starring Sean Connery. Based on the testimony of a Pinkerton spy, the film shows us the lengths workers were forced to go to even 150 years ago to fight for dignity in the hell of the coal pits.
Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX
Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee
Monday Oct 23, 2023
Monday Oct 23, 2023
This week we have to start with some difficult news. While we do talk about Starbucks Workers United's statement in support of Palestinian liberation it is in response to Starbucks' attack on the workers for their stance. We also talk about Israel revoking work permits to people who live in Gaza and the abuses that they perpetrate on the Palestinian people while they are made literally illegal while at work outside Gaza. We then talk about Amazon's use of a Kafala like system in Saudi Arabia to exploit Nepali, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and other workers with no intent on stopping. Back in the US, OSHA has once again failed to protect workers by giving a cheap fine to a PA chocolate factory responsible for 7 worker deaths. Prime Healthcare workers strike for all of the same reasons healthcare workers across the country have been striking for year, safe staffing levels. In Detroit, 3 Casinos covered by five unions go on strike after being forced to take a major cut at the beginning of the ongoing covid pandemic. In service work, Coffee by Design workers in Maine organize with LIUNA, and Waffle House workers demand $25/hr and better conditions while working with the USSW. We wrap up our reporting this week with an update on the UAW Stand Up Strike at the Big 3 Automakers, how Ford is crying poverty, where negotiations currently are, and Stellantis hiring strike breaking goons.
Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX
Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee
Thursday Oct 19, 2023
Thursday Oct 19, 2023
This week we felt it was important to discuss the ongoing attacks against Palestine and how the US labor movement can stand up against complicity with ethnic cleansing. We discuss unions who have already spoken out against the war crimes our government is supporting, and what workers in Palestine have asked workers around the world to do to support them. We also discuss why it is important for people in the labor movement to fight back in the many ways possible and the ways we can do our part individually collectively. John was under the weather and will be back in the next episode.
We also encourage listeners to donate to groups providing humanitarian aid to Gaza.
support.anera.org/a/palestine-emergency
pcrf1.app.neoncrm.com/forms/gaza-relief
www.mecaforpeace.org/donate/
https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/where-we-work/palestine
Find a protest https://www.answercoalition.org/join_a_protest_near_you_free_palestine
Intro clip credit - Liberation Media
Sunday Oct 15, 2023
Sunday Oct 15, 2023
We are forced by recent events to start this week's episode with a call for all the forces of labor to stand in solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine. The fight against apartheid and colonialism is a crucial part of the class struggle and workers in the Imperial Core, especially the US, have a particular responsibility to resist the complicity of our government. Getting into the labor news, we discuss the tentative agreement reached at Kaiser Permanente after last week's strike of 75,000 healthcare workers. We also cover a recent strike by sanitation workers in Durham, NC which won big gains for all city employees. Recent weeks have seen walkouts by pharmacy workers at both CVS and Walgreens, we talk about why. We check in on the status of the SAG-AFTRA strike as the AMPTP walks away from the table. Finally we close discussing the UAW, both their strike at Mack Truck and the expansion of the Stand Up strike to the most profitable plant in the country.
Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX
Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee
Thursday Oct 12, 2023
Thursday Oct 12, 2023
If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month.
We've talked about some of the more well known general strikes in US history: the interwar strikes in Seattle, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Toledo. But even before them, in the 19th century, there was one general strike that predated them all. In New Orleans in 1892, tens of thousands of workers, Black and white, stood as one against their exploiters. They fought not just for better wages and shorter hours, but for the bosses to recognize and negotiate not just unions of white workers, but Black workers too. The 1892 New Orleans general strike stands as a monument to the power of multiracial working class unity, and shows why bosses have fought so hard for so long to prevent workers from achieving it.
Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX
Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee
Monday Oct 09, 2023
Monday Oct 09, 2023
We start this week's episode celebrating the power move by Drew Barrymore's writing staff turning down an offer to return after being stabbed in the back during the strike. Next we discuss VFX workers at Disney voting unanimous to join IATSE. One of our biggest stories this week is the largest healthcare strike in US history, as 75,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente struck for 3 days in 5 states. We also discuss major new contract wins by academic workers at Tufts and MIT, and a major contract victory by workers at Kumho Tires in Georgia. Finally, we discuss this week's developments in the UAW's Stand Up strike, including a monumental win that will shape the future of the entire industry.
Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX
Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee
Monday Oct 02, 2023
Monday Oct 02, 2023
Strike Support Toolkit: https://uaw.org/standwithus/dealershipcanvass/
Another huge week in labor as the militancy of workers has become contagious across the country. We start out discussing the move to shutter Moog Music in North Carolina following a union drive. Then, we cover the new anti-trust complaint filed against Amazon by the FTC. Also this week, Gavin Newsom vetoed a very popular bill to keep people safe from driverless trucks. 75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers may launch the largest healthcare workers strike in history this week after years of understaffing. Culinary Union workers in Las Vegas may join them as well, as they are also fighting for a new contract. Of course the biggest story this week was the stunning victory of the WGA over the Hollywood studios this week. We break down the tentative agreement reached this week and discuss the wins the studios said were impossible just a few weeks ago. Finally, we cover developments in the UAW Stand Up strike against the Big 3. We discuss new plants on strike, tactics in the plants still operating, and how the union is responding to violence against picketers.
Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX
Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee
Thursday Sep 28, 2023
Thursday Sep 28, 2023
If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month.
After wrapping up our series on the history of allegations of mafia involvement in the International Longshoremen's Association, we'd be remiss not to discuss likely the single biggest cultural touchstone related to the issue, the film On The Waterfront. Elia Kazan's 1954 crime drama is considered an all time classic film, buoyed by an iconic performance from Marlon Brando. But the film's attacks on unions as an institution, and its obsession with individual rather than collective solutions make it hard to really consider it part of the canon of "Labor Cinema." We discuss the film's merits, it's flaws, and how it fits into the history of the ILA .
Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX
Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee
Sunday Sep 24, 2023
Sunday Sep 24, 2023
UAW Strike Support FAQ: https://labornotes.org/2023/09/when-auto-workers-stand-heres-how-stand-them
Lina is away this week, so we're joined by longtime friend of the show Ethan to help us discuss all the week's big labor news. The strike by UAW workers at the Big 3 has seized the public consciousness in its first week as workers around the country have been inspired by the thousands of auto workers standing up and fighting back against corporate greed. On Friday, with GM and Stellantis refusing to agree to better working conditions, the UAW expanded the strike to 38 parts centers across the country. We discuss the strike, the response from the press, how politicians have tried to co-opt it, and the very real solidarity coming in from workers around the world. Also this week, we congratulate the grad student workers of Northeastern, winning their union after an 8 year battle. We also discuss the latest NYT expose on the explosion of illegal child labor in the US, as well as a new story on prison labor and clickwork in Finland.
Intro clips credit: Status Coup News, UAW
Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX
Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee
Thursday Sep 21, 2023
Thursday Sep 21, 2023
If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month.
Episode 7 - Where Do We Go From Here?
Wrapping up our series on the history of allegations of mafia involvement with the ILA, we reach the 21st century. Today, the workforce on the docks is a shadow of earlier years. Decimated by automation, the union continued to be hounded by federal prosecutors, but was never ordered to make itself more democratic. We discuss various corruption trials of the last 20 years, the end of the BiState Waterfront Commission, and sum up where the union stands today. Finally, we examine the entire history of allegations of corruption in the ILA, the impact on the workers, and the vital importance of rank and file democracy to any future attempts to put the membership in the driver's seat.
Main sources for this series include: Reds or Rackets by Howard Kimeldorf, Strife on the Waterfront by Vernon Jensen, New York Longshoremen: Class and Power on the Docks by William Mello, and Mobsters, Unions, and Feds by James Jacobs. Clips from YouTube.
Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX
Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee
Sunday Sep 17, 2023
Sunday Sep 17, 2023
UAW Strike Support FAQ: https://labornotes.org/2023/09/when-auto-workers-stand-heres-how-stand-them
It's a monumental week for labor, but before we can get to the strike everyone is excited about, we've got a ton of stories to cover. First we discuss Starbucks Workers United's latest day of action. Next we discuss the successful union elections by VFX workers at Marvel and writers at MTV's Ridiculousness. Unfortunately, we have some stories of high profile scabs this week as Drew Barrymore and Bill Maher announced their intention to cross the WGA picket line. We could see a huge shift in college athletics, as this week the Dartmouth Men's Basketball team filed for union representation with the SEIU. Rail companies in the US continue to defy safety regulations as warned by the workers for years. Meanwhile, Korean rail workers launch a 4 day nationwide strike against privatization. And in the UK, the union movement announced plans to defy the new Tory anti-strike law. In addition to the autoworkers, over 1000 UAW members at Blue Cross Blue Shield also went on strike in Michigan this week. Finally, we discuss the launch of the UAW's "Stand Up Strike" against all of the Big 3 automakers at once. We discuss how the strike began, what this somewhat unique strike strategy hopes to maintain, and how workers everywhere can support the UAW workers as they fight for our entire class.
Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX
Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee
Thursday Sep 14, 2023
Thursday Sep 14, 2023
If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month.
Episode 6 - Things Fall Apart
Following the deal to allow unrestricted automation of longshore work in exchange for higher salaries and benefits, the ILA entered a period of a long decline. As containerization ate away at the number of jobs on the docks, the union was also encircled by another force, the FBI. The FBI's UNIRAC investigation into the ILA was its largest racketeering trial ever at the time. But by refusing to go after the core problem of a total lack of accountability of union leaders to membership, and instead going for a career-making trial of a few individuals, government prosecutors made little progress in their professed goal of "cleaning up the waterfront."
Main sources for this series include: Reds or Rackets by Howard Kimeldorf, Strife on the Waterfront by Vernon Jensen, New York Longshoremen: Class and Power on the Docks by William Mello, and Mobsters, Unions, and Feds by James Jacobs. Clips from YouTube.
Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX
Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee
Monday Sep 11, 2023
Monday Sep 11, 2023
It's deadline time for the negotiations between the Big 3 automakers and the UAW this week, our main story breaks down where things stand, what the companies have offered, and debunks some of the common anti-worker arguments rolled out against the UAW's demands. But before all that, we follow up with Grindr, where half of the company's staff have been forced out in retaliation for organizing. At Rutgers, a strike by nurses for safe staffing continues after a month of abuse from bosses. Starbucks announced this week they're closing the city of Vancouver's only unionized store. Cornell grad student workers are building off forcing Starbucks off their campus and forming a union of their own. Cracks have appeared in the unity of the bosses in the Writers and Actors strike, potentially showing an endgame. We also discuss the Naujawan Support Network's fight against wage theft and abuse of migrant workers in Ontario. Finally, we prepare for the strike at the Big 3 with our UAW update.
Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX
Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee
Thursday Sep 07, 2023
Thursday Sep 07, 2023
If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month.
Episode 5 - Automation and Attrition
Emerging from the 1950s having survived government crackdowns, receivership, and attempted raids by the AFL, the ILA was immediately confronted with a new existential threat: automation. The introduction of containerized cargo posed a greater threat to the profession of longshoring than any previously faced. Organizing on the Port of New York in the 1960s was dominated by the fight to keep the shipping companies from slashing the workforce to the bone. While the union still did not implement more democratic measures, the rank and file forced their voices to be heard loud and clear in some of the biggest strikes in the history of the US waterfront.
Main sources for this series include: Reds or Rackets by Howard Kimeldorf, Strife on the Waterfront by Vernon Jensen, New York Longshoremen: Class and Power on the Docks by William Mello, and Mobsters, Unions, and Feds by James Jacobs. Clips from YouTube.
Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX
Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee
Sunday Sep 03, 2023
Sunday Sep 03, 2023