Work Stoppage

Ep 299 - Stop The War, Stop ICE Terror!

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 11:27:16 -0300

The US war on Iran continues to create an emergency for the working class worldwide, and we start by discussing the need for workers to enter the struggle to end it. We've got headlines this week from LabCorp, Mercedes, JBS, Home Depot, DHL Express, Patagonia, Crumbs & Whiskers and The Holy Donut. For our first full story, we discuss the ongoing strike by teachers in Sacramento. Next, yet another story has come out revealing a new smart device's "AI" features are actually just poorly paid remote workers. Florida is taking yet another major step in its war on public unions. Finally, we discuss how workers continue to fight against Gestapo terror here in the belly of the beast.

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

Ep 298 - No War On Iran!

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 11:10:17 -0400

Texas IBEW Member Legal Fee Funds:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/bring-our-union-sister-home
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-Brian-IBEW-Brother

Our episode this week is a bit lighter on labor stories as the launch of yet another war by the US takes up most of our intro. When we do get back into the labor news we have headlines from Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, Texas IBEW, Twin Rivers USD, St John's University, Burger King, Panipat Refinery in India, and the nation of Mexico. The first of our two major stories this week is on an upcoming strike by contingent faculty at NYU who can barely afford to live while working at one of the country's most expensive universities. Finally, there has been yet another major strike launched by incarcerated workers in Alabama against prison slavery and the cruelty and inhumanity of the Alabama Department of Corrections.

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Ep 297 - An Irrational System

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 10:53:28 -0400

SWOC Hardship Fund: https://opencollective.com/student-workers-of-columbia

We start with headlines this week from Columbia University, Penn, Volkswagen, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Mission Hospital, and the nation of Argentina. For our first major story this week, we discuss recent reporting on South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang, which is mimicking not just Amazon's market share, but its worker abuses as well. Workers have been taking to the streets to fight the billionaire assault, but the AAUP has also been taking the billionaires to court, and they've been winning. Finally, we discuss the next stage of the fightback in Minneapolis, as unions and tenants have come together to organize what could be the largest rent strike in modern US history.

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Ep 296 - Struggle is a School

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 11:20:45 -0400

Our episode begins with some silliness, but we do get to labor headlines. We've got stories from Ubisoft, Taco Bell, Kaiser Permanente, Ford, Starbucks, and big protests in Argentina and India. The nurses strike in New York *almost* came to an end this week, but nurses at NY Presbyterian are staying out. San Francisco teachers won their first strike since 1979, we break down how last week went. Meatpacking workers with JBS are on the front lines of the joint struggle for immigrant workers specifically and the working class broadly and are ready to strike despite threats of deportation. Finally, we discuss how the class struggle in Minnesota has forced the government to back down, and why more action is needed to win the struggle against ICE terror.

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Sciopero Internazionale Ep 1 - CALP Dockworkers Are Sand in the Machine

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 10:55:51 -0400

In our newest series led by our Italian reporter Matteo we get to hear from a worker organizer, Romeo, of the Feb 6, 2026 international strike of Mediterranean dockworkers against war and for Palestine. CALP or the Autonomous Collective of Port Workers is a militant collective of workers who have had enough of the ruling imperialist class trying to force them into complicity with international crimes against humanity so they have become sand in the machine, shutting down weapons shipments coming through their ports.

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Ep 295 - May Day is Coming

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 11:12:44 -0400

We start with headlines from Waymo, Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco teachers, Los Angeles teachers, REI, Seven Stars Bakery, Starbucks, and the state of Nebraska. New York nurses have been on strike for over a month, we discuss the state of their strike and the possible deals announced on Monday. VW workers in Chattanooga won a historic victory for organizing in the South with their recent contract win, we break down the gains. Workers across Europe blocked ports for Palestine this week, even as Western governments and media outlets try to ignore it. Finally, we discuss the targeted attacks on workers organizers by ICE and the way students and rank and file union members are organizing to stop it.

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Ep 294 - A New Kind of Politics

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 11:08:41 -0400

Once again our main focus this week is the struggle against ICE's reign of terror. Beyond Minneapolis, the working class outrage at the crimes of DHS exploded into a nationwide shutdown. In our main story we discuss the implications of this growing movement for trade unionism and the broader struggle for working class political power. Before we get to that however, we start with headlines from CUNY, Ubisoft, Trader Joe's, PAME and Starbucks. Beyond the nationwide political struggle this week were two major stories we also wanted to cover. First we check in on the fight to preserve the gains of the last two decades by the working class in Bolivia. And we also check in on the largest *economic* strike in the country, as 31,000 healthcare workers walked out once again at Kaiser Permanente.

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Ep 293 - A Day of Truth and Freedom

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 11:21:38 -0400

The eyes of the nation have been on Minneapolis all week, and our main story this week is on Friday's general strike and the need to expand it. Before that, we start with headlines from the Louvre, Cayuga Medical Center, TikTok, Wafler Farms, and the AAUP. For our main regular labor stories, we start with a roundup of recent stories on attempts to replace workers with AI (and their failures). Spanish Amazon workers have been more successful than most in winning union recognition, and a recent piece in Truthout documents how they've done it. Just a few weeks into his term, new NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani has already started trying to leverage the power of city government for pro worker reforms. We close of course discussing the historic citywide general strike in Minneapolis and the critical importance of growing the movement against fascism across the entire country.

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UNLOCKED Overtime Episode 43 - The General Strike in US History Pt 3

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 10:02:04 -0400

In light of the Jan 23, 2026 Twin City general strike we are unlocking this episode so people can look at another general strike in Twin City history. We start this episode off in Toledo but in the second half we look at Minneapolis.

We're diving back into labor history with a return to our short series on the history of general strikes in the US. On this episode, we round out the strikes of 1934 by discussing the Toledo Auto-Lite and Minneapolis general strikes. The pitched battles fought by workers across the country terrified the ruling class into accepting some of the most pivotal labor reforms in US history. Fighting scabs, company thugs, police, and even the National Guard, workers with nothing to lose in the midst of the Great Depression struck back against their exploiters and won victories that echoed for decades. Organizing such massive endeavors is never easy or quick, but there are so many lessons we can take from our comrades of the past to help improve our efforts today.

Ep 292 - Strike Against ICE

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 11:40:39 -0400

Folks are rising up across the country outraged by ICE's reign of terror. Our main story is on the popular fightback in Minnesota, but first we have headlines from ArcelorMittal, Ford, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Portland State University, Blinkit, Barnes and Noble, and Kaiser Permanente. We follow up on last week's historic strike by 15,000 nurses in NYC. A recent piece in Dissent Magazine details the surge in the use of robots at Amazon and the harms born by workers. Also this week, we discuss the corrosive impact on working people of having a far right government using Nazi slogans in power.

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Ep 291 - ICE Off Our Streets

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 11:38:24 -0400

Our labor news is somewhat overshadowed this week by the horrific murder of Renee Good in Minneapolis and the subsequent eruption of popular outrage nationwide. When we do get to our headlines, we've got stories from North Carolina Public Schools, the National Institutes of Health, NYC Hospitals, Telluride Colorado, Starbucks, Half Price Books, and The Animation Guild. After finally losing the epic three year long strike with journalists, the owners of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announced plans to close the paper out of spite. The VA has been under attack since Trump came into office and a recent piece in the American Prospect reveals how the country's mental health system for veterans is being dismantled at the worst possible time. Finally, we discuss the response of organized labor to Renee Good's murder and the need for a nationwide movement to end ICE terror.

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Unlocked Interview: No Neutrals There by Jeff Schuhrke

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 11:37:29 -0400

Professor Schuhrke joins us once again to discuss his newest book No Neutrals There: US Labor, Zionism, and the Struggle for Palestine. We discuss the history of the Zionist project and how US labor leadership guided a huge amount of support for the settler colonial project, but also ways that the seeds of resistance in the imperial core were there as early as the Nakba. The book gives us a real view of the scope of what we are fighting against when it comes to the history of US labor support for Israel and provides hope in that the free Palestine movement has never been stronger than it is today. We have a long way to go to repair the harms done by people in the past but we know better than any other time in history that victory is possible.

Check out our previous interview with Jeff on his book Blue Collar Empire: https://www.patreon.com/posts/114816687

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Ep 290 - Stand With Venezuela

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 11:37:44 -0400

Lexington Community Relief Fund: https://www.lexfoundation.org/?give=59EKZZDK

Our first episode of the year and the US is already committing new insane war crimes. After a lengthy discussion of the recent attacks on Venezuela and the urgent need for US labor to materially oppose it, we start our regular labor news. We've got headlines from Tyson, Canada Post, Petrobras, the ECHL, Aramark, Seven Stars Bakery, and Chicago Public Schools. It wouldn't be another year in labor news if we didn't start with a story of yet more abuses by Amazon, this time against pregnant workers. We have an update on the strike by waste collectors in Birmingham over in the UK that has stretched on for nearly a year. Workers in Bolivia have launched a nationwide uprising against the right wing government's attacks on the poor. Finally, next week may see the first major strike of 2026 in the US, as thousands of nurses at a dozen hospitals in the NYC area are poised to walk out for safe staffing.

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2025 Year In Review

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 11:40:02 -0400

2025 was, to put it lightly, a pretty bad year. We've got our annual recap of the fights we've waged in the working class against the billionaire assault and a look to what may be coming up in 2026. From the fight to defend our immigrant neighbors to the defense of the very existence of higher education, workers across the US have been on the defensive from a full on attack from the ruling class. Whether through using AI as a form of labor discipline or shredding the collective bargaining rights of millions of workers, bosses have been aggressive in trying to crush our rights. But we've also seen a staunch defense of workers in the anti-genocide movement and millions of workers taking to the streets in general strikes in countries around the world. As bad as things got in 2025, there's a lot of reason to feel hopeful as we start 2026 looking to build a fightback that can overcome the class warfare of the Trump Regime.

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Interview: No Neutrals There by Jeff Schuhrke PREVIEW

Fri, 26 Dec 2025 11:21:06 -0400

To get access to the full interview, support us on Patreon @ http://patreon.com/workstoppage

Check out our previous interview with Jeff on his book Blue Collar Empire: https://www.patreon.com/posts/114816687

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

Ep 289 - Happy Holidays From The Picket Line

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 11:26:28 -0400

It's our last regular episode of 2025 and we've got a ton of labor news for you all. We start with headlines from Starbucks, Amazon, New Seasons Grocery, Sysco, the WNBA, the University of Maine, and the nations of Portugal, Bolivia, Mexico, and Brazil. Resident doctors in the UK have gone on strike again, this time with a Labour government in power that refuses to pay them. A recent Workday Magazine piece exposes Disney as a user of prison labor in Minnesota. New York City officials are actually standing up against corporate giants Amazon and UPS for once, following recent worker movements. Finally, we discuss the implications of the possible super merger between either Netflix or Paramount and Warner Brothers Discovery for workers in the entertainment industry.

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Ep 288 - Talkin' General Strike

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 11:30:52 -0400

With the world getting worse and worse, the cause of labor remains the hope of the world. With that in mind, we start with headlines from workers on another general strike in Italy, the nationwide Starbucks strike, nurses and Amazon drivers unionizing with the Teamsters, id software workers joining the CWA, and many more. AI is once again exposed as relying on the labor of low paid, highly exploited workers, this time at surveillance company Flock. The New School is the latest institution in higher education being actively dismantled by its administration, we discuss the student-faculty fightback. In These Times this week has an update on the fight by worker organizer Willian Giménez González against ICE attacks. Portuguese workers were the latest to launch a general strike this week, and we discuss the tactics and strategy that would be needed to actually pull one off here in the US.

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Ep 287 - Divest From Evil

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 12:16:43 -0400

2025 is winding down but the fight for workers rights never slows, we're back with another episode! This week's headlines include stories from Pakistan, Italy, the UK, Canada, France, Occupied Palestine, and Philadelphia. Several weeks ago, a massive anti-union purge was carried out by the management of Teen Vogue, we discuss the implications for our so-called "Free Press." Nurses are under attack not only from hospital admins, but the federal government which recently ended the classification of nurses as professionals, slashing availability of student loans. Teachers in Maryland are fighting not only for their students, but for the people of Palestine by launching a campaign to get the state government to divest their pension fund from Israel Bonds. Finally, we cover several recent articles on the ways that different groups of workers are coming together in cities across the country to organize resistance to ICE kidnappings and protect their neighbors.

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Ep 286 - Not In Our Name, Not With Our Work

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 11:51:55 -0400

Workers have been pummeled by an overload of customers on Black Friday, so there's a lot to catch up on as we enter the final month of 2025. We start with headlines covering Amazon, Highlander Charter School, Brown University, the University of Maryland, Columbia University, the UFW, National Park Workers, Campbell's, Uber and Lyft, and Leonardo S.p.A. Our main stories start by checking in on the nationwide Starbucks strike, that has now grown to 85 cities across the US. Workers have taken serious fire for standing up for truth and justice in many fields, we take a round up to see how workers are facing attacks on anti-genocide speech and for standing up to ICE. Finally, as neo-liberalism turns life for workers in the West into a waking nightmare, more and more are standing up, so we take a tour around major strikes launched or announced this week in Belgium, Portugal, India, Australia, and of course, Italy.

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Ep 285 - Labor Librarians

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 12:22:34 -0400

Long drive ahead of you this week? We've got your labor news ready to go! We start with a ton of headlines checking in with Starbucks, Amazon, Nestle, New Seasons Market, the University of Pennsylvania, Sharp Healthcare, and the nightmare that is the state of Florida. For our full stories this week, we start by checking in on union busting in a place even our jaded listeners might not expect: public libraries. Then we check in on developments with the strike by workers at Canada Post and discuss the ramifications of the end of their nationwide industrial action. Finally, the LA Times released an expose this week showing the stark levels of child exploitation in US agriculture, a scourge which is directly tied to the long history of superexploitation of migrants that US agribusiness fortunes are built on.

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Ep 284 - No Coffee 'Til Contract

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 11:55:24 -0400

It's another jam packed episode, once again workers are doing so much we struggled to cover it all! We start with headlines from the University of California, Portland State University, University of Chicago, Case New Holland, GM Canada, Walgreens, the ECHL, Kickstarter, and the United States Federal Government. Starbucks workers launched their largest strike ever this past week, we check in on the first pickets and the fight for a contract. The extremely long and hard fought strike by workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette finally came to a conclusion this week through legal action. Over 15,000 workers in Iran's oil sector went on strike recently for pay, benefits, and to preserve their country's sovereignty. Finally, we check in on the malfeasance of the Labour Party who under Keir Starmer are simultaneously attacking both Doctors and Teachers.

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Ep 283 - The Gales of November

Tue, 11 Nov 2025 13:32:04 -0400

Election day got all the coverage in the major media last week, but workers struggles don't stop so we've got our weekly roundup for you with all the news that got crowded out. We start with headlines from public workers in Memphis, students in Alberta, Teamsters in Philly, climbing gym workers in Minnesota, bartenders in Utah, and Iron Workers in Chicago. Our main stories start covering the impact on workers across the country by the government shutdown combined with the Trump Administration's attacks on the union movement. The VA has seen some of the harshest cuts, and we discuss the ripple effects this is having on veteran's healthcare. UC workers won a tentative agreement after threatening the largest strike in the university system's history, we discuss the organizing effort that made it happen. Finally, Starbucks workers have officially voted to authorize a massive nationwide strike, with the first rallies set to start this week.

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Ep 282 - "Notwithstanding" My Ass

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 11:49:33 -0400

We're back with another packed episode as John returns and people everywhere are talking about general strikes. First we start with headlines from Volkswagen, Breakthrough Beverages, Minneapolis Public Schools, Texas State University, Microsoft, Uber, and the FAA. The Trump Administration has rolled out another policy to attack workers, this time attacking our right to keep all our digits. A recent piece on On Labor raises the possibility of sectoral bargaining in higher education as a solution to intransigent administrators constantly undermining student workers. The UK hit a new low as a recent report shows that even when they rule companies are illegally refusing to pay workers, they don't even bother collecting their fines. The provincial government of Alberta is waging a scorched earth campaign to rob teachers of their right to strike, which may actually prompt a general strike across the province. Finally, we follow up with yet another report exposing that most of the companies claiming they're replacing workers with AI...aren't.

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Ep 281 - No NLRB? No Problem

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 11:48:42 -0300

We start with headlines from Starbucks, Amazon, MIT, Ohio University, Harvard, UPS, Fairfax County, Allina Healthcare and Tunisia. In a possible major shift, Saudi Arabia announced the end to their system of contract slave labor known as the Kafala system, we discuss how that may play out in reality. A recent piece from In These Times spoke with unionized workers at Reuters in British Columbia who are fighting their employer's collaboration with ICE. Over 100,000 workers launched a mass strike in New Zealand against austerity policies crushing the country's education and healthcare sectors. Finally, Capital and Main put out an excellent report this week on efforts by workers at dollar stores in Louisiana to organize for better pay and conditions outside the usual NLRB process, and how that might be replicated elsewhere.

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Ep 280 - Kaiser Clown Car

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 11:39:12 -0300

With millions of people taking to the streets this weekend, we've got a packed episode for you. We start with headlines from Republic Services, Blizzard Entertainment, Starbucks, Microsoft, the Royal College of Nursing, Tata, and the nation of Spain. Tens of thousands of workers just wrapped up a historic week long strike at Kaiser Permanente, we discuss their continued struggle. Peoples Dispatch reports on the fight by workers in the cotton industry of Benin against forced labor. Volkswagen is facing a potential fight, Labor Notes breaks down the organizing effort in Chattanooga. Air traffic controllers aren't getting paid due to the shutdown, and yet their union is advocating workers not to call in sick. Finally, more and more workers are standing up to ICE kidnapping their neighbors, we recount some of their latest efforts and tactics.

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The Working Class Has No Border Ep 9: Mexican Workers Organize The Factories (1920-1950) PREVIEW

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 11:40:28 -0300

If you're not a patron, subscribe at patreon.com/workstoppage to get full access to the episode.

For the final episode in our series, we finally discuss the struggle of Mexican workers in the factories of the southwest. We've covered farmworkers, miners, oil workers, and by the 1920s, more and more jobs began to open up for Mexican workers in more stable jobs in canneries and other factories. But just as with the extractive sectors, bosses used open racism to segregate their workforce and drive conditions down for everyone. We discuss the organization of railroad workers in Los Angeles, cannery and furniture factory workers across California, and the truly epic strike by pecan shellers in San Antonio that reshaped the industry. We close out our series summarizing the lessons we've learned throughout all these struggles, and how they can be applied to rebuild our labor movement into the fighting organization of the entire working class that this moment so desperately needs.

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Ep 279 - Frogs Against Fascism

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 11:45:23 -0300

The government may be shut down, but labor never stops, so neither do we. We open with some headlines at Mauser Packaging Solutions, Hilton Hotels, Canada Post, Microsoft, the nation of Greece, and the LA Times. Home healthcare workers in Michigan won a huge union victory this week, with tens of thousands winning union representation for the first time. Thousands of healthcare workers in California and Hawaii are gearing up for what may be the largest strike at Kaiser Permanente in history this week. The Trump Administration is using its own campaign of terror against farmworkers to justify lowering their wages. Finally, Chicago has become the epicenter of ICE's attack on the working class, and even the Pope is calling for labor unions to step up their defense.

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Ep 278 - Blocchiamo Tutto!

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 12:11:15 -0300

We've got some huge international strikes and check-ins on some long running campaigns this week. We start with headlines from Iowa hospitals, Cornell University, Incheon International Airport, New Zealand primary schools, Doordash, and Amazon. Our first main story we discuss a Labor Notes piece updating us on the ongoing effort to organize one of the country's biggest banks, Wells Fargo. After the illegal seizure of the Global Sumud Flotilla, Italian workers made good on their threats to launch a massive general strike. Workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette have been on strike for over 2 years, we discuss what's keeping them going after all this time and the importance of their struggle to a dire media landscape. Finally, a piece in the American Prospect from Sarah Lazare demonstrates clearly how the attacks on immigrants are attacks on all of us, and why the time is now for a unified fightback by organized labor.

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The Working Class Has No Border Ep 8: The Real Salt of the Earth PREVIEW

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 11:41:33 -0300

If you're not a patron, subscribe at patreon.com/workstoppage to get full access to the episode.

Even as the Mexican Revolution was winding down, the struggle for equal rights in their own country by Mexican miners and oil workers was still heating up. In the late 1910s and early 1920s, spurred by the forces of change in the revolution and the staunch internationalism of the IWW, Mexican miners launched some of their biggest strikes yet. Facing intransigent bosses, gunboat diplomacy by the US, and dealing with a bourgeois government dedicated to ensuring stability for investment, the challenges the miners faced were steep. But even decades of violent repression couldn't stop the struggle for a fair living by the workers facing some of the deadliest conditions in any industry. We close our survey of the struggles of Mexican miners on both sides of the border with the epic battle between Mine Mill Local 890 and Empire Zinc, a struggle so inspiring it was captured on film.

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Ep 277 - Defend the Post

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 12:08:17 -0300

No Contract, No Coffee Pledge: https://starbucksworkersunited.controlshift.app/petitions/no-contract-no-coffee-pledge-to-act-in-solidarity-with-starbucks-workers-united

We're back at full strength as John returns this week, and it was a busy one! We start with headlines from Microsoft, Apple, Volkswagen, Aricell, RISE, Northwell Health, Oklahoma Public Schools, Spirit Airlines, and Starbucks. In a wild story from friend of the show Claudia Irizarry Aponte at The City, managers at Brooklyn Defender Services tried to bribe workers to replace the UAW with a company union. We've got an update on the continuing mobilization of Italian workers in solidarity with Palestine, as dockworkers from around Europe pledge efforts to coordinate. Teamsters at the University of Minnesota brilliantly used their leverage to win the first strike in their history. Canada Post workers are on strike once again, this time as the Liberal government launches attempts to gut postal service nationwide. Finally, in the spirit of many recent worker uprisings, we check in on the struggle in Ecuador, where Indigenous-led movements are fighting IMF austerity.

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Ep 276 - Palestina Libera!

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 11:31:14 -0300

Support Palestinian Families: https://lifeline4gaza.com/

The news has been...a lot lately, but there have been a ton of labor stories that have been drowned out and we are here to bring them to you! We start with headlines from Texas State University, California Public Schools, Chicago day laborers, nurses at the VA, farm workers in upstate New York, Republic Services, and Netflix Animation. Workers across Europe have been in motion this week, and our first major story covers the fight against austerity by millions of French workers who have taken to the streets. We saw another extremely cynical union busting drive under religious justification, this one at Loyola Mormont University. Finally, we discuss the historic general strike by Italian workers that shut down the entire country in solidarity with Palestine and the Global Sumud Flotilla.

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The Working Class Has No Border Ep 7: Mexican Miners Power The Second Industrial Revolution PREVIEW

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 11:43:13 -0300

If you're not a patron, subscribe at patreon.com/workstoppage to get full access to the episode.

For the first of two episodes focusing on the struggle of miners in the Southwest, we discuss the critical role played by Mexican miners in the growth of the US electrical industry at the turn of the 20th century. As demand for copper exploded, the mines of Arizona and northern Mexico became incredibly valuable, and thus demand for labor soared. Mine owners used racial hierarchies and job segregation to split their workers against each other to prevent the power of solidarity from shutting down their isolated mining towns. Mexican miners organized in the thousands, but were often refused solidarity from the house of labor, whether the AFL or the Western Federation of Miners. We discuss the bloody struggles for fair wages and safe working conditions in the early 1900s, as Mexican miners were often forced to stand alone against the tyranny of the bosses and the state, waging heroic struggles and paying for every extra cent they earned with blood.

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Ep 275 - Fight Outside The Lines

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 12:00:57 -0300

We're down a host this week, but Dan and Lina press on to bring you the labor headlines. We've got stories from the CTU, Hyundai, Amazon, and Onatrio Public Colleges. For our first main story, it turns out not only is AI not intelligent, in order to be even slightly coherent, it relies on low paid human labor. Union busting law firm Littler Mendelson was exposed in an article in the American Prospect for advocating breaking labor law bosses don't like. Workers at Starbucks are continuing to devise new tactics to pressure the company to finally sign a union contract as membership has soared past 12,000. Finally, two articles this week from Jacobin and In These Times ask how labor can change tactics to respond to a crisis the NLRB process is not designed to solve.

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Ep 274 - We Can't Wait

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 11:49:51 -0300

It's back to school time so we start this week's headlines with a bunch of stories of teachers fighting for the learning conditions their students deserve all over the country, in primary, secondary, and higher education. We've also got headlines on rideshare drivers, healthcare workers, hotel workers, train drivers, and dockworkers. This week saw yet another new low for Columbia University admins, who are now trying to strip all grad workers of their right to unionize. ICE staged its largest workplace raid ever this week, abducting over 450 workers at a major Hyundai factory under construction in Georgia, halting the project and causing outrage in South Korea. The latest jobs numbers are out, so we close by taking some time to dig into the numbers showing that these racist attacks are hurting rather than helping US born workers, and leading to a recession.

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The Working Class Has No Border Ep 6: Fighting California Fascism PREVIEW

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 12:00:16 -0300

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In our sixth episode, and final episode of our subset on the struggle of farmworkers, we discuss the epic agricultural strikes of the 1930s. With farm wages slashed to starvation levels during the Great Depression, organization in the fields made the slogan "Fight, Don't Starve!" a reality. While the AFL continued to refuse to organize farmworkers, the Communist Party stepped into the gap and organized the largest agricultural strike wave in US history in 1933. In response, farm owners and their allies in the state unleashed truly fascist repression, attempting to drown these struggles in blood. But the perseverance of the workers and their dedication to racial and national unity managed to extract vital wins even in the depths of the worst economic downturn in the country's history. These struggles would terrify farm owners so much, they would lobby the state to create the country's first guest worker program, the Bracero Program, to institute a legalized regime of apartheid in the fields and try to prevent the racial unity that proved so powerful. These fights and the response from the capitalist class laid the foundations for the structures of exploitation and oppression faced by farmworkers today, and carry many lessons for those who would organize for a better future.

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Ep 273 - Labor Dabor

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 20:19:15 -0300

It's Labor Day! Which means we're working and hopefully you aren't, because the labor news needs reporting, but everyone else needs to be at a protest, picket line, and/or barbecue. We start with headlines from Northwestern University, Arena League Football, the Offshore Wind industry, Yosemite National Park, UPMC, Activision Blizzard, and Valleyview Municipal Library in Alberta, Canada. For our main stories we discuss the continued campaign of escalations by the incredible organizers with No Azure for Apartheid, fighting Microsoft's collaboration with genocide. Next we've got a story that couldn't be more emblematic of the purpose of the nationwide campaign of ICE terror, with union organizers in upstate New York being specifically targeted for deportation. Uber and Lyft drivers in California took a major step towards official unionization this week, but the deal that made that possible comes with quite a few asterisks. Finally, the UAW notched another major win in an extremely tight election at the BOSK EV battery plant in Glendale, Kentucky.

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Ep 272 - So Be It

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 11:58:12 -0300

We're back to full strength this week and have another jam packed episode for you! We start with headlines from workers at Microsoft, Uber, Amazon, Portuguese Airports, Kaiser Permanente, SpaceX, and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Then we've got a follow up on last week's landmark defiance of Canada's attempt to crush the Air Canada strike, with flight attendants winning big after standing their ground. Next we've got an update on the war on education, with stories from the University of Oregon, Columbia University, the AAUP, and public school teachers in Oklahoma. Continuing with our airport centered theme, we also have a maddening story of union busting by airport transportation contractor SkyHop, from a recent report by Amir Khafagy for Documented. Finally, after nearly four months, the workers at Butler Hospital in Providence, RI finally won their strike and ratified a new contract, we discuss what they won in the process.

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The Working Class Has No Border Ep 5: Farmworkers, The IWW, & Fighting Eugenics PREVIEW

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 12:00:31 -0300

If you're not a patron, subscribe at patreon.com/workstoppage to get full access to the episode.

In the fifth episode of our series on the class struggles on the US-Mexico border, we continue our deep dive into the history of the fight by farmworkers in the Southwest to demand fair wages, working conditions, and dignity. The 1920s were an area of ruling class dominance in the US, and along with their surging wealth, the ideology of eugenic "race science" was developed to justify the extreme inequality and exploitation of the oppressed. In this context, Mexican workers in the fields of California and the factories of the Midwest faced explicitly racist super exploitation by their bosses. In this episode, we discuss efforts by radical organizers in the IWW, the Communist Party, and Mexican mutualistas to combat this extreme racism and unify the fightback of all farmworkers, with many lessons for us to draw from in our fight against racist ICE terrorism today.

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Ep 271 - Air Workers Vs Canada

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 12:00:07 -0300

We've got a shorter episode this week as all the hosts are super busy, and John's away, but the labor news never stops! We start with a check-in on the war on working people being waged by ICE terrorists, including yet another worker murdered by one of their raids. We also check in on organizing at Starbucks, Instacart, Republic Services, and Activision Blizzard. We've got just two main stories this week, the first covering a recent deep dive by Luis Feliz Leon on the strike by Teamsters at Mauser Packaging Solutions in Chicago, where workers are fighting deadly working conditions and bosses who refuse to agree not to collaborate with ICE. Finally, Air Canada workers who have seen their wages slashed over the past two decades are standing up not only to their employer, but to the Liberal government trying to use the law to force them to end the strike.

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Ep 270 - They're Flooding the Zone

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 11:56:23 -0300

Student Workers of Columbia Petition: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSffy00B2Ns3ssleCKD8JIPdyav9vIIjFeydhfj2w86K1NfwYA/viewform

Its another supersized episode as we try our best to catch up to the unending cascade of news in the labor world. We start with headlines from PetSmart, Airgas, Italian dock and textile workers, the WNBA, Amazon, Raven Software, and Hormel. For our main stories, this week we really focus in on the attacks on public workers, starting across the pond with the ruthless austerity facing doctors at the NHS. Next we discuss Trump's move to tear up union contracts at the VA and EPA. We also dive into the attempt to roll back reforms won through the working class struggle in the 1960s and 70s, removing crucial regulations. Finally, we dive into the specific assault on teachers, where it comes from, and whether it's really as "populist" as our media would like us to believe.

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Ep 269 - Stand Together or Fall Alone

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 11:22:26 -0300

Warehouse Workers Against ICE Petition: https://form.jotform.com/251684939561066

Palestinian Trade Unions Statement: https://masarbadil.org/en/2025/07/6308/

No Azure for Apartheid Pledge: https://t.co/df0U2S9P26

We're back after our brief vacation! And so much has happened in the last two weeks! We've got a supersized headline section covering workers organizing at REI, Starbucks, FedEx, UPS, Airgas, Care New England, the Wonderful Company, Canada Post, and more. For our major stories, we start with a review of how university administrators are using the Trump Administration's attacks on higher education as cover to push forward attacks on student organizers. While many workers are coming together to fight ICE, a recent Labor Notes report documents how the leadership of some parts of the building trades are failing the most basic test of a union leader: solidarity. Workers at Fenway Park have gone on strike for the first time after contracting giant Aramark refuses to pay them enough to live in one of the most expensive parts of the country. Finally, we discuss the state of ICE's attacks on the US working class and how more and more Americans are realizing the shared interests we have with our immigrant siblings.

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The Working Class Has No Border Ep 4: Farmworkers Fight To Survive PREVIEW

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 11:57:42 -0300

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In the fourth episode of our series on the class struggles on the US-Mexico border, we begin a three part section on the history of struggle by Mexican farmworkers in the fields of the Southwest. At the turn of the 20th century, the center of gravity of US agricultural production shifted to California, and the demand for labor soared. This era was dominated by attempts by large landowners to split up their workforce by race, and use demonization and discrimination to keep workers from organizing and keep wages low. But while organizing has always been difficult, workers have never accepted brutal exploitation without fighting back. In this episode, we discuss efforts like the Japanese-Mexican Labor Association, the Renters Union, and Las Gorras Blancas to organize and fight against racist oppression in the first two decades of the 20th century.

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Ep 268 - Community Is Our Strength

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 11:37:30 -0300

Warehouse Workers Against ICE Petition: https://form.jotform.com/251684939561066

Petition Supporting Columbia Students: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/1d7c3280b87eb84ead62ae8750dbe02c6edfbfd4/?hash=ee7d69beeb2f8db225aa3325fd24f306

Big episode this week as the billionaire assault on workers rights isn't slowing down, nor are efforts to organize against it. We start with updates on workers at Lowe's, Costco, Amazon, Wells Fargo, Republic Services, Airgas, GM, and Newark Airport. Waste management workers aren't just fighting for a fair wage in the US, in Birmingham in the UK they've been on a series of strikes since March. We've got several stories this week of how educators are organizing against attacks on anti-genocide speech. The AAUP are fighting against the McCarthyite attacks in court, Rank and File members of the NEA are fighting to get the ADL's anti-Palestinian materials out of schools, and student workers at CUNY and University of Michigan are fighting to keep speech alive on their campuses. Finally, we check in on some of the impacts of ICE's reign of terror around the country, and the ways workers are coming up with new tactics of community resistance.

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The Working Class Has No Border Ep 3: From Revolution to Repression PREVIEW

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 12:14:04 -0300

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In this third episode of our series on the class struggles on the US-Mexico border, we finish our high level overview of the political class struggle on the border from the end of the Mexican Revolution to the end of World War 2. With the consolidation of the Revolution in a liberal direction, we will discuss the attempts of workers to capitalize on their gains, and the Mexican state to control and contain their struggles. We cover the rise of nativist racism in the leadership of US trade unions and its counterproductive attacks on immigrant workers, as well as the efforts by radicals in the Communist and Socialist parties to change this and build true classwide unity. The Great Depression forced millions on both sides of the border to fight or starve and this period saw some of the greatest victories of mass working class industrial action. But without the consolidation of an independent political movement, the limitations of these efforts would become all too clear.

In the next sections of our series, we will focus in on the specifics of the labor struggles waged by workers in the fields, mines, and factories. We'll discuss the long history of attempts at multi-national unity in the labor struggle and both the successes and failures of the labor movement to rise to the challenge.

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Ep 267 - ICE Are Murderers

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 11:44:05 -0300

Headlines this week from South Korea, Paris, Greece, Washington, Oregon, Chicago, New York, and Maine, including follow ups on the big Philly public worker strike, the lockout at Butler Hospital in Providence, and the ever expanding strike at Republic Services. Our main story this week is the war on the working class being unleashed against immigrants across the country, including a militarized terror raid at a farm in California where ICE murdered one worker and arrested 200. A recent report from The Guardian documents how Amazon is using AI to automate discrimination against disabled workers. Finally, the workers and farmers movement in India once again held a truly massive strike, with 250 million people hitting the streets last week.

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Ep 266 - What Are We Willing to Do About It?

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 11:59:10 -0300

We start this week with some headlines including victories at Safeway, King Soopers, Tyson, Sharp Healthcare, as well as workers standing up to ICE all over the country. Another major struggle by farmers in India against attacks on their livelihood that could draw 10s of millions this week. Municipal workers in Philadelphia have been on strike over a week and the mile high stacks of trash are showing just how vital these folks are. The right wing assault on universities continues to escalate, and many administrators are using it for cover for attacks on workers they've wanted all along. Finally, we cover a roundup of ways that the Trump Administration is rolling back even more of the very few labor protections any of us have.

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The Working Class Has No Border Ep 2: Workers Shape The Revolution PREVIEW

Thu, 03 Jul 2025 11:48:06 -0300

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In this second episode of our series on the class struggles on the US-Mexico border, we explore the working class movements that helped shape the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920). Over the decade long revolutionary period, Mexican workers and peasants fought to establish rights that had been held back by the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz. Through the PLM, the IWW, the COM, and various peasant organizations, the working classes organized and fought in unprecedented numbers. The different bourgeois forces vying to replace Diaz and consolidate the state under their power sought the support of workers, as their organized strength repeatedly swung the balance of power from one group to another. We discuss the gains, losses, and occasional inspiring revolutionary victories of the Mexican working classes, and how these carry lessons for our struggles today.

In future episodes, we'll discuss the consolidation of the control of the Mexican labor movement under the state, the surge in migration to the North, the fight against racist nativism, and the struggles of workers on both sides of the border during the Great Depression.

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Ep 265 - Sick of ICE!

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 11:54:38 -0300

Find a Sick of ICE! Event Near You: https://sickofice.org/

We start this week's headlines with follow-ups on workers at Safeway, Chiquita and Cisco, several new struggles being waged by the Teamsters, and South Korea's new train driving Minister of Labor. We've also got new possible strikes by healthcare workers in Rhode Island and municipal workers in Philly. Our first main story covers a sweeping new labor code in Colombia passed after a nationwide working class mass mobilization. Next we discuss a recent piece in the New Republic documenting the ways UPS is functionally breaking the landmark 2023 contract and workers are literally dying because of it. Finally, we close with a round up of updates on the Trump Administration's war on workers, and new ways workers are fighting back.

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Ep 264 - No War But Class War

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 12:03:22 -0300

Workers Against Ice Petition:

Oakland Children's Hospital Strike Fund:

After a brief detour discussing the necessity for labor to unite against the US-Israeli war on Iran, we dive into our regular labor headlines. This week we've got followups with striking grocery workers, beverage distribution workers, tabletop game store employees, teachers, and farmworkers. Our first story returns to one of the more horrific forms of labor in this country, prison slavery, as incarcerated workers in Alabama fight to just have the state follow its own laws. Next, gig workers in India are facing dystopian new conditions of ten minute worker deliveries. Research assistants at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are on the verge of forming one of the largest single campus grad unions in the country. Finally, healthcare workers at Oakland Children's Hospital are on strike after their employers in the UC system are proposing to slash their benefits.

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The Working Class Has No Border Ep 1: Pre-Revolutionary Foundations PREVIEW

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 11:42:16 -0300

If you're not a patron, subscribe at patreon.com/workstoppage to get full access to the episode.

As migrant workers across the US face an onslaught of racist state terrorism from ICE and other federal agencies, solidarity from the labor movement is more critical than ever. One of the most powerful tools of repression that the bosses have is using racist dehumanization to split workers against each other across national lines. So now more than ever, it's critical that American workers understand that these migrant workers are our brothers and sisters, and that only by uniting with them can we advance our class interests. For as long as there has been a border between the US and Mexico, workers on both sides have only ever won their struggles against oppression through unity, rather than division. In this series, using the incredible book Radicals in the Barrio by Professor Justin Akers Chacon as our core guide, we will discuss the history of shared working class struggles by Mexican and Mexican American workers on both sides of the border from the Mexican-American War to the Cold War.

In this first episode, we will begin by laying the groundwork for the politics of the Mexican Revolution, looking back through the history of colonization, independence, war with the United States, and relations with US Imperialism. In future episodes, we'll discuss the role of the working class in the Mexican Revolution, how these revolutionaries brought their ideas north across the border and influenced struggles in the US, and how multi-national unity has been critical to any labor victories won in the Southwest for over 150 years.

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Ep 263 - Fight for Farmworkers

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 12:00:56 -0300

This week's headlines include stories from workers at Safeway, Fenway Park, the Louvre, Johns Hopkins, Butler Hospital, and the video game industry. For our first story, we discuss a recent report in Truthout on the massive wins made by mental health workers at Kaiser Permanente after their epic strike. Panamanian workers have continued to fight against attacks on their rights and social security, as their government turns to legal repression. Universities across the country have gone to extreme lengths to suppress Palestine protests, this week we discuss an expose of dystopian (and sloppy) surveillance at the University of Michigan. Canada Post workers are once again at a crossroads between an intransigent government and the possibility of another strike. Finally, we check in on the growing coalition in the labor movement and the broader working class to organize against ICE terrorism.

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Ep 262 - Chinga La Migra!

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 12:05:29 -0300

Big episode this week as Trump's war on workers has taken an extremely literal turn. First we've got headlines from Providence, Western Washington, Genoa, Argentina, and Ecuador. Doctors continue to unionize in record numbers, and this week we cover two recent victories. The Washington DC City Council jettisoned democracy to attack tipped workers this week, halting an already approved wage increase at the behest of restaurant owners. Over 150,000 grocery workers with the UFCW and Teamsters are gearing up for what could be the biggest grocery strikes in years. Finally, we discuss the powerful uprising by the working people of Los Angeles in response to raids by the ICE terrorist organization against migrant workers, the false imprisonment of SEIU California's president, and the necessity for unified action to end these brutal attacks on our communities.

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Ep 261 - Mismanagement Disguised as Innovation

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 12:33:23 -0300

We start with some check-ins Starbucks' war on workers, the fight by workers at Butler Hospital, and the continuing cruel attacks on workers by the Trump Administration. We've also got headlines this week from Duke, Western Washington University, Sutphen Corp, Golden Gate Nursing Home, and UPMC. Canadian port workers in British Columbia are fighting attempts to replace their jobs with robots. Farm workers in New York are fighting the brazen refusal of farm owners to abide by their legal contract. A recent piece in Labor Notes reports on efforts by both the SEIU and the Machinists to return their union siblings home after being abducted by ICE. Finally, video game workers have been organizing in bigger numbers every year, and this week saw workers at Zenimax reach a new milestone with a first contract.

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Ep 260 - Beyond the Board

Tue, 27 May 2025 11:58:51 -0300

We start this week with headlines on organizing in healthcare, logistics, airlines, construction, software development, video games, and trading cards. We did a deeper dive on a set of stories from Canada last week, this week we have three big stories from workers and farmers in India fighting against neoliberal exploitation. The next major step forward for Mexico's young independent labor movement may be coming up, as Labor Notes reports on efforts to bring new union SINTTIA to a second major plant from GM. The Supreme Court took a major step towards dismantling the NLRA and the entire post-Depression regime of contractual collective bargaining this week, and unions will need to shift tactics to respond. Finally, we discuss how the 4 day workweek is going in Iceland.

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Ep 259 - Rail Strikes Work!

Tue, 20 May 2025 12:01:09 -0300

We've got a Canada-centric set of headlines as the temporarily halted Canada Post strike may resume, port workers returned from a two year plus long lockout, and Alberta public workers are ready to strike if necessary. Warehouse workers in Manhattan are organizing against awful conditions and facing brazen bribery by their employers, Labor Notes reports this week. We also discuss a recent report on conditions of superxploitation faced by Cambodia workers making shoes for Nike. Starbucks workers struck nationwide against new harsh restrictions on the company's dress code and their continued refusal to agree to a contract. Finally, we actually got an honest to goodness rail strike this weekend, we discuss the causes and the swift wins made by the use of industrial action.

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Ep 258 - Make Them Hear You

Tue, 13 May 2025 12:05:45 -0300

On the Line Stacy Davis Gates Interview: https://www.laborontheline.org/p/episode-26-reconstructing-chicago

Headlines this week from Norway, Panama, San Francisco, Chicago, Florida, and Colorado. A recent piece in Truthout spoke with Amazon workers in Italy, some of the few to actually force the company into a contract. Charter schools exist partly as an attack on teachers unions, but teachers at the Paul Cuffee Charter School in Providence, RI are unionizing to secure the conditions their students need. We also cover a roundup of the impacts of the billionaire agenda from the Trump Administration on the working class. The Louisville Courier-Journal recently investigated continued safety problems at Ford's BOSK battery plant workers have been pointing out for months. Finally, California mental health workers reached an agreement to end the nearly 9 month long strike at Kaiser Permanente.

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Ep 257 - International Workers Day 2025

Tue, 06 May 2025 12:01:22 -0300

On the Line Jimmy Williams Interview: https://www.laborontheline.org/p/episode-25-jimmy-williams-jr-labors

Happy May Day everyone! We start with headlines from Starbucks, Amazon, UPS, Duolingo, and the NHS. Next we discuss the sudden dissolution of the UAW's long standing reform caucus, the UAWD. A report from the American Prospect this week details the attacks on workers at the VA from inside testimony. Hotel workers in Buffalo are fighting back against illegal firings and racist retaliation in their struggle for a union. This week also saw May Day, and we discuss the history of International Workers Day and some of the many events held to commemorate it and continue the struggle around the world. Finally, public workers in LA organized with the SEIU held a massive two day strike this week in their fight to afford the soaring cost of living.

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Ep 256 - The Cows Don't Milk Themselves

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 11:43:58 -0300

Migrant Justice Petition: https://migrantjustice.net/node/556

Headlines this week from PetSmart, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Wellesley College, Kroger, and the Port of Casablanca. We discuss a piece this week from The American Prospect on the rampant abuse of independent contractor labels in the construction industry. Also this week, attacks on immigrant workers continued to escalate with 8 dairy workers arrested in Vermont. Trump's tariffs continue to wreak havoc on workers, with many manufacturers cutting, rather than increasing jobs. Finally, we check in with Starbucks Workers United, where workers have taken to direct action as the company continues to refuse to offer a fair contract after three years.

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Ep 255 - Fighting Unions, Not Friendly Unions

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 12:00:53 -0300

Headlines this week from New Bedford, Seattle, Utah, Chicago, and Missouri. A recent piece from Amir Khafagy reveals the criminal underfunding of one of the few institutions of New York City government actually intended to help working people. The Trump and Musk assault on the NLRB continued this week with attacks on NLRB precedent, theft of sensitive NLRB data, and increasing numbers of workers calling for unity in the fightback. Zenimax workers are standing up and preparing for one of the first strikes in the video game industry's history. Finally, workers with independent Mexican union SINTTIA have once again won major gains through militant action, raising standards for autoworkers across the country.

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Ep 254 - Bring Them All Home

Tue, 15 Apr 2025 12:08:25 -0300

Eventually, some day, we may get back to shorter episodes. Today is not that day. We start with headlines from Amazon, Microsoft, Simmons and Wellesley Universities, and the Supreme Court. For our first main story we dive into the union led protests against attacks on research funding by Trump and the billionaires. Next we dive into Shawn Fain's recent Facebook Live event discussing UAW policy on tariffs and trade, and how that affects workers outside the US. Finally, we close out with the fight against deportations and abductions that is going to need to continue to accelerate.

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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/

Ep 253 - Hands Off Palestine!

Tue, 08 Apr 2025 12:15:49 -0300

It was a major week of protest against the billionaire assault on the working class, but not without contradictions. We start with headlines from Detroit, Chicago, California, Oregon, and Chile. Next we discuss a recent piece by friend of the show Claudia Irizarry Aponte on the surge of exploitative payday loan apps in New York City and across the country. Next we discuss Trump's gigantic tariff announcement and how it's already hurting the working class both here in the US and abroad. Also this week, RFK Jr ramped up massive layoffs at HHS, threatening the health of everyone in the country. Finally, we discuss the intersection of the war on workers and the war on Palestine, as thousands marched on Washington both to demand an end to the genocide and to demand and end to attacks on social programs.

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Unlocked Interview: Make Your Own Job by Erik Baker

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 11:39:12 -0300

We were very excited to be joined this week for a special interview episode by Dr. Erik Baker, lecturer at Harvard University and author of the great new book, Make Your Own Job: How the Entrepreneurial Work Ethic Exhausted America. The book is a fascinating intellectual history of how the concept of "entrepreneurialism" came to dominate ruling class narratives about the economy. This ideology of the individual business owner charting their own course, being their own boss, and "making their own job" has also had deep impacts on the labor movement through mechanisms such as independent contracting. So it was wonderful to get a chance to discuss this history, how it has impacted the union struggle, and how we see it manifesting today!

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

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

Ep 252 - PATCO On Steroids

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 12:55:23 -0300

Our episode this week is one big call to action. Trump and the billionaires are trying to shred the collective bargaining rights of every worker in America and it requires the labor movement to rise to the occasion. In addition to the attack on federal workers rights, we discuss the intertwined simultaneous assault on immigrant workers and students fighting genocide. We've also got another update from official NALC Correspondent Cea Moline on both the state of the NALC contract and the fight against privatization.

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Ep 251 - Fight Like Hell!

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 12:23:44 -0300

For Labor, Caution is Fatal - https://inthesetimes.com/article/trump-musk-labor-take-risks

The worker fightback grows stronger every week. We start our headlines with the fight for the right to protest genocide at Columbia, UCLA, and around the country. We've also got headlines at Northwestern University, REI, Hawaiian Airlines, Amazon, and Iowa egg producers. Mexican trolleybus workers are fighting to make the century old system a safe place to work. Tennessee gig drivers are fighting algorithmic attacks with collective action. The CWA have launched a new industrial union in video games for all to join. And of course we've got our weekly roundup of the attacks from the Trump-Musk administration.

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Interview Preview: Make Your Own Job by Erik Baker

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 14:49:50 -0300

If you're not a patron, you can get full access to this episode by supporting us at patreon.com/workstoppage.

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

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

Ep 250 - Halfway to Halfway to 1000!

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 11:34:01 -0300

We've got another supersized episode this week! We start with headlines from Japan, Chile, Chicago, Chattanooga, Missouri, Rhode Island, and San Jose. For our first store we discuss the fight by Indian tech workers to have a right to time outside of work. Next, a recent report from IGN reveals how video game companies are working to cut actors out of the business with AI. The war on student workers escalated again this week as Columbia works with the Trump Administration to attack anti-genocide speech. Finally, we close with a roundup on the attacks on federal workers, attempts to shut the Department of Education and gut the Department of Labor, and the growing fight back against the gutting of the government.

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

Ep 249 - Free Mahmoud Khalil

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 11:46:44 -0300

We start this week with a call to action as the American Gestapo are attempting to deport a student for protesting against genocide. Our headlines section this week includes the Oscars, Long Island power plant workers, a first contract for battery plant workers, and Sesame Street. The fight for a contract with VW is heating up, and workers at a parts distribution warehouse in New Jersey are joining the fight. We've got a Canadian double header this week, as thousands of education workers strike in Alberta while picketers in Waterloo face violence on the picket line. Workers at REI are taking the fight for a union to the company's board elections. Finally, we do our best to cover the whirlwind of attacks on government workers from the Trump-Musk Administration.

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Movie Time 9 Preview - Zwigato

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 12:19:23 -0400

If you're not a patron, you can get full access to this episode by supporting us at patreon.com/workstoppage.

After a long hiatus we are back with another Movie Time episode covering another excellent piece of Labor Cinema. This week we discuss the 2023 Indian film, Zwigato, about the crushing burden faced by workers in the modern gig economy. Though this is a rare one film episode of Movie Time, this film covers so many aspects of what it means to be working class in the 21st century that we couldn't possibly have covered a second film in the same time. Zwigato is one of the best pieces of working class film to come out in years, and it was a great discussion breaking down its insights into working class struggle and the oppressive systems crushing our lives.

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

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Ep 248 - General Strike Yes, Aimless Boycott No

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 11:42:46 -0400

We have another transit heavy episode this week. First we start with our headlines including Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants, East Coast Dockworkers, Maine DOT workers, and Italian transit workers. In our main stories we start with this week's strike by 60,000 healthcare workers at the University of California. Next, we discuss this past Friday's massive one day general strike by workers in all sectors across Greece. Attacks on trans folks have hit a fever pitch, we discuss how healthcare workers across the country are standing up for trans rights. The mass firing of federal workers continued this week, as did the early stages of a fightback. Finally, we discuss the continued efforts by workers at Delta, both on board and on the ground, to finally unionize.

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Ep 247 - r/IllegalWorkStoppages

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 12:26:43 -0400

The fightback against the Trump administration's war on the federal workforce continued to build this week, and the entire labor movement will need unity to overcome the billionaire's assault. We start with follow ups covering restaurant workers in DC, healthcare workers in Oregon and grocery workers in Colorado. Also this week, headlines from Finland, Cameroon, and Chattanooga. While most of the labor movement was working this week to fight Trump's agenda, Sean O'Brien of the Teamsters was working to support it; we discuss the endorsement of Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-Deremer. Meanwhile, researchers, air traffic controllers, postal workers, and thousands of others came together on different fronts this week to fight the assault on public workers. Finally, we end with the victorious struggle by teachers at a charter school in LA to win fair wages and protect their jobs.

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

Ep 246 - Mao Was Right

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 11:37:31 -0400

UFCW Solidarity Pledge: https://www.ew4d.org/blog/solidarity-pledge

We start this week's episode with headlines on UnitedHealthcare, Starbucks Workers United, the SEIU, pension fights in Panama and Belgium, and port workers in Kenya. 10,000 workers in UFCW Local 7 in Colorado remain on strike at King Soopers against attempts to gut their retirement benefits. 20,000 workers at the University of California prepare to strike for fair pay later this month. The fight to organize Amazon continues, even after this week's disappointing election loss in North Carolina. We do our best to keep up with the flurry of attacks on federal workers and the organized fight back against them. Finally, workers are responding to massive layoffs at Alamo Drafthouse with strikes.

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

Ep 245 - Striking Is Our Hammer

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:15:17 -0400

Louisiana Nurses Strike Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/donate-to-the-nurses-strike-fund

Another whirlwind week of attacks on workers rights and the fightback from the labor movement. In our headlines we check in on the Oregon Nurses Association, the UFW, Student Workers of Columbia, the Professional Staff Congress, and more workers across the country and the world. 10,000 workers at King Soopers in Colorado are on strike, we discuss the first week of UFCW Local 7's fight for a fair contract. Nurses in New Orleans used the spotlight on the city for the Super Bowl to highlight their struggle for safe staffing. Workers in National Nurses United, the UE, AAUP, SPFE and many other unions across the country are fighting back against the twin assaults on our trans siblings and our immigrant co-workers, we discuss some of their first steps. Finally, the AFGE, AFSCME, and the AFL-CIO at large are leading the fight against Elon Musk's attempts to purge and loot the federal government.

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

Ep 244 - Everything Happens So Much

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 12:02:41 -0400

We're still drinking from the firehose of labor news this week with another massive episode. We start with some headlines on AI in healthcare, a class action lawsuit against Apple, and follow ups with DC restaurant workers, Indian Samsung workers, and Teamsters at CostCo. In our first main story we check in on the imminent union vote at the RDU1 Amazon warehouse in Garner, NC. Workers are fighting back against the billionaire's assault on workers both at the federal and the local level, we run down some of the efforts. Once again we were so lucky to be joined by C Moline to discuss the recent rejection of the proposed contract by Letter Carriers around the country. Finally, we close celebrating the major victory by workers at Whole Foods in Philadelphia, who won the first union at the company with the UFCW.

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

Ep 243 - Opposing CompanyCo

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 12:26:08 -0400

Petition Supporting Monterey Bay Aquarium Workers: https://mbaworkersunited.org/community-letter-support

We have a supersized episode this week, with so much going on we could barely cover everything. We start with an extended headline segment covering developments in Palestine, Canada, Pakistan, Las Vegas, Milwaukee, Chicago, and Monterey Bay. We were also lucky this week to be joined for a short interview with Claudia Irizarry Aponte, investigative journalist for The City, to discuss her recent investigation of unions in the home health care industry in NYC. Trump started his second turn with a flurry of attacks on workers, we discuss some of the ways unions like AFGE and the CTU are fighting back. We discuss an unusual area for us this week, fine dining, as workers at 5 of the swankiest restaurants in Washington DC are unionizing. Amazon went scorched earth on Canadian workers this week, shuttering its entire operations in Quebec rather than bargain with its workers. Finally, despite its friendly reputation, Costco is playing hardball at the bargaining table, which may force 18,000 Teamsters to strike this week!

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

Ep 242 - El Pueblo Unido

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 12:26:53 -0400

Know Your Rights Toolkit: https://assets.nationbuilder.com/arisechicago/pages/2726/attachments/original/1735833065/Toolkit_immigrant_workers_-_digital_EN.pdf
Alamo Drafthouse Worker Support Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/mutual-fund-for-laid-off-alamo-drafthouse-employees
ILWU Los Angeles Wildfire Relief Fund: https://checkout.square.site/merchant/6RSQCXFP2D8CP/checkout/EBJ3K7AK2WR2SCPQUAHP2DUB

Trump's back, which means its time to ramp up the fight back against attacks on our fellow workers. After our headlines, we discuss how the government of the Bahamas used legal repression to crush a planned two day nationwide strike before it happened. Then we discuss a recent exposé in The City by friend of the show Claudia Irizarry Aponte on a "union" for home health workers that does more for the bosses than for its members. Also this week, we've got two stories on wage theft, union busting, and retaliation by Geo Group against immigrants detained in its privately operated concentration camps. Finally, we discuss a recent Labor Notes piece sharing the lessons from union struggles to defend immigrant workers across the country and how our unions can defend our fellow workers.

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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/

Ep 241 - Chariots of Fire

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 12:57:18 -0400

We're fully into the new year and bosses are doing all sorts of new horrors. We start with updates from the UFW, the Utah Ski Patrol, CIR-SEIU, NYU, and Amazon. In our first major story, the ILA have reached an agreement on a new deal just a week ahead of a new shutdown of East Coast ports. Next, in a major shift in the labor landscape, the SEIU have rejoined the AFL-CIO after 20 years independent. As fires ravaged Los Angeles this week, companies sent their workers into the smoke with no regard for human life. Thousands of doctors, nurses, and other caregivers have hit the picket lines in Oregon's largest healthcare strike ever. Finally, the UAW have filed for another massive union vote in the South this week, this time to represent battery plant workers in Kentucky at BlueOval SK.

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

Ep 240 - An Avalanche of Struggle

Tue, 07 Jan 2025 12:31:26 -0400

It's our first episode of the new year, so let's ring it in with some class struggle! We start with some headlines on workers at Amazon, Starbucks, Milk-Bone, VW, Hilton Hotels, and the University of Southern California. For our first full story we discuss a recent investigation by The Guardian into the appalling conditions faced by the migrant workers who produce Champagne. Next, ski patrol workers in Park City, Utah are on strike at the country's biggest resort company. Mental health workers at Kaiser Permanente have been on strike since October, the latest group of workers fighting criminal understaffing in the US healthcare system. Speaking of nurses, we discuss recent analysis by People's Dispatch on the way imperialism forces many nurses in Brazil to migrate to the West. Finally, we discuss reports of a potential neutrality agreement between the UAW and Rivian.

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Special Episode - 2024 Year In Review

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 12:23:40 -0400

Its our final show of the year, and we take a look back on the major union victories, industrial actions, and trends in labor that characterized 2024. Millions of workers took to the streets in opposition to the US-Israeli genocide in Palestine, which looks to shape labor relations on campus in 2025. Worker organizing has surged since 2020, and we look back on all the violence unleashed by the supposedly democratic West against worker mobilization this year. Perhaps no single business is as emblematic of the modern US economy as Amazon, and this year the Teamsters unified the struggle to organize workers there and took it to the next level. As our society becomes more and more unequal, more workers who used to be self-employed professionals: doctors, lawyers, and highly compensated tech workers, have been forced to organize. This year also saw a new level of corporate attacks on the NLRB, portending a major struggle over workers rights in the second Trump Administration. Finally, it wouldn't be a year end show without some predictions, so we take a stab at our thoughts on the year to come.

Happy New Year!

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Ep 239 - Merry Strikemas!

Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:25:50 -0400

OKC Starbucks Strike Fund: https://x.com/okcsbxunited/status/1870138429184348290?s=46

One of the last weeks of the year has turned out to be one of the biggest weeks for labor too! Workers across the country at hotels, grocery co-ops, ski shops, and mushroom farms are fighting back this week as we discuss in our headlines. Next, our first main story covers the way gig work models are degrading healthcare and turning nursing into a nightmare. Workers at a critical lab that tests for bird flu in California are sounding the alarm on critically low staffing and unsustainable working conditions. The Teamsters launched the largest strike in Amazon's history this week, with pickets around the country and major walkouts at over half a dozen facilities. Starbucks workers also initiated a nationwide strike, hoping to force the company to finally agree to a fair contract. Finally, we close out discussing the longest strike by workers in Las Vegas' Culinary Union in nearly 25 years.

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Ep 238 - No Contract, No Work

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 13:12:36 -0400

Amazon Teamster Strike Fund: https://www.amazonlaborunion.org/strike-fundraising
Amazon Teamster Support Petition: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/demand-amazon-come-to-the-bargaining-table-2/

We start with some quick headlines from South Korea, The Netherlands, Canada, Mexico, and Colorado Springs. For our first main story we discuss the devastation created by this year's hurricanes and how workers are banding together to help folks survive. Next we head to Australia where workers at Woolworths recently won a strike against control of their lives by algorithms. The Canadian government stepped in once again this week to crush workers, this time forcing a halt to the Canada Post strike. We've got another update on the efforts by workers to fight against complicity in genocide, and the repression hurled at them by university administrations. Finally, in a major announcement, the Teamsters are done waiting around at Amazon and are ready to strike if the company doesn't come to the table.

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Ep 237 - Exploitation Superstore

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 12:20:17 -0400

After an opening discussion of the powerful response of the South Korean people and their labor movement to last week's attempted coup, we dive into out headlines. We've got updates on the organizing drive by Boston doctors, Amazon Teamsters, workers at the Noguchi Museum, and the jackass owners of Bigfoot Beverages. The Teamsters blasted Costco this week for its ramped up union busting during ongoing contract negotiations. VW workers in Germany are in the midst of a historic series of warning strikes that could greatly expand in the coming year. An auto parts company in NY is facing a class action lawsuit for superexploiting their immigrant workforce. New York is facing a lawsuit itself for enabling systematic wage theft of home health workers. Finally, we discuss the proposed "4 day workweek" being tested in Japan.

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Unlocked Interview: Build a Fighting NALC

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 12:29:53 -0400

We are joined by C Moline a coordinating committee member of Build a Fighting NALC to talk about the many issues with the current TA that was presented to city postal workers by NALC national. We also go over working conditions for postal workers, international solidarity, and what the near future for NALC members looks like. From the 'Vote No' campaign to rallies in the streets, workers are organizing in the face of it being illegal for them to strike.

C Moline and others speaking in solidarity with Palestinian workers: https://www.youtube.com/live/wKrMIy97Nw0?t=99s

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Ep 236 - Dr. Union

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 12:01:56 -0400

Despite the holiday, workers never stop, so labor news doesn't either! After several stories of the agonizingly slow wheels of "justice" for workers in the legal system in our Headlines, we dive into our main stories. First we check in on the teachers of Beverly and Marblehead, MA, where new contracts have finally been ratified. Next we check in on the surge of organizing by the Teamsters at Amazon locations all over the country. Healthcare workers continue to unionize in big numbers, and not just nurses, we've got three stories this week of doctors unionizing. Shen Yun, everyone's least favorite billboard, have been SHOCKINGLY revealed to be using some extremely sketchy child labor practices. Finally, we check in with the ongoing strike by Canada Post workers, and some international solidarity.

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Crossover Ep: Labor Zionism (ft. The Minyan)

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 12:06:09 -0400

We're extremely excited this week that Dan was invited to sit down with Prez and Talia from The Minyan podcast to discuss the long history of support for Israel by US labor unions and how that has changed in recent years. Building off our recent interview with Professor Jeff Schuhrke, we discuss how anti-communism was used by labor leaders to justify supporting US imperialist policies around the world, including support for Israel. We dig into the ways rank and file efforts to embrace Palestinian solidarity were often stifled from the top in the name of keeping US interests in West Asia safe from "Soviet Aggression." Finally, in light of this history, we discuss how monumental the recent mass movement by rank and file workers to demand their unions end their collaboration with Israeli apartheid is, and why continued organizing within the union movement is our best path to making material change to US foreign policy.

Follow The Minyan on Twitter @the_minyan, and on Bluesky @minyan.bsky.social

Follow Work Stoppage at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, and on Bluesky @workstoppage.bsky.social

Check out all of The Minyan's great episodes here: https://open.spotify.com/show/0fgRlhmbQhZpYzKOth98gq

Find all the info on Work Stoppage at http://workstoppagepod.com/

Ep 235 - Delivering Worker Resistance

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 12:42:59 -0400

We've got a jam packed episode, as workers all around the world are on the move. First we've got headlines covering stories in Germany, South Korea, California and Florida. For our first main story, workers at a Whole Foods in Philadelphia filed to unionize this week, in another major effort to push back against the exploitation of the Bezos empire. Also in Philly this week, city workers in three unions reached new agreements with significant wages and safety protections. We catch up with a flurry of recent incidents of crackdowns on anti-genocide speech by bosses and universities across the US. We also follow up with striking teachers in Massachusetts, where one strike has been settled and two continue. Canada Post workers also continued their strike this week, we discuss the conditions that led us here. Finally, the UAW made another major announcement this week that a majority of workers at Ford's new EV battery plant in Kentucky have signed cards to unionize.

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Interview: Build a Fighting NALC PREVIEW

Fri, 22 Nov 2024 13:50:20 -0400

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

C Moline and others speaking in solidarity with Palestinian workers: https://www.youtube.com/live/wKrMIy97Nw0?t=99s

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Ep 234 - Northern Exposure

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 12:00:25 -0400

After updates on striking hotel workers, new UAW academic organizing, city workers in Philly and avian flu in dairy workers, we dive into our main stories. Michigan nurses won a massive union election this week as nearly 10,000 voted to join the Teamsters. The Canadian government stepped in on the side of the shipping companies this week and forced workers on both coasts into binding arbitration. Meanwhile, 55,000 striking Canada Post workers are challenging Prime Minister Trudeau to try it with them. We also check in on the strikes by teachers in Massachusetts and the repression they are facing from the state government. Zenimax workers held a one day strike this week to protest their employers' continued intransigence. Finally, delivery workers at Bimbo Bakeries in Washington State recently voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike after over a decade since their last cost of living raise.

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Ep 233 - Same Threats as Yesterday

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 12:20:27 -0400

It's impossible to start this week without discussing the fallout from the big election, so we start our main stories with a roundup of statements from union leaders in response to the new era of organizing. Next, we hear from dining workers at Clarkson University on their recent victory in securing a strong contract. Teachers in three towns in Massachusetts walked out on strike this week, defying state threats in their pursuit of fair working conditions for the lowest paid paraprofessionals. After last months strike by the ILA, this week lockouts began at Canadian ports on both sides of the country as the shipping monopolies attempt to force through more automation. Boeing machinists voted this week to accept the latest contract offer and return to work, winning historic wage increases. Finally, we discuss the heroic efforts by Cuban electrical workers to restore power to the country as it faces the inhumane effects of the US blockade.

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Ep 232 - Lockout Lessons

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 12:20:52 -0400

We've got headlines this week from NYC, Boston, Minneapolis, the island of Guadeloupe, and also PBS. Pepsi recently shocked workers in Chicago when they abruptly closed the region's only bottling plant with no notice. A new report shows the shocking worker death toll of US-ally Saudi Arabia's quixotic NEOM project. Philadelphia transit workers voted unanimously to authorize a potential strike. Workers at Boeing have once again forced the company to increase their "Best and Final Offer." Finally, we discuss a recent Labor Notes report on how nurses in Hawaii beat a lockout.

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Unlocked Interview: Blue-Collar Empire by Jeff Schuhrke

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 00:00:07 -0400

We are joined by Jeff Schuhrke, Assistant Professor of Labor Studies at Empire State University to discuss his new book Blue-Collar Empire: The Untold Story of US Labor's Global Anticommunist Crusade. This incredible book documents the sordid collaboration between the highest levels of the AFL and the CIA, how to understand this history of labor officials collaborating with imperialism, and how we can point to examples of US workers fighting back against this collaboration to change our unions into truly internationalist organizations standing with our fellow workers all around the world. As workers mobilize in the millions to oppose the US-backed genocide in Palestine, this history is more relevant today than ever before.

Buy the book at: https://www.versobooks.com/products/2979-blue-collar-empire

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

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Ep 231 - No Diet COLA!

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 12:13:54 -0300

We start this week with a quick check-in on rideshare drivers in NYC, hotel workers in Boston, and nurses in North Carolina and Michigan. For our first major story, letter carriers across the country in the NALC are organizing a national vote no campaign in response to a concessionary contract. We continue coverage of workers under attack for speaking out against the genocide in Palestine, from universities across the country, to the ACLU, to Microsoft. A recent report from Bloomberg described shocking working conditions at EV-maker Rivian's Illinois factory. Finally, Boeing workers rejected the company's latest offer and continue their fight for fair wages and a just retirement.

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

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Interview: Blue-Collar Empire by Jeff Schuhrke PREVIEW

Sun, 27 Oct 2024 14:13:10 -0300

Buy the book at: https://www.versobooks.com/products/2979-blue-collar-empire

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

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Ep 230 - Winning at Walmart

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 12:07:29 -0300

After our headlines we discuss a new piece from Workday Magazine this week covering the progress in growing the coalition for a May Day 2028 general strike. Workers at GE Appliances are gearing up for a strike after years of lost benefits and stagnant wages since new owners Haier bought the company. More companies are making use of AI, effective or not, to justify cutting jobs, we discuss how some unions are fighting back. A story in The Guardian this week documents a shocking case of racist abuse at USPS and the fight for accountability. Finally, we celebrate the historic union victory of 800 workers at a Walmart distribution center outside Toronto, as workers once again take on the legendarily anti-union behemoth.

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Ep 229 - Goodwill Union Hunting

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 12:56:31 -0300

Tell Goodwill to Stop Union Busting: https://goodwillcolorado.org/about-us/contact-us/

We start this week with updates from academic workers, retail workers, nonprofit workers, and several organizing drives by the Teamsters. Workers in Florida faced nightmare conditions this week after a second hurricane slammed into the already reeling region. Samsung workers in India continued their fight for union recognition despite continued state repression. The strike by Boeing Machinists hit the month mark this week as the company refuses to negotiate. Goodwill made headlines recently when it was revealed that they hired union busters to crush an effort to organize a store in Colorado. Finally, we check in on some of the ways workers are under fire for their opposition to genocide and how some are fighting back.

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

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OT Ep 77: Anti-Union Talking Points Pt1 PREVIEW

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 13:38:53 -0300

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 episode we go over a ton of classic anti-union talking points and tear them apart. From tired points like "unions are a business" to unions "protecting lazy workers", in this first episode in the series we focus on the more reactionary arguments against unions. In future episode we will dig down on other misconceptions surrounding unions.

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

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Ep 228 - One Year of Resistance

Tue, 08 Oct 2024 11:12:29 -0300

After commemorating one year of the US-Israeli genocide in Palestine, we discuss the response from workers in Spain, who launched a one day nationwide strike demanding an end to all relations with Israel. After following up on several UAW stories, the Teamsters at Amazon, and striking hotel workers, we have an update on the Boeing strike as it moves into the long haul. Of course the big story this week was the first strike by the East Coast dockworkers in the ILA in nearly 50 years. We've also got another in our recent discussions on the horrific conditions faced by migrant workers in the US. This week saw tragic loss of hundreds of lives in Hurricane Helene, including several workers at Impact Plastics in Erwin, Tennessee. Finally, we discuss an ongoing strike by 1000 workers at Samsung in India who have faced massive state repression.

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

Ep 227 - "We'll Cripple You"

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 12:17:46 -0300

This week we start with messages of solidarity to workers across the South affected by Hurricane Helene, and workers across Lebanon affected by the horrific expansion of US-Israeli attacks. We also follow up with Unite Here hotel workers, The Bird Union's new contract, and the unsafe tobacco factories of NYC. Our first story this week examines the long struggle by Filipino healthcare workers for a living wage. Migrant workers are fighting against wage theft here in the US, as we discuss the scale of exploitation enabled by this country's guest worker system. The massive strike at Boeing continued into its third week, with the company's desperate tactics only backfiring in its face. Rideshare drivers in Massachusetts have the chance to vote for a ballot measure that would provide them a union...but without the right to strike. Finally, we discuss the LOOMING strike about to hit the East Coast ports as the major shippers continue to refuse to meet the demands of the ILA.

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

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Ep 226 - World Class Workers

Tue, 24 Sep 2024 12:20:42 -0300

Support Striking ILWU Local 6 Workers: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-local-6-workers-in-their-fight-for-fair-wages

We start this week's episode with follow-ups at the University of Maine, Boston hotels, Trader Joe's in Manhattan, Starbucks in Ithaca, and Wonderful Nurseries in California. We follow up on the second week of the strike by over 30,000 Machinists at Boeing as the company digs in for a long strike. The UAW announced a strike vote this week to hold Stellantis accountable for its many broken contract provisions. The Teamsters have rapidly expanded their organizing of Teamster drivers. A new report quantifies the massive amount of wage theft taking place at Waffle House. Finally, 800 Teamsters strike at a Borgwarner auto parts plant in New York.

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Interview: Judy Gearhart of Labor Link

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 13:21:54 -0300

We are joined by Judy Gearhart to talk about her podcast Labor Link. On her show she interviews workers and worker advocates in many highly exploited industries in Southeast and Southern Asia. From garment workers in Bangladesh to migrant fishers in Thailand appalling working conditions and forms of modern slavery are highly present, and she talks to people trying to make a difference.

Find her show at: http://www.laborlinkpodcast.org

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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/

Ep 225 - Nationalize Boeing!

Tue, 17 Sep 2024 12:05:15 -0300

Legal Fund of Michigan Students for Palestine: https://chuffed.org/project/um-palestine-legalfund

Lina's back and there's so much news! We discuss repression of worker organizing at the SPLC, the Noguchi Museum, and Air Canada in our headlines segment, as well as following up on the strike by 17,000 CWA workers at AT&T. As the school year begins, we discuss a roundup of stories covering the crackdown on free speech on college campuses in an attempt to silence the anti-genocide movement. Also this week, In These Times spoke with UAW workers and residents of Belvidere, IL about the impact of Stellantis dragging its feet on its contract promises. A clash has developed between the UAW and the New Jersey AFL-CIO after the state labor federation backed a legal ruling allowing casinos to continue poisoning their workers with cigarette smoke. In another tale of disgusting union busting, Stone Brewing, following its acquisition by Sapporo, has been trying to stamp out an organizing drive by workers in Richmond. Finally, we discuss the massive strike by Boeing workers across Washington State, with 32,000 hitting the picket lines this week.

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

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Ep 224 - The Wage Theft Industry

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 12:00:50 -0300

We start with updates on The Bird Union, Unite Here hotel workers, the UAW, and AT&T workers on strike across the South. Following our headlines, we discuss the recent firing of rail engineer, and popular commentator, Gareth Dennis, in response to (true) statements he made about safety concerns. Thousands of rideshare drivers and supporters rallied in NYC this week to demand the city stop Uber and Lyft from locking them out of the app to evade fair wage laws. Protests erupted across Australia in response to the government's recent takeover of one of the country's more militant unions on accusation of collusion with organized crime. 32,000 Boeing Machinists have won a tentative deal with the company after a credible strike threat. Finally, we discussion the longhaul strike by Boston University grad student workers.

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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/

Ep 223 - Labor Day Means Strike!

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 12:13:28 -0300

It's Labor Day, and that can only mean workers standing up for our rights on the job. We begin this week with the launch of this weekend's national hotel strike by workers in Unite Here. After some quick stories on workers fighting for Palestine, the massive surge in unionization in academia, and more warehouse organizing by the Teamsters, we get into our main stories. We follow up with the UAW strike at Cornell, as workers have won a historic new contract. Workers at the Audubon Society have announced they will strike next week as their highly paid CEO continues a petty, illegal union busting campaign. Fred Meyer workers also struck this weekend, simultaneously showing how important stopping the Kroger-Albertsons merger is. Negotiations for a new contract for the East Coast dockworkers in the ILA have ground to a halt, potentially portending the first east coast port shutdown in nearly 50 years. We also discuss this week's 99.99% strike authorization vote by flight attendants at United and a new report showing just how deep the exploitation in the industry is. Finally, we celebrate the union election win of 4000 "temporary" workers at Firestone's massive rubber plantation in Liberia.

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Ep 222 - North of the Border

Tue, 27 Aug 2024 12:16:23 -0300

UAW GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-uaw-brother-antonio-gastons-family-after-tragedy

AT&T Petition: https://www.cwa.org/attse-support

Another news packed week starts with some follow up on the Teamsters negotiations with Costco, the UAW's fight to hold Stellantis to the contract, and more workers fighting for heat protections. Our first major story is last week's one day rail lockout in Canada, and we discuss the decision by the state to intervene and abandon workers' rights. Next we dig into several stories of teachers at campuses across the US fighting back against draconian policies restricting political speech by students protesting against genocide. California's state government this week made a sweetheart deal with Google, letting them off the hook for destroying innumerable small newsrooms in its quest to monopolize the web. Finally, over 17,000 workers at AT&T across the Southeast have been on strike for two weeks after the company wouldn't even send anyone empowered to negotiate to that table.

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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/

Ep 221 - Cornell Stands Up!

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 12:28:53 -0300

We start this week's episode with some quick check ins on: recent organizing wins by the Teamsters, a new strike at Samsung, ULPs filed against Donald Trump by the UAW, a new CEO at Starbucks, and flight attendants at Alaska Airlines fighting for a record contract. We also follow up on the long haul strike by workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, as the NLRB has finally intervened. Workers stood up in cities across the country for Heat Week, demanding basic heat protections from their employers. A wild story from The Guardian this week as SkyWest airlines faces a lawsuit for running an old school company union. Residents of East Palestine are crying foul as new reports emerged that the CDC covered up workers getting sick during the cleanup of the disastrous derailment, attempting to minimize the scandal around the crash. Finally, we discuss the strike by workers at Cornell after months of refusal by administrators to bargain in good faith.

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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/

OT Ep 76 Preview: Cannabis and Labor Pt 4

Thu, 15 Aug 2024 12:27:09 -0300

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 the conditions of the cannabis industry in New Mexico and Arizona. We cover workers who organized the first agricultural cannabis union in New Mexico, and Arizona workers who unionized with UFCW Local 99, including one group that now has a contract. We ask why New Mexico has so many dispensaries, and investigate the takeover of social justice initiatives in Arizona by gigantic multi-state operators. We round out with a discussion of two wage theft cases in New Mexico and Colorado that contain hallmark “small business tyrant behavior” and John refuses to pronounce last names correctly unless they belong to workers

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Ep 220 - Beat the Heat: Organize!

Tue, 13 Aug 2024 17:56:21 -0300

Another jam packed week of labor news! We start this week with follow-ups on workers at Samsung, REI, and Apple. We also follow up on the impact of Florida politicians' attempts to destroy the state's public unions, and how that has been devastating for academic workers. Reporters from the LA Times have documented how public pensions won through union struggle are now being used to fuel the crisis of gentrification and soaring rents across the country. In our main story, we cover a series of stories relating workers' struggles to win protections against deadly heat, exacerbated by worsening climate change. We discuss the effects on farmworkers, incarcerated workers, and the lengths workers in the hottest countries have to go through just to survive the soaring temps. Finally, we discuss the recent vote by thousands of hotel workers coast to coast to overwhelmingly authorize a strike.

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Ep 219 - Working Below Subsistence

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 12:30:13 -0300

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

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OT Ep 75 Preview: Cannabis and Labor Pt 3

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 12:42:46 -0300

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

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 12:15:40 -0300

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

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Ep 217 - Friends and Enemies

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 19:01:28 -0300

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

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OT Ep 74 Preview: Cannabis and Labor Pt 2

Thu, 18 Jul 2024 12:07:42 -0300

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

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Ep 216 - Standing Strong Against Samsung

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 12:58:51 -0300

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

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Ep 215 - Slavery to the 113th Degree

Tue, 09 Jul 2024 12:14:16 -0300

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

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OT Ep 73: Cannabis and Labor Pt 1 PREVIEW

Thu, 04 Jul 2024 12:28:33 -0300

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

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Ep 214 - The Supreme Court vs Humanity

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 14:14:20 -0300

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

Ep 213 - Moving Forward, Not Standing Still

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 17:40:45 -0300

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

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Ep 212 - The Butlerian Jihad

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 15:11:51 -0300

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

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[Unlocked & Remastered] 1962 Interview with Elizabeth Gurley Flynn

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 12:57:43 -0300

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

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 12:04:01 -0300

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

Tue, 11 Jun 2024 12:22:48 -0300

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

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 12:17:20 -0300

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

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 12:36:10 -0300

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

Tue, 28 May 2024 12:44:37 -0300

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

Thu, 23 May 2024 13:22:00 -0300

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

Tue, 21 May 2024 12:39:34 -0300

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

Tue, 14 May 2024 11:40:05 -0300

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

Thu, 09 May 2024 12:35:59 -0300

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

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

Tue, 07 May 2024 13:37:18 -0300

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

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 13:25:45 -0300

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

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 13:13:20 -0300

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

Tue, 23 Apr 2024 12:34:43 -0300

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

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 12:50:35 -0300

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

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 17:52:57 -0300

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

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 12:38:10 -0300

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

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 13:20:03 -0300

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

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 16:53:00 -0300

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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Ep 201 - Finished in Finland?

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 12:39:02 -0300

After running down some quick headlines (boycott Molson Coors!), we jump into our first story of the week, Amazon paying restitution to migrant workers who faced abuse while working in Amazon's Saudi Arabian warehouses. Next we discuss attacks on labor rights in Finland by the new right wing government, which threaten to roll back decades of labor gains. UAW supporters at Mercedes Benz in Alabama have filed ULP charges after the company began retaliating against workers for their union support. With heavy hearts we discuss the tragic loss of 6 workers in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, and the callous disregard much of the coverage has shown them. The ACLU recently joined the list of progressive nonprofits attacking the NLRB in the wake of a internal union drive. Finally, we celebrate SEGA workers ratifying the first union contract at a major video game firm in the US.

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UNLOCKED Overtime Episode 60 - Women in the US Labor Movement - Pt 1

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 15:46:54 -0300

Episode 1 - Women Workers in the Industrial Revolution

We've covered a ton of different eras and stories of the US labor movement on our show, but unfortunately much of it has been heavily focused on solely male workers, leaving out the historic role women have played in shaping the trade union movement in this country. So in an attempt to help rectify that, we're embarking on the longest series we've ever done to discuss just a few of the incredible stories of struggle, solidarity, and success by women organizers through the 200 year history of the US labor movement. In the first episode, we start from the very beginning, the first ever factory strike in US history, led by the women of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and work our way up the Civil War. Few organizations formed in these first few decades lasted very long, but these early struggles still teach us a lot about the dual struggle waged by women workers against oppression not only by their bosses as workers, but by society as a whole through patriarchy. While victories were few in these early years, there are still a lot of parallels we can draw with our organizing fights today.

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Ep 200 - Episode 2000

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 13:33:36 -0300

200 episodes and the labor organizing doesn't stop. After checking in on some quick headlines, we discuss the latest major milestone in the UAW organizing drive at nonunion automakers, with workers officially filing for an election at VW. Also this week, a recent in-depth report in The Guardian documents awful, slavery-like conditions in the fishing industry. Similarly exploited workers, migrant agricultural workers, have been organizing for basic rights in Washington State. Finally, we congratulate the people of Minneapolis for standing up to Uber and Lyft's model of super-exploitation.

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Overtime Episode 67 Preview: Women in the US Labor Movement - Pt 8

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 12:43:57 -0300

Episode 8 - Feminism and Labor

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 last forty years have seen massive changes in the US labor movement. With the rise of neoliberalism, combined attacks from corporations and the state decimated union density across the country. But the fight for women's equality in the workplace continued to build to new levels. With organizations like CLUW and 9 to 5 formed in the 70s and 80s women workers fought for reforms to ban discrimination and sexual harassment and empower women within their unions. The impact of the pandemic, like so many other crises, has also been borne disproportionately by women workers. But at the same time, the current labor upsurge has been led by a new generation of militant women labor leaders who continue to push the struggle to new heights.

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Ep 199 - Boycott Medieval Times

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 12:47:07 -0300

For our first story this week we were lucky to be joined by labor reporter Claudia Irizarry Aponte from The City to follow up on the story she broke about alleged sweatshop conditions in a Brooklyn tobacco factory. Next we discuss the sad news that the Medieval Times union drive has been forced to disband after two years of vicious, illegal repression by the company. Boston commuter rail workers are prepared for a strike, despite the restrictions of the Railway Labor Act. Texas is working to destroy the Houston Independent School District in an attempt at full scale privatization. Italy's neofascist ruling party proposed using AI to sort workers into mandatory jobs. Finally, we close by following up with the ways workers around the world are standing up and demanding an end to the genocide in Palestine.

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Overtime Episode 66 Preview: Women in the US Labor Movement - Pt 7

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 13:27:39 -0300

Episode 7 - 1199 and the UFW

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In the years following the McCarthyite purges of the early 1950s, the pace of progress in the labor movement cooled from its heady heights of the CIO and the 1946 strike wave. But new struggles still emerged all over the country, and women workers continued to break barriers. The fight by Local 1199 to organize the majority Black and Puerto Rican women hospital workers of New York City became an epic struggle part of the broader national civil rights movement. On the other side of the country, a movement to organize agricultural workers made its mark with the intervention of organizers like Dolores Huerta. The fight for basic human rights for farm workers led to a nationwide boycott and a titanic struggle that lasted nearly 5 years.

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Ep 198 - Toyota Stands Up

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 12:23:31 -0300

After several quick headlines, we start this week with the first ever successful union election of a major men's basketball team in the NCAA at Dartmouth. Then we've got a major UAW update covering the last two weeks including major developments at Mercedes in Alabama, Toyota in Missouri, and more. We also discuss the continued existence of sweatshops right here in the US, as tobacco processing workers in NYC face horrific conditions. Unions in Minneapolis came together around years of organizing for a week of action that could show a vision of rooting the resurgent labor movement deeply in our communities. QA testers at Activision formed the largest union in video games in the US this week, and animators at Nickelodeon finalized a record new contract.

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Overtime Episode 65 Preview: Women in the US Labor Movement - Pt 6

Thu, 07 Mar 2024 12:55:14 -0400

Episode 6 - Women Build the CIO

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

For the first few decades of the 20th century, the AFL consistently failed to live up to its promises to fight for equal pay for equal work. But in the 1930s, an alternate labor federation, the Congress of Industrial Organizations, broke away and launched the most historic nationwide labor upsurge in US history, and a key part of their success was the organization of women. The UAW and the UE, two of our favorite unions, led the fight for women's equality in the workplace, striking for equal pay and winning it in contracts across the country. In the 1940s, World War 2 also made enormous changes for women workers, opening up countless fields that had previously been barred from them by chauvinism. While some unions were slow to accept the massive changes in the workforce during the war, this period marked the first time major unions consistently began to fight and win demands for equality on a national scale. Pushed by prominent Communist organizers, the CIO finally devoted resources to organizing women and closing the wage gap, and the gains for the labor movement as a whole were enormous.

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Ep 197 - Structural Forces and Bad Actors

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 13:07:24 -0400

It's March! We begin by discussing yet another horrifying story of abuse of child labor, but also a story of how one UFCW local in Minnesota is fighting against the conditions creating it. In a huge milestone, Starbucks has agreed to a framework to move negotiations forward towards a national contract. Fast food companies are using AI, and of course it's to make their employees lives even worse. In a rare case, a boss is being held liable for killing a worker in New York. Finally, Teamsters at Anheuser-Busch reached an agreement at the last minute before a strike.

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Overtime Episode 64 Preview: Women in the US Labor Movement - Pt 5

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 12:21:39 -0400

Episode 5 - Communist Women In the Great Depression

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 Great Depression was one of the greatest crises in capitalism's history, throwing millions out of work and pushing them to the brink of starvation. Women workers bore the brunt of this, being the first to be fired in nearly every workplace. But women workers fought back, organizing massive strikes, marches, and demonstrations against both their atrocious working conditions and the inadequate relief from the government. A new organization emerged in this period to take up the lead in the struggle for social equality: the Communist Party.

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Ep 196 - Certified Mold Podcast

Tue, 27 Feb 2024 13:01:48 -0400

A lawsuit filed in Colorado this week to block the Kroger-Albertson's merger reveals anti-union collusion. Starbucks Workers United filed for union elections at 21 stores in one day. The UAW continued making major moves, doubling their organizing budget and launching an international support effort with Mexican autoworkers. IBEW faced mold so toxic whole building a new Ford battery plant they were hospitalized. One of the biggest new union wins we've seen in a long time came at Cal State this week, with 20,000 student assistants voting to join the SEIU.

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Interview Preview: The Modern IWW

Thu, 22 Feb 2024 12:36:06 -0400

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

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

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Ep 195 - Employee Owned Should Mean Employee Controlled

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 13:14:22 -0400

After a quick discussion of Amazon joining the corporate lawsuit aimed at destroying the NLRB, we turn to the continuing efforts by workers around the world to fight to end the genocide in Palestine. Next we discuss the latest round of protests by thousands of farmers in India fighting for their livelihoods. Farm owners in this country in NY have sued to stop a law granting labor rights to farm workers. 100,000 flight attendants picketed airports around the country to demand a fair contract. Teamsters in Texas shut down Molson Coors for the western half of the US after the company offered raises of just $1 an hour after record profits. Workers at "Employee Owned" WinCo Foods in Utah organized with the Teamsters this past week to make that label a reality, not just a slogan.

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Overtime Episode 63 Preview: Women in the US Labor Movement - Pt 4

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 12:46:46 -0400

Episode 4 - Revolutionaries Press The Issue

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

On the eve of WW1, a radical new force shook the US labor movement with its vision of all the workers under one big union, running society instead of the exploiters. The IWW also had a much more advanced vision of women's equality than prior national labor associations. Women workers in the IWW made major gains and reached heights heretofore unheard of in a nationwide labor federation. But World War 1 would shake up both the industrial workforce, with millions of women changing jobs, but also the political scenery, with the first Red Scare cracking down on any organization deemed radical, even for just promoting women's equality. Through this period, women workers entered occupations and organizations previously barred from them, but as we've seen on prior episodes, they would at times face opposition from the very people who stood the most to gain from their solidarity.

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Ep 194 - Booming in Chattanooga

Tue, 13 Feb 2024 12:42:57 -0400

We start this week's episode with a quick rundown of new anti union repression at Starbucks and Amazon. This week workers calling for a ceasefire have reached the top of the US labor movement, with the AFL-CIO itself finally getting on board. The UAW continues its massive and ambitious nationwide union drive, hitting a critical milestone at VW in Chattanooga of a majority of workers signed up. Legal assaults on the labor rights of public workers in Florida are having major effects, with dozens of unions decertified in just the first few weeks of the year. Teachers in Chicago struck two charters schools this week fighting against mismanagement and refusal to provide special education resources. Finally, we got closer this week to seeing the first unionized team in the NCAA.

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Overtime Episode 62 Preview: Women in the US Labor Movement - Pt 3

Thu, 08 Feb 2024 12:18:45 -0400

Episode 3 - Garment Worker Rebellion

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

On the third episode of our series, we zoom in to a few years at the beginning of the 20th century. From 1909-1913, tens of thousands of women workers in the garment industry in the industrial cities of the northern US organized and went on strike in record numbers. The conditions these workers labored in were truly shocking, and quite literally deadly. These were life and death struggles in an industry where factory owners locked the doors to keep women from leaving and charged them for the use of a stool. The titanic struggles waged by these women workers would grow women's participation in the labor movement to record highs, even without the help of the top leaders of the AFL.

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Ep 193 - Illegal Strikes are Good

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 12:53:55 -0400

We're back to our original schedule and have a packed episode. First we follow up with the struggle against libertarian fascism in Argentina and an update on how Return to the Office policies are bullshit. We also discuss the recent revelation of a major wage theft ring in the pacific northwest and the refusal of the government to do anything to stop the criminals. Our now weekly UAW update discusses recent organizing victories in Michigan and Alabama, and a new drive at Hyundai in Montgomery. Workers in Finland have launched a mass movement to stop attacks on workers rights, striking in the hundreds of thousands. Finally, we close with the victory of the Newton teachers, who won a great contract after a two week struggle against not just their bosses, but the press.

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Overtime Episode 61 Preview: Women in the US Labor Movement - Pt 2

Thu, 01 Feb 2024 13:18:56 -0400

Episode 2 - National Labor Organizations, But For Who?

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

For the second part of our series on the history of women workers in the US labor movement, we discuss the earliest attempts to form national labor organizations. Coming out of the Civil War, women were fighting against exploitation in the workplace, but were excluded from most of the trade union movement which focused exclusively on men. But with the formation of national organizations like the National Labor Union, the Knights of Labor, and finally the American Federation of Labor, these broad based organizations were forced to put forward some semblance of a united working class political platform. In each case, the leadership expressed support for equal pay for equal work, and in each case prior to the 20th century, the commitment to that claim would come up short. But in spite of the chauvinist opposition from the top, women workers organized in greater numbers than ever before.

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Ep 192 - Educators for Palestine

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 13:12:05 -0400

Workers in academia have wasted no time so far this year in launching ever larger struggles, including this week when 30,000 faculty at the California State system went on strike this week for fair pay. Contingent faculty at NYU have also been organizing to fight low wages, recently securing an election neutrality agreement. The largest union yet to call for a ceasefire joined the chorus this week, with the SEIU signing its 2 million members on the call for peace. The UAW's organizing drive at Mercedes Benz in Alabama continues to grow, we discuss some of the tactics workers have used. Unfortunately also this week, the UAW officially endorsed Joe Biden. Massive crowds rocked Buenos Aires this week as workers staged a one day general strike to protest the new government's attacks on labor rights. Finally, we discuss the release of the annual BLS report which gives a snapshot into how the labor movement is doing, and discuss what it means for tactics and strategy going forward.

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Overtime Episode 60 Preview: Women in the US Labor Movement - Pt 1

Thu, 25 Jan 2024 13:26:45 -0400

Episode 1 - Women Workers in the Industrial Revolution

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

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EP 191 - Unity Gets The Goods

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 13:30:00 -0400

Adda Coffee Relief Fund: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/support-abruptly-fired-adda-workers-demand-for-severance-pay/

We start this week's episode checking in on some recent victories by the UAW. Next we discuss a judge smacking down Trader Joe's ridiculous copyright lawsuit against Trader Joe's United. Also this week, Adda Coffee in Pittsburgh shut its doors rather than allow a union, while the Supreme Court takes up a call by Starbucks to gut the NLRB. Once again we have another horrible story of child workers being killed, while a new report reveals the systemic nature of child labor violations in fast food. Macy's workers in Washington are on strike against bosses who seem to have decided to pretend like the union doesn't exist. Finally, Ben and Jerry's workers and student workers at Washington State University both won big new contracts.

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Preview: Confessions of a Union Buster Pt 2

Thu, 18 Jan 2024 12:26:47 -0400

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

On the second part of our discussion of Confessions of a Union Buster, we sit down once again with our friend Pat to talk about the incredible number of ways that union busting tactics have remained the same for nearly 50 years. Wild stunts, illegal surveillance, and above all a crushing climate of fear characterize the campaigns described in Marty Leavitt's memoir of his time destroying workers lives, much like the campaigns we see from modern union busters. But by identifying the core features of these tactics, we can adapt our own to fight back against them.

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Ep 190 - AI: Artificial Intimidation

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 12:22:10 -0400

We start this week with a few quick congratulations to workers at Wells Fargo, DHL, and elsewhere before diving into a discussion of news this week that SAG-AFTRA has negotiated an agreement with an AI voice model company for video games. Then we discuss the ways AI is being used to surveil and even fire workers in many different industries. Next we have two stories on the horrific conditions of modern slavery face by agricultural workers supplying Starbucks and Kroger. Then we check in with the progress of the UAW's organizing drives at VW, Tesla, and Mercedes Benz. Finally, we shout out the workers at High Country News and the Guttmacher Institute for their recent wins.

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Preview: Confessions of a Union Buster Pt 1

Thu, 11 Jan 2024 12:36:24 -0400

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

Friend of the show and head of our discord reading group Pat joins us this week to discuss one of their recent books, Confessions of a Union Buster by Martin J. Levitt and Terry Conrow. This book chronicles the life and tactics of one of the lowest, most disgraceful occupations out there, the union buster. Seeing the inner workings of those agents of the ruling class who make it their life's mission to hold down the working class gives us a window into how their campaigns operate today. Even though the campaigns described in the book are from decades ago, many of the same exact tactics are still in use at places like Starbucks and Amazon.

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Ep 189 - New Year, New Struggles

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 16:34:33 -0400

For our first episode of 2024, we've got tons new labor stories to cover. After some quick follow ups, we discuss a recent piece in Forbes about how our capitalist system is forcing elders to work longer and longer. Next we've got a bunch of UAW stories, starting with the fight for a fair contract by workers at Allison Transmission in Indianapolis. Also this week, UAW workers on Long Island fight back after solar company EmPower fired nearly half their staff in retaliation for unionizing. Then, we discuss last month's successful strike by 500 post docs at Mt Sinai Hospital in NYC. Also this week, 75,000 junior doctors strike in the UK, Elon declares war on the NLRB, and CostCo workers in Norfolk, VA score a critical organizing victory.

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PREVIEW: 2023 Year In Review

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 08:50:20 -0400

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

2023 was a monumental year for US labor. From the Teamsters contract fight at UPS winning historic gains, to the UAW's Stand Up strike changing the game tactically, workers fought back in huge numbers. On this episode, we run down the biggest stories we covered in the labor movement in 2023, from massive strikes to the endless stream of new major grad student union victories. Finally, we close out with some predictions for what we might see in 2024.

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Ep 188 - 2024: The Struggle Continues

Sun, 31 Dec 2023 20:55:01 -0400

For our final episode of 2023, despite the holidays we have a lot to cover. The longest adjunct faculty strike in US history ended with a new contract. Wells Fargo workers in Albuquerque became the first unionized branch of a major bank. Thousands of workers in Argentina have taken to the streets to protest President Milei's attempt to sell off the state by decree and destroy workers rights. Teamsters at Anheuser-Busch have voted nearly unanimously to authorize a strike in February when their contract ends if the company continues to refuse to negotiate. Finally, Southwest Airlines pilots won new contracts this week, bringing all four major airline under contract.

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UNLOCKED - Unions and The Mob: The ILA - Pt 1

Mon, 25 Dec 2023 10:11:27 -0400

We're taking a break from new episode this week, but in the spirit of the season (such as it is this year), we're unlocking the first episode of one of our Patron series earlier this year, the history of the International Longshoremen's Association and the interference of the mafia and the federal government in worker organizing. Hope all our listeners are having a good holiday, and we'll see you with new episodes in 2024!

Original Description:

Episode 1 - Communism vs. Corruption

One of the peculiarities of the US labor movement is the existence of two different unions for longshore workers, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) on the West Coast, and the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) on the East Coast. Originally, the ILA represented members on both coasts, bringing all longshore workers in the country under one union. But after the refusal of the national leadership to support the 1934 San Francisco General Strike or to support the move to expand the union to warehouse workers, the West Coast workers seceded and formed their own union.

In this series we will examine the history of the ILA and dig into why West Coast longshore workers felt they had no choice but to form their own union. We will examine the key factors that have prevented the rise of a democratic reform movement within the ILA, and how collusion between shipping companies, the federal government, and the mafia played a critical role in suppressing reform. We will discuss the long fight by the rank and file for reform, and how the federal government time and time again stepped in to squash it.

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 found freely available on Youtube.

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Overtime Episode 57 PREVIEW - Military Unions Pt 6

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 08:51:51 -0400

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

For the finale of our series discussion various attempts at organizing soldiers during the 1970s, we arrive at one of the most dynamic of the era, Portugal. With the collapse of Portugal's fascist dictatorship in the wake of the Carnation Revolution, the organized military played a key, leading role in the social transformation of the country. We discuss how the political currents differed between the enlisted and officers, and the interactions between the rising political parties and the organized military movement. Finally, we sum up our thoughts on the question of unions in the military and their relation to socialist revolution.

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Ep 187 - America Runs on Slavery

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 08:00:00 -0400

After some quick follow ups on organizing at Ben & Jerry's and Grindr, we get into the big stories in labor as 2023 winds down. More and more unions are standing up against genocide, with 1199 and NNU joining the call for a ceasefire. The UAW filed ULPs against 3 automakers this week for interfering with organizing campaigns. The NLRB ordered Starbucks to reopen 23 stores it closed for unionizing, but results may be a long ways off. Incarcerated workers in Alabama filed a massive class action lawsuit against the state for its use of convict leasing to profit from slave conditions. Cargo handling workers at Denver International Airport strike this week for safe working conditions. Hundreds of nurses in Louisiana joined National Nurses United in a major victory, and Yale graduate student workers won a historic first contract.

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Overtime Episode 56 PREVIEW - Military Unions Pt 5

Thu, 14 Dec 2023 08:34:45 -0400

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

On this week's installment of our series examining attempts to organize unions of soldiers, we move to Western Europe. In a whirlwind tour we discuss Germany, Italy, France, and Spain's various forms of military labor organizations. The refusal of the US to de-Nazify West Germany played a major role in the rebuilt Bundeswehr's conservatism, including on the issue of soldier unions. In France, the history of repeated military coups made government leaders extremely wary of any sort of parallel power structures. In Spain, the attempts at organizing in the military came at the same time the country began the transition from Franco's fascism to liberal democracy. And in Italy, soldiers who supported the powerful communist party and other left groups confronted a state deeply enmeshed in Cold War power struggles.

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Ep 186 - Kentucky Wildcat

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 09:02:47 -0400

We've got a very Kentucky-centric episode this week, with two different labor disputes at the KCVG airport with union busting at Amazon and a strike by Teamsters at DHL. Also in Kentucky, Sunergos coffee workers in Louisville finally won a first contract after a weeklong strike. In academic organizing news, adjunct faculty at Columbia College in Chicago are on the longest adjunct strike in US history to fight back against attempts to slash courses and increase class sizes. Teachers have also launched strikes in the California State system demanding fair wages to deal with soaring cost of living. Fellows at the NIH won their union election in a landslide, forming the largest new union of federal workers in over a decade. Also updates on Tesla's war with Scandinavia, the UAW's massive organizing campaign, and more workers speaking out against genocide.

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Overtime Episode 55 PREVIEW - Military Unions Pt 4

Thu, 07 Dec 2023 08:39:34 -0400

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

On Part 4 of our series looking at attempts to organize soldiers, we discuss the Scandinavian countries. While none of the various soldier unions formed in these countries transformed their society, they showed a wide range of levels of effectiveness. From Norway's quasi-company union, to Sweden's VVDM-esque liberal militancy, to Finland's conscript mass organization which actually demanded peace, the Scandinavian militaries showed a broad range of organizing tactics. We discuss the results, comparison to the US, and whether conscription can ever be considered "progressive."

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Ep 185 - Life is More Than Work

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 08:00:00 -0400

Lina is away this week so it's just the boys on this episode of Work Stoppage. The UAW became the largest and most prominent union to join the calls for a ceasefire this week, the same week they launched the largest organizing drive the US has seen in years. Portland teachers ended their three week strike with a new contract with major wins. Sweden's labor movement continues to shut down Tesla as Elon tries to sue them for striking. The RMT agreed to a new contract this week, ending their epic 18 month industrial dispute with rail operators. Despite it's kid friendly branding, Lego is using all the same dirty tricks union busting at Legoland as the worst corporate offenders. We have a couple tragic stories this week: first the Indiana Department of Labor has placed the value of a workers life at just $7000. Second, a recent report from Brazil shows that Starbucks' supply chain there is riddled with worker abuse and even slavery like conditions. Wisconsin workers launched a push this week to overturn the state ban on public unions. Finally, grad student workers at USC reached an agreement for a first contract this week, securing many hard fought protections and increased benefits.

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Overtime Episode 54 PREVIEW - Military Unions Pt 3

Thu, 30 Nov 2023 08:05:19 -0400

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

For the third installment of our series discussing the history of attempts to unionize members of the military, based largely on the book Left Face: Soldier Unions and Resistance Movements in Modern Armies by David Cortright and Max Watts, we discuss the Dutch. From the 1960s to the 80s, with the Dutch military squarely in the middle of NATO's confrontation with the USSR, multiple organizations were formed attempting to unionize soldiers. We discuss how the Dutch unions, especially the VVDM, seem to have had more success with straightforward union organizing issues than most, but that success came with strict limits.

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Ep 184 - Minimum Wage is Not Enough

Mon, 27 Nov 2023 08:00:00 -0400

Black Friday means we've got a retail and service work news packed episode this week. First we start on a sad note discussing the end of the Medieval Times strike in California. Next we discuss the McCarthyite retaliation being faced by unionized public defenders in New York City for taking a stand in favor of Palestinian human rights. A recent piece in The Guardian exposes the way service workers from other countries are exploited by the J-1 work visa program. 20,000 cleaning workers in NYC are gearing up for a major contract fight as bosses try and force concessions. Macy's workers in Washington State struck on Black Friday against incredibly low wages and constant understaffing. Wells Fargo workers in New Mexico and Alaska have filed to join the CWA, trying to break into the nearly entirely non union financial sector. Finally, we discuss the formation of a new democratic reform caucus in IATSE.

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Overtime Episode 53 PREVIEW - Military Unions - Pt 2

Thu, 23 Nov 2023 08:00:00 -0400

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 with the next installment of our discussion of attempts in (relatively) recent history to form unions within military organizations. In this episode we cover the brief period following the end of the Vietnam War when major public worker unions in the US began seriously considering organizing soldiers. We discuss a planned campaign by the AFGE to potentially add soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines to their membership, and the response from the state when they found out. We also discuss some of the internal organizing efforts like the Enlisted People's Organizing Committee. Next week, we'll branch out into the rest of the world by discussing organizing efforts in the Dutch Armed Forces.

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Ep 183 - We Win Through Struggle

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 09:01:23 -0400

The whole crew is back together again for another big week of labor news. After our weekly roundup of how workers around the world are standing up for Palestine, we get into a slew of stories about major new contracts. Kaiser Permanente workers ratified their new contract nearly unanimously after their historic three day strike last month. UAW workers at the Big 3 also ratified their new agreements won during the Stand Up Strike, as did the UAW workers at Mack Trucks. We also break down the details on the SAG-AFTRA deal released since last week. Garment workers in Bangladesh have been rising up for weeks now to demand a minimum wage just high enough to actually be able to eat, but have faced severe repression. Starbucks workers launched their biggest strike yet this week, Red Cup Rebellion 2, featuring over 5000 workers nationwide. Finally, 4000 researchers at NYU filed this week to join the UAW.

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UNLOCKED - Movie Time 3 - The Organizer and Western Ghats

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 08:00:00 -0400

The whole crew is a bit overwhelmed this week, Dan is sick, John's class is in crunch mode, and Lina's putting the finishing touches on the rest of the Military Unions series. So this week we're unlocking one of our favorite Movie Time episodes for everyone. Both these labor movies are likely less well known by most of our audience, but they're some of the best we've discussed. Part 2 of our series on attempts to organize in the military will arrive next week.

Original Description:
First we discuss 1963's The Organizer, a working class drama about the early days of labor organizing in northern Italy in the late 1800s. The film covers the extreme exploitation of 19th century textile workers and their earliest attempts at organizing, even before major national unions existed. For our second film this week we watched Western Ghats (Merku Thodarchi Malai), from India's southern state of Tamil Nadu. Western Ghats follows the struggle of landless workers forced to labor for the big landowners as they strive to become independent peasant farmers themselves. The film portrays the difficulties of peasants, the way debt is used to dispossess them, and the semi feudal conditions they face in many parts of the Global South in ways western cinema rarely covers.

Ep 182 - Internationalism On Display Feat. Maximillian Alvarez

Mon, 13 Nov 2023 08:00:00 -0400

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

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Overtime Episode 52 PREVIEW - Military Unions - Pt 1

Thu, 09 Nov 2023 08:29:31 -0400

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.

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Ep 181 - Workers Can Stop Arms Dealers feat. Alexander Edward of Minion Death Cult

Mon, 06 Nov 2023 15:04:41 -0400

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

Shop Floor Discussion 9 - TA at the Big 3

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 08:00:00 -0300

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.

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Ep 180 - Record Profits Mean Record Contracts

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 08:00:00 -0300

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.
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Movie Time 8 PREVIEW - Joe Hill and The Molly Maguires

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 08:26:19 -0300

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.

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Ep 179 - US Supports Slavery and Genocide

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 08:00:00 -0300

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.

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Stand Up For Palestine

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 08:00:00 -0300

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

Ep 178 - From The River To The Sea

Sun, 15 Oct 2023 21:25:34 -0300

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.

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Overtime Episode 51 PREVIEW - The General Strike in US History Pt 4

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 06:00:02 -0300

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.

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Ep 177 - Healthcare Heroes Have Had Enough

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 08:38:48 -0300

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.

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Ep 176 - A Perfectly Scripted Victory

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 08:00:00 -0300

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.

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Movie Time 7 PREVIEW - On The Waterfront

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 00:23:00 -0300

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 .

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Ep 175 - No Pay? No Parts!

Sun, 24 Sep 2023 20:49:21 -0300

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

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Overtime Episode 50 PREVIEW - Unions and The Mob: The ILA - Pt 7

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 08:04:43 -0300

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.

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Ep 174 - The UAW Stands Up

Sun, 17 Sep 2023 20:16:32 -0300

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.

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Overtime Episode 49 PREVIEW - Unions and The Mob: The ILA - Pt 6

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 07:53:45 -0300

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."

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Ep 173 - Big 3 Showdown

Mon, 11 Sep 2023 08:00:00 -0300

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.

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Overtime Episode 48 PREVIEW - Unions and The Mob: The ILA - Pt 5

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 07:00:00 -0300

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.

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Ep 172 - Throwing Bosses In The Bin

Sun, 03 Sep 2023 19:03:09 -0300

Happy Labor Day to all our listeners! We kick off this week's show discussing the end of strikes at Wabtec and Leinenkugel, where workers have ratified new contracts after hard fought battles. We also have an update on the negotations between the UAW and the Big 3 automakers with less than 2 weeks until a potential strike. New Jersey Transit engineers voted unanimously to authorize a strike, but are shackled by the Railway Labor Act just like freight workers. Tragically this week yet another worker was killed by heat exhaustion because bosses, this time at Kroger, refuse to provide safe working conditions. VFX workers made another major step forward, as workers at Disney Studios filed this week to join IATSE. Finally, we discuss a recent Labor Notes piece about a creative contract campaign by Maine Ironworkers which won major gains for the workers. Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Overtime Episode 47 PREVIEW - Unions and The Mob: The ILA - Pt 4

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 07:36:14 -0300

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 4 - 1953

Following World War 2, longshoremen in the Port of New York refused to accept the traditional company friendly deals that ILA President Joe Ryan arranged during the war. A wildcat strike movement shook the ILA, and alongside an investigation into his corruption, Ryan finally lost his grip on the union. 1953, the same year "King" Joe Ryan stepped down as President of the ILA was a momentous year for the organization. In this episode we discuss Ryan's departure, the expulsion of the union from the AFL, the government stepping in to control hiring on the docks, and even a civil war in the house of labor. The end of Ryan's tenure and the massive changes put in place in 1953 would reshape the union for decades.

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Ep 171 - Farm Workers Fight Back

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 08:36:04 -0300

We start this week following up on several major stories, first and foremost the ratification of the hard fought new contract at UPS. We also discuss the victory of grad student workers at the University of Michigan after a nearly five month struggle. There was major news out of the NLRB this week, we break down the Cemex decision and what the new restrictions on election union busting could mean for the labor movement. Also this week, farm workers in New York were attacked by farm owners who raided and broke up a UFW organizing meeting. The New School continues to hate its workers, trying this week to block student workers from organizing a wall to wall student union. Finally, the fight for a fair deal at the Big 3 automakers is heating up, as the UAW voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike.

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Overtime Episode 46 PREVIEW - Unions and The Mob: The ILA - Pt 3

Fri, 25 Aug 2023 08:00:00 -0300

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 3 - Operation Underworld

Joe Ryan's two and a half decades of leadership of the International Longshoremen's Association could be most charitably described as "stable." His focus on labor peace at nearly any cost and his cozy relationship with the shipping companies, gangsters, and the federal government created a series of strange relationships as the country entered World War 2. Finding mobsters useful in keeping radical organizers off the docks, the federal government struck a deal with the same criminal forces they would later condemn union officials for working with. However, even with strongarm goons and redbaiting as his go-to tactics, Ryan could not totally keep a lid on post-war discontent by workers returning to find low wages and inhuman treatment while shipping bosses made millions. The Rank and File made their voice heard, by whatever means they could find.

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Ep 170 - Exploitation Should Be a Crime

Tue, 22 Aug 2023 08:00:00 -0300

REI Pledge: www.ourrei.com/pledge

As with any week in the labor movement, this week we've got a mixture of good news and less good news. We start on the happier end, with students at Cornell forcing Starbucks off campus after its retaliation against workers. The first massage studio in Florida has unionized, following success by the UFCW in Colorado. Workers at Jacksonville State University are forming a wall to wall union to fight for better than their current $8.25/hr. In less good news, we heard more this week from workers at Tesla and Amazon about the horrific working conditions at both and the way Amazon weaponizes their company "doctors" against workers. Wage theft remains rampant in the US, and a new report shows how much impunity bosses in Texas have. Finally, we discuss a recent LA Times report about the impacts of climate change on the workers who put food on our tables every day.

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Overtime Episode 45 PREVIEW - Unions and The Mob: The ILA - Pt 2

Fri, 18 Aug 2023 08:34:39 -0300

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 2 - Shape Up or Ship Out

To start our examination of the history of the International Longshoremen's Association, we go back to the birth of labor organizing on the docks in the late 19th century. We discuss the awful labor conditions faced by workers, forced to beg, plead, or pay for work in the hated daily shape up. We discuss the birth of the ILA on the Great Lakes, the rise of New York City as the center of US overseas trade, and the start of the long reign of "King" Joe Ryan as union president. We also talk about the earliest movements for democracy and reform within the union, and the brutal, sometimes deadly consequences faced by those who stood up for their rights on the docks.

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Ep 169 - Union Busting is Organized Crime

Tue, 15 Aug 2023 08:00:00 -0300

After saluting the continued organizing prowess of the workers of Hadley, MA, we start this week's show discussing the NLRB shooting down eBay's appeal of the union victory at TCGPlayer. Next we check in on strikes at Wabtec and the University of Michigan, both of which have seen management escalate attacks on workers. Google is back for a second week in a row, this time for firing most of the Google Help team in retaliation for unionizing. City workers in LA staged a huge one day strike to fight for fair raises and an end to overwork, with workers in San Jose joining them this week. The American Political Science Association have decided to cross the picket line of striking LA hotel workers, to the outrage of many members. Rounding out some new unions: Visual effects workers at Marvel are unionizing with IATSE, workers at the NIH are joining the UAW, and Yellowstone workers have voted to join the National Federation of Federal Employees.

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Overtime Episode 44 PREVIEW - Unions and The Mob: The ILA - Pt 1

Fri, 11 Aug 2023 07:43:20 -0300

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 1 - Communism vs. Corruption

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Ep 168 - The War on Remote Work

Tue, 08 Aug 2023 08:07:04 -0300

Burgerville Workers Support Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/defend-burgerville-workers-from-retaliation-fund

We start this week's episode with a couple stories about Grindr and Google weaponizing Return to the Office policies against their workers who have been working remotely. We also follow up with the TCGPlayer union, as eBay has refused to recognize their election win. Workers at Burgerville have been locked out after management adopted a radically anti-union posture. This past weekend 30,000 teachers protested horrific working conditions in South Korea. Doctors have struck across Nigeria after criminal neglect of the country's healthcare system by the capitalist government and its imperialist backers. Grocery workers at Metro in Toronto have been on strike for over a week fighting sub-poverty wages to just be able to afford the food they stock on shelves every day. The Teamsters still have to vote on the deal at UPS, but wins are already inspiring Amazon workers to demand more. Finally, grad workers have made big wins towards forming their union at the University of Maine.

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Shop Floor Discussion 8 PREVIEW - UAW vs the Big 3

Fri, 04 Aug 2023 08:43:24 -0300

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

2023 has already been a monumental year for labor, with over 300,000 workers striking in just the first 7 months. Now, in just six weeks, we could see tens of thousands of UAW autoworkers on strike at any one or all of the Big 3 US automaking companies, Ford, GM, and Stellantis. This is another critical contract fight for the entire labor movement as the upsurge in union support continues to grow. So we decided that doing this story justice would take a whole episode. We sat down to talk about the history of the UAW, the concessions given up during the 2008 bailout, and what workers are fighting for in this new master agreement.

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Ep 167 - Teamster Power

Tue, 01 Aug 2023 08:00:00 -0300

We know everyone wants to talk about the biggest labor news this week but first: Union Pizza! Workers at Barboncino Pizzeria in Brooklyn became the first union pizza shop in NYC this week. Also we have a quick update on the ILWU Canada strike, with workers voting on a new TA after rejecting an earlier one. In a sad story, Yellow Freight's bosses have so mismanaged the company that it is shutting down, costing 30,000 jobs. Also this week, Rutgers is trying to get medical students to scab against striking nurses. A new report this week shows Amazon continuously refuses to make accommodations for disabled workers. Then of course the big news this week is the tentative agreement reached between the Teamsters and management at UPS. We go over some of the contracts historic wins, and discuss areas workers have identified where it could be improved. We talk about the impact this contract could have in spurring others to unionize, and how it affects the drive by the Teamsters to organize workers at Amazon. Finally, we close out celebrating one of the largest new bargaining units of the year, with 5000 TV commercial workers joining IATSE.

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Overtime Episode 43 PREVIEW - The General Strike in US History Pt 3

Fri, 28 Jul 2023 08:15:58 -0300

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 diving back into labor history with a return to our short series on the history of general strikes in the US. On this episode, we round out the strikes of 1934 by discussing the Toledo Auto-Lite and Minneapolis general strikes. The pitched battles fought by workers across the country terrified the ruling class into accepting some of the most pivotal labor reforms in US history. Fighting scabs, company thugs, police, and even the National Guard, workers with nothing to lose in the midst of the Great Depression struck back against their exploiters and won victories that echoed for decades. Organizing such massive endeavors is never easy or quick, but there are so many lessons we can take from our comrades of the past to help improve our efforts today.

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Ep 166 - Unionize the Jocks

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 08:13:01 -0300

After a few quick headlines, we start this week's labor news checking in on updates from the massive nationwide actors and writers strike. Next we discuss how hotels are using gig apps to hire scab labor and blacklist workers. Yellow Freight nearly caused a nationwide strike by failing to pay $50 million they owe the Teamsters' pension fund. Several recreational cannabis companies in California have been caught signing labor peace agreements with a fake union. This week saw new union drives at Staples, Cartoon Network, and Grindr, along with the successful union election at a climbing gym in Brooklyn. Finally, we discuss the most recent updates in the fight for a fair contract at UPS, with just one week to go.

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UNLOCKED: UPS Rank and File Interview

Sun, 23 Jul 2023 08:00:00 -0300

With just a week until 350,000 Teamster workers could strike at UPS, we want to share with as many listeners as possible our great interview with several rank and file UPS workers. So we are unlocking it for everyone to hear!

If you like these sort of episodes, please support us at patreon.com/workstoppage.

Original Description:

The biggest labor story of the year has been the ongoing negotiations between UPS and the Teamsters and the possibility of 350,000 workers launching the biggest strike in the US in decades. So we're thrilled this week to be joined by three rank and file UPS workers from Teamsters Local 41 in Kansas City to talk about it. Stewards Scott, Shaine, and Ben cover the conditions facing full time package car drivers, 22.4 "hybrid" drivers, and part time workers and the fight to improve them. We discuss the tactics used to build the unity that prompted 97% of UPS Teamsters to authorize a strike, how listeners can support their local Teamsters before and during a strike, and how we can build on that solidarity to revitalize the labor movement for the future.

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Overtime Episode 42 PREVIEW - Cybernetics and Labor - Finale

Fri, 21 Jul 2023 08:37:25 -0300

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

For our eighth and final episode (for now) in our series on the basics of Cybernetics and how it relates to the labor movement, we finally explore the details of Stafford Beer's Viable Systems Model (VSM). John walks us through the various subsystems of Beer's model for analyzing organizations, and we discuss examples of how the model would apply to an individual human being, a labor union, and even an entire nation. We discuss the various key features of organization this form of analysis reveals, like the importance of devolving at least some management functions to the lowest level parts of the system, or in the case of a union, democratically empowering each and every member.

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Ep 165 - Solidarity Summer

Mon, 17 Jul 2023 08:00:00 -0300

This was another major week in labor as the biggest strike of the year so far kicked off with 160,000+ actors joining the writers on picket lines across the country. Also this week, a new reform caucus was announced in the ALU, calling for leadership elections. Starbucks workers launched their nationwide organizing bus tour, hitting cities across the country and shutting down stores tom demand Starbucks return to the bargaining table. The Teamsters have expanded the concept of "flying squadrons" by launching roving pickets across the country demanding recognition of their union drivers. The UAW kicked off the negotiation process with the big three automakers in militant fashion, refusing traditional company niceties. Workers at the Leinenkugel brewery in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin are on strike fighting for a living wage. Finally, we celebrate the union victory of workers at Sega, making Sonic officially a union hedgehog.

AFSE Petition: https://form.jotform.com/231775539933064

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UPS Rank and File Interview PREVIEW

Fri, 14 Jul 2023 08:00:00 -0300

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

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Ep 164 - We Organize to Protect Each Other

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 08:00:00 -0300

We start this week's episode with congratulations to workers at Powerhouse Animation, who became the first unionized animation studio in Texas last week. Next we discuss the pausing of the LA hotel strike....and its resumption. Refresco workers finally won a contract after 3 years of fighting this week, winning big pay raises and other gains. Starbucks has lost in court AGAIN this week, losing cases in Pittsburgh and Ithaca and being forced to rehire workers. We also have some tragic stories of worker deaths this week, one a labor organizer murdered for his work in Bangladesh, the other a 16 year old child forced by our economic system to work in a dangerous saw mill. The University of California has been retaliating against workers following last year's major strike, now escalating to felony charges for writing with chalk. Finally, we have some happier news on some recent victories in organizing by the UFW in New York, and by grad student workers at Stanford.

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Overtime Episode 41 PREVIEW: Cybernetics and Labor - Pt 7

Fri, 07 Jul 2023 08:00:00 -0300

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 in the world of Cybernetics for this week's Patron episode. On Part 7 of our series, John explains the admittedly very complex concepts of Autopoiesis and Eudemony, key ideas for understanding Stafford Beer's "Viable Systems Model" which stands are the core of his thought. Breaking down these concepts of how systems like machines and biological organisms reproduce themselves and how structures organize themselves towards a maximal goal also help show the parallels between Cybernetics and the study of human societies, history, and more broadly how human beings organize themselves. On our next episode, we will go into the VSM in detail and explain how Beer used it as the foundation for setting up Project Cybersyn and embarking on an attempt to radically democratize the Chilean economy.

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Ep 163 - Everybody’s Striking For The Weekend

Tue, 04 Jul 2023 09:00:00 -0300

It may be a long weekend, but people still gotta work, and that means more labor stories. First we do a quick run through the headlines, discussing where things stand with the WGA strike, the independent labor movement in Mexico, and the fight to defend Pride at Starbucks. Next, workers in South Korea have launched a two week long mobilization to demand the far right anti worker Yoon regime resign. West Coast ports in Canada shuttered this week as negotiations with the ILWU have stalled. 15,000 hotel workers are on strike in LA, as workers fight for wages that just allow them to live where they work. Nurses in Texas and Kansas struck for one day for safe staffing and faced a week long lockout on returning. 6000 aircraft workers with Boeing supplier Spirit Aerosystems shot down multiple tentative agreements before finally winning a new contract. Amazon continues to kill workers with its frantic pace and unsafe conditions, but also keeps trying to deny responsibility. Finally, we check in on the negotiations between the Teamsters and UPS, and discuss some of the recent major wins by the union.

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USSW Worker Leaders Interview PREVIEW

Sat, 01 Jul 2023 09:00:00 -0300

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 got a quick break from our series on the intersection of the study of Cybernetics and the Labor Movement for an interview! This week we were very excited to speak with AshlyRuth and Diana, two worker organizers with the Union of Southern Service Workers. The South has long stood as a bastion of Right to Work anti-labor laws, with bosses and politicians using racism to divide workers. The USSW is fighting to change that by using cross-sector organizing and drawing on whole communities to fight for better conditions for workers all over the South. AshlyRuth and Diana speak about some of the experiences they've had, both as service workers and as organizers, the awful working conditions they've faced personally, and how the USSW is helping them fight back.

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Ep 162 - Only Unions Jobs Are Green Jobs

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 08:01:32 -0300

On this week's episode of Work Stoppage, Trader Joe's continues to drag out the process of certification at its Louisville store. Negotiations between the Teamsters and UPS have moved to discussions of economic issues, with only a month to go before a strike. Nearly 2000 nurses struck for a week in Oregon and are now demanding their employer be investigated for hiring professional scabs. Over 1000 UE locomotive makers in Erie, PA have gone on strike to protect their jobs and their working conditions as Wabtec threatens to slash the labor force. We also catch up with the longest strike in digital media which we missed on our break, with writers at Insider winning healthcare coverage the company claimed was unaffordable. Finally, workers at the University of Pittsburgh officially filed to unionize with the Steelworkers and 1100 undergraduate student workers at Western Washington voted near unanimously to join the UAW!

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Overtime Episode 40 PREVIEW - Cybernetics and Labor - Pt 6

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 08:00:00 -0300

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

Our series on Cybernetics and Labor continues this week as we dive into the beginning of Project Cybersyn and Stafford Beer's arrival in Chile. We discuss Beer's invitation from the government of Salvador Allende, his work with prominent government officials, and the incredible speed with which his project was assembled. We also begin breaking down Beer's concept of the Viable Systems Model as applied to a socialist government. In our next episode, we will discuss the planned deployment and testing of the project in the final months of Allende's time in power before the CIA-backed coup brought everything crashing to a halt.

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Ep 161 - Back After Forming a Union

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 08:00:00 -0300

We're back from our break for Lina's wedding, which was wonderful and we all had an amazing time, but now it's time to catch up on two weeks of labor news! We start the show with a quick trip through as many short labor stories as we can, covering developments at Starbucks, Amazon, REI, Barnes & Noble, AT&T, Colectivo, Paizo, UPS, and more. Then we follow up with the workers at the Wharf InterContinental Hotel in Washington DC who have forced their employers to recognize their union election with UNITE HERE. We also check in on the UAW workers at Clarios, who have voted to end their strike, as well as the fallout from Florida's anti-public worker law. The past two weeks have seen diverging trends in negotiations with the Hollywood studios, with the Directors signing a tentative agreement for a new deal and SAG-AFTRA voting 98% in favor of joining the writers on strike. David Byrne's recent attempt to do a Broadway musical with no union musicians is the latest in a long history of anti-union behavior by the famed auteur. Smoke clouds choked NYC in the first week of June, forcing workers to organize for their safety. Finally, we congratulate the postdocs and researchers at the University of Washington for winning a one week strike for a new contract.

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Overtime Episode 39 PREVIEW - Cybernetics and Labor - Pt 5

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 08:00:00 -0300

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 from our week off for Lina's wedding and in the latest episode of our series on the history of Cybernetics and its relationship to labor, we've finally arrived at the work of Stafford Beer. Beer's work on complex systems revolutionized the way management operations are thought of in both the business world and in all systems of planning. His book Brain of the Firm on how to better manage complex systems like factories or even networks of them was so influential, he was invited to assist the government of Chile under the leadership of recently elected socialist Salvador Allende. Beer's work on the project of creating an automated command center for monitoring and adjusting the economy of Chile, known as Cybersyn, has become legendary for its futuristic approach to running a planned society. In this episode we discuss an overview of Beer's life and works, and in the next few episodes we will dive into the details of his thought, how Cybersyn was meant to work, and how Beer's body of work can be used by the labor movement and socialists around the world today.

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UNLOCKED: Overtime Episode 35 - Cybernetics and Labor - Pt 1

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 08:00:00 -0300

This week was a exciting but busy one with all of us getting together to celebrate Lina's wedding, which unfortunately made it impossible to put together the regular episode. So we've decided to unlock the first episode in our new series on the history of the field of cybernetics and how the labor movement has interacted with it. It's been a super fascinating topic learning about figures like Norbert Wiener, Ross Ashby, and Stafford Beer, so we hope you like this unlocked episode as just the first portion of what we've been covering. Our Cybernetics series will continue for patrons later this week and our weekly labor news rundown will be back at our regularly scheduled time next Tuesday!

Thank you so much for listening, we couldn't do the show without you!

Original Description:

We're very excited this week to be starting our long awaited series discussing the history of the field of cybernetics and how it intersects with the labor movement. In this first part, John explains the life and work of polymath and founder of the study of cybernetics, Norbert Wiener. We discuss the parallels between Wiener's thinking and Marxism, the ways that his conception of cybernetics requires a dialectical outlook at the world, and how the systems theory approach of cybernetics can help us understand complex events, including in the realm of politics and organizing. Next week, we will continue with the second half of our discussions on Norbert Wiener, including his relationship with the UAW. Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Ep 160 - Not a Pizza Party, a Pizza Union

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 08:03:54 -0300

We're back with another weekly roundup of the labor news. This week was a big one, and after a few quick headlines we discuss developments in the ongoing strike by grad students at the University of Michigan, now facing police harassment at home. Next we get into the biggest story of the week, the Supreme Court's ruling weakening the right to strike in the Glacier Northwest case. We discuss immediate impacts and how unions can adapt moving forward. REI ramped up union busting this week, threatening to cut pay for workers at the first union location in SoHo. Thousands of workers and even some business owners protested in cities across Florida last week against the state's new racist immigration law. Over 400 workers for TruStage in Wisconsin struck to force their employer back to the bargaining table. Finally, we close with the story of workers at Barboncino in New York who are poised to become the first union pizza shop in the city.

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Working People Crossover PREVIEW - Child Labor and Slavery

Sun, 04 Jun 2023 16:25:26 -0300

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 know this week's episode is a little late folks, but we think it's well worth the wait. We've been fans of the Working People podcast ever since we started the show, so it was a big honor this week to sit down and have a conversation with Maximillian Alvarez. While it isn't the most upbeat topic, we decided to talk about the causes and purposeful expansion of child labor within the United States, as well as the ongoing use of modern slavery in US prisons. These issues, heavy as they are, allow us to examine the state of US capitalism and the impact of these repressive practices on the entire US labor movement and the broader global working class. This was a really lively conversation and we think you'll all really enjoy it!

If you aren't already, follow Working People on twitter @WorkingPod and subscribe at www.patreon.com/WorkingPeople

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Ep 159 - You Can’t Automate Empathy

Tue, 30 May 2023 07:43:56 -0300

We start this week with congratulations for workers at REI, Barnes and Noble, and the Chicago Nature Museum who all won union elections last week. Our first full story covers an ongoing strike by San Diego bus drivers over being forced to work split shifts that take up 13 hours of their day. In DC, workers with UNITE HERE are protesting the move to close one of the most popular and acclaimed new restaurants in the country just to crush a union drive. An investigation by The Nation this week revealed the widespread levels of exploitation and hazardous working conditions in the legal weed business. Tech workers at Amazon have moved to escalate the class struggle at the company in response to recent layoffs. The National Eating Disorders Association decided that rather than continue to operate a helpline used by thousands every year if the workers unionized, they'd rather replace the workers with a chatbot that doesn't work. Finally, resident doctors in Queens struck this week for the first time in over three decades over low wages and disparities with other hospitals.

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Overtime Episode 38 PREVIEW - Cybernetics and Labor - Pt 4

Fri, 26 May 2023 08:25:27 -0300

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

On the fourth episode of our series on the history of the discipline of Cybernetics and its relationship to the labor movement, we continue our discussions on the work of W Ross Ashby with his creation of the first fully self regulating machine, the Homeostat. This machine and its systems for returning itself to equilibrium provide a theoretical analogy for looking at how organizations like a labor union respond to changes to their environment. Ashby's development of the concept of variety and the regulation of systems provides a different way of examining the problems of bureaucracy, ossification, and the incredible potential in realizing true democracy. In our next episodes, we will be moving to the work of Stafford Beer and the development of Management Cybernetics and the direct relationship between Cybernetics and Socialism.

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Ep 158 - Starbucks vs Ithaca

Tue, 23 May 2023 08:03:18 -0300

Turns out the CIA has trained gremlins and is trying to disrupt our podcast by breaking John's audio setup, but we soldiered on with a tin can on some string. After a few quick congratulations, we discuss the University of Michigan's choice to sacrifice its academic integrity to try and break a strike. We also follow up with developments in the fight back by the South Korean working class against the far right Yoon government. Starbucks has extended its war on its workers to the entire town of Ithaca, prompting protests. UAW workers at the largest car battery manufacturer in the country have gone on strike in Ohio. Workers in Minnesota have used organized pressure to prompt some good legal reforms in recent weeks such as a ban on captive audience meetings. Dancers at Star Garden Topless Dive Bar in LA became the only state recognized union strippers this week, potentially opening the door for another organizing wave. Finally, a huge win in the South where 1400 workers manufacturing school buses at Blue Bird have voted to join the Steelworkers.

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Overtime Episode 37 PREVIEW - Cybernetics and Labor Pt 3

Fri, 19 May 2023 08:10:31 -0300

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

On the third part of our deep dive into the history of the discipline of Cybernetics and its relations to the labor movement, we discuss the life and theories of W. Ross Ashby. His work on measurement of the complexity of a system with the concept of "Variety", helps us understand the ways complex structures, like a labor union, can be set up in ways that either give it the ability to adapt to changing inputs and become a stable, successful system, or can restrict its possible responses to a given situation and leave it unable to respond. We also discuss Stafford Beer's interpretation of Ashby's work, how it applies to economics, and the ways that thinking of complex systems like an economy in terms of variety helps us point out the differences between a capitalist and socialist economic system. On the next episode of our series, we will discuss Ashby's pioneering work on his self-regulating machine, the homeostat.

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Ep 157 - Free Palestine!

Tue, 16 May 2023 08:07:05 -0300

Our first story this week is on the approaching possibility of a strike by 25,000 pilots at Southwest and American Airlines. Next we discuss the possibility of workers in Coventry, England becoming the first officially recognized Amazon warehouse in the UK. We have two tragic stories of deaths of labor organizers after facing an onslaught of harassment from far right regimes in South Korea and the Philippines. 230,000 rail workers in Germany called off a potential 50 hour strike at the last moment when the rail carriers met a key wage demand. Teachers in Oakland struck for 7 days demanding not just better wages and working conditions, but more importantly government investment in the public good. Medical residents at Penn recently voted by nearly 90% to unionize, forming the largest new union in Pennsylvania in 50 years. Finally, as we recorded on the commemoration of the Nakba, we take a moment to call for solidarity and the liberation of Palestine from settler colonial occupation.

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Overtime Episode 36 PREVIEW - Cybernetics and Labor - Pt 2

Fri, 12 May 2023 07:49:48 -0300

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

For our second episode on the history of the discipline of Cybernetics and its relationship to the labor movement, we dive a little deeper into what Cybernetics actually is. We discuss the way Cybernetics seeks to bridge varying disciplines and systems and examine their interrelations, paralleling the dialectical way of looking at the world in Marxism. We also discuss Norbert Wiener's attempt to use his newly formed discipline of cybernetics to help labor, by reaching out to Walter Reuther and the UAW about the perils of approaching automation. Upcoming episodes will discuss the work of W. Ross Ashby, another of the early founders of cybernetics, and his work on the concept of Variety.

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Ep 156 - The People’s War Against AI

Tue, 09 May 2023 08:21:20 -0300

The whole gang's back together and what a week in labor it has been! After a few quick headlines we dive right into the biggest story of the week breaking down the nationwide writer's strike. Writers across the country have hit the picket lines to defend the very existence of their profession as a career. A story in Labor Notes details the ways fishery workers in Massachusetts have had immigration law and labor law loopholes weaponized against them. AI and content moderation workers in Africa launched the first continent wide union of its type this week. More horrors out of Amazon as they've released a new service purporting to provide affordable connection to healthcare...with the price of giving away your HIPAA rights. More awful news on the child labor front as the government announced fines for McDonald's employing children as young as 10. Finally, we close with some happier news, as the team behind Youtube Music announced their unanimous decision to join the CWA.

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Overtime Episode 35 PREVIEW - Cybernetics and Labor - Pt 1

Fri, 05 May 2023 08:24:24 -0300

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 very excited this week to be starting our long awaited series discussing the history of the field of cybernetics and how it intersects with the labor movement. In this first part, John explains the life and work of polymath and founder of the study of cybernetics, Norbert Wiener. We discuss the parallels between Wiener's thinking and Marxism, the ways that his conception of cybernetics requires a dialectical outlook at the world, and how the systems theory approach of cybernetics can help us understand complex events, including in the realm of politics and organizing. Next week, we will continue with the second half of our discussions on Norbert Wiener, including his relationship with the UAW. Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Ep 155 - Maybor Day

Tue, 02 May 2023 08:34:07 -0300

After a whirlwind trip through some quick headlines, we discuss the Teamsters unionizing a delivery contractor for Amazon and the precedent that could set. This week marked the UFCW's national convention and reformers have been fighting to make the union more democratic. The independent union movement in Mexico continues to grow despite some recent blatant illegal interference by the company union CTM. Strikes at the Royal Mail in the UK have been suspended as the union has reached a tentative agreement. Finally, graduate workers at Stanford have launched the largest new bargaining unit union drive of the year so far as the academic organizing wave shows no signs of slowing down.

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UNLOCKED - Why Rank and File? - Pt 1

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 08:33:01 -0300

Unfortunately due to some major life events and schedule misalignments among the hosts, we weren't able to get everyone together to record a second show this week. So we're doing the opposite and unlocking the first episode in last year's series Why Rank and File? With Shawn Fain and the UAWD taking the helm of the UAW, Sean O'Brien and the TDU having just recently won leadership in the Teamsters, and a growing reform movement within the UFCW aiming to bring democracy to the country's 5th biggest union, the rank and file union democracy movement is on the upswing. So what better time to let everyone listen to the first part of our series where we dig into exactly why rank and file democracy is so important to the labor movement?

Patrons, stay tuned for next week when we'll be starting a series from John on the intersection of trade unionism and cybernetics.

Ep 154 - Gotta Go Fast!

Tue, 25 Apr 2023 09:14:50 -0300

We start this week's episode following up with the RISD workers who have signed a new contract after winning their key demands. Next we check in with the striking graduate workers at the University of Michigan where both the courts and the cops have ramped up repression. Trader Joe's United split two elections this week, one win out west and a heartbreaking loss in NYC. The Writer's Guild of America had record turnout and unity in authorizing a strike that could shut down TV production in Hollywood. Over 150,000 government workers in Canada struck last week to protest low wages and raise offers below inflation. The Barnes and Noble expanded to a second store this week. Starbucks unveiled their economic proposals for nationwide bargaining. Ben and Jerry's workers have joined the Workers United movement. And just the day of recording, workers at Sega have announced their fight to make Sonic a union hedgehog.

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Overtime Episode 34 Preview - The General Strike in US History Pt 2

Fri, 21 Apr 2023 13:33:01 -0300

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 continue our dive into the history of general strikes in US history this week with the San Francisco general strike of 1934. As with the 1919 Seattle general strike, this one started on the docks but quickly spread to the entire city. Unlike Seattle, which was entirely peaceful until the violence unleashed after the strike, the San Francisco strike became immediately violent. This strike reverberated across the entire country, paralyzing west coast trade and driving the ruling class out of their minds. The legacy of 150,000 workers standing up against the entire armed force of the state continues to be felt today. In Part 3, we will discuss more of the major strikes of 1934, including in Toledo and Minneapolis.

Primary sources for this series include: People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn, Labor’s Untold Story by Boyer and Morais, Strike! By Jeremy Brecher, A History of America In Ten Strikes by Erik Loomis and The Fall of the House of Labor by David Montgomery

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Ep 153 - Safe Jobs Require Strong Unions

Tue, 18 Apr 2023 08:18:48 -0300

We're down to just two of us this week as John's on the mend, but we've still got a ton of news to cover in labor this week. First we discuss the suspension of the strike at Rutgers as the bargaining team reached a framework for a tentative agreement over the weekend. Next we follow up with the 2 month long strike at the Buena Park Medieval Times, where both workers, both human and equine, have faced violence. Also this week, a wild story out of Jacobin exposes the continued problems with firearm safety in Hollywood, even after the tragic death of Halyna Hutchins. Rail workers continue to face abuse for taking sick days after the Democrats blocked their strike, with one company even hiring private investigators to spy on injured workers. The REI union wave took another big leap this week with three new stores filing for elections. Student workers continued to notch big wins this week as well, with Dartmouth grad students easily winning their election, and the independent undergrad student worker union at the University of Oregon filing for their own election with supermajority support.

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Overtime Episode 33 PREVIEW - The General Strike in US History Pt 1

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 08:22:35 -0300

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

Whenever we've talked about general strikes on our show, it has most often been to explain why you can't just declare one on Twitter. In this two part series, we dig into US labor history to find out what it takes to launch a real general strike, and what lessons we can learn from the workers who participated in them. In this first episode we discuss the Seattle general strike of 1919, when workers shut down the entire city for a week. During the five days of the strike workers formed a parallel government, handing out food, regulating what trades were allowed to operate, and even maintaining civic order without resorting to violence. This strike stands today as one of the biggest displays of worker power and self-management in US history. In part 2, we will discuss the two general strikes of 1934 in San Francisco and Seattle.

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Ep 152 - Pay Your Workers!

Tue, 11 Apr 2023 08:26:15 -0300

Dan's back this week and so that means an avalanche of new labor news stories. We begin by discussing the new massive strike at Rutgers, with over 9000 faculty, post docs, and grad student workers fighting for fair wages and job security. Next we discuss Florida's latest attempt to destroy public unions. In Syracuse yet another massive union landslide this past week as grad workers voted overwhelmingly to unionize. Service workers in the South staged a one day strike in protest of the region's refusal to enforce safety protections in industries with a majority Black workforce. School staff at the Rhode Island School of Design struck this week, fighting for $20/hr at a school that charges $77k/year. Unfortunately we have another story of union busting from Planned Parenthood in the Midwest, this time involving illegal surveillance of the union's bargaining team. Finally, we congratulate workers in New Jersey (also at Rutgers!) on filing for the first union at Barnes and Noble in the country.

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Overtime Episode 32 PREVIEW - Tales From the Thaw: The CIO and the USSR

Fri, 07 Apr 2023 08:23:35 -0300

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

Pamphlet Link: https://ladyizdihar.com/blogs/izdihars-soviet-archive-2/report-of-the-cio-delegation-to-the-soviet-union-1945

We talk a lot about labor history on our Overtime episodes, looking back at past struggles by workers to see what lessons we can draw out for our own struggles today. One of the lesser known but very interesting periods in US labor history came during the temporary friendly relations between the US and the Soviet Union during World War 2. Immediately following the war, quite in contrast to the depths of McCarthyism just a few years later, the US remained on nominally friendly grounds with the USSR. The Soviet victory over the Nazi war machine had raised the prestige of the still young socialist nation all around the world. This week, we sat down to discuss a historical artifact from this period, a pamphlet describing a 1945 visit of a delegation from the Congress of Industrial Organizations in the US to the USSR. In this period before the second Red Scare, the union leaders reported back a far more open and positive review of the Soviet system than described following their anti-communist turn.

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Ep 151 - Missing the GDR

Tue, 04 Apr 2023 08:19:39 -0300

This week we are joined by Johnny and Pat from Subversive History while Dan is out. We follow-up with stories about how Chipotle was forced to compensate workers for closing the Augusta store, an expansion in the Buena Park Medieval Times Union to sound and lighting workers, and the forced resignation of Temple University's president. We also talk about REI workers in Chicago filing for a union election, and the massive "warning strikes" in Germany and a little history about the country. Finally we talk about the "illegal" GEO strike at the University of Michigan, as well as some updates on Starbucks since Howard Schultz testified for the Senate HELP committee.

Fired Starbucks workers solidarity funds:
https://donorbox.org/justice-for-lillie-haneghan#info
https://gofund.me/5afa542e
https://gofund.me/e258b017

Follow Subversive History @
https://www.twitch.tv/subversivehistory
https://twitter.com/SubversiveHist1

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UNLOCKED Overtime - Unions and The Mob: Reputation vs Reality Pt 1

Thu, 30 Mar 2023 13:17:12 -0300

UNLOCKED!
We're very excited to be launching a new, wide ranging series on the history of allegations levied against unions of corruption and relations with organized crime. Ever since the formation of the first labor unions, the capitalists and their media have been denouncing organized labor as corrupt, violent, led by racketeers, and in bed with the mob. This allegation remains common today, and what better way to help fight these ideological attacks on unions than by confronting these allegations head on and examining the historical record. And of course, there's no other place we could start than with the case of Jimmy Hoffa, whose reputation looms large as one of the most notorious figures in US labor history. To rigorously examine his case, we will have to go all the way back to the founding of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and follow allegations of corruption from the early days of the union up through today.

In this episode, we discuss how the ruling class attacked unions for supposedly being corrupt from the very beginning, and used the media to minimize violence by bosses and amplify stories of violence by workers. In future episodes we will go through a century of Teamster history, the rise of Jimmy Hoffa, his presidency of the union and his fight with the Kennedys, his imprisonment, his disappearance, and ultimately his legacy. Along the way we will do our best to separate real instances of corruption from the mountain of insinuations and rumor, and discuss what lessons we can learn for our organizing today.

Ep 150 - Have You Heard The Good News?

Tue, 28 Mar 2023 08:24:56 -0300

Surprisingly we settled on nearly all good news stories this week, so if you're looking for some positivity, this one's for you. After an update on the ongoing national strike movement, we discuss the school strike in LA. 60,000 workers shutting down the second largest city in the country's schools and making big wins that will help the whole community. Also this week, two more Trader Joe's locations joined the union movement, one on each coast. Indian farmers have made more wins at the state level after more impressive protests. The RMT reached a deal with Network Rail after 9 months of strikes and made big wins the Tories claimed were impossible. Finally, Starbucks workers demonstrated their organization and resolve by shutting down 100 stores across the country and released their national contract demands.

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PREVIEW: Interview with Temple University Graduate Students’ Association

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 08:36:21 -0300

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

Graduate student workers have been organizing in droves across the country, fighting back against abysmal wages and impossible working conditions. Recently, the workers at Temple University won a hard fought strike that lasted over a month. While we have covered many graduate worker strikes on the show, the level of repression unleashed by the university administration to try and crush the strike was truly unprecedented, which only made the new contract the workers won even more impressive. We're so excited this week to be joined by Alex Paparella, a PhD student and strike captain with TUGSA, to discuss their strike, their new contract, and the state of labor organizing in academia.

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Ep 149 - Formez Vos Bataillons

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 08:28:49 -0300

HL Worker Support Fund - https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/sued-for-union-organizing

News just refuses to stay confined to one week periods, so this episode of Work Stoppage is mostly follow ups. We bracket the episode with good news, starting out congratulating the grad student workers of the University of Chicago on their landslide union win. Next we discuss the flagrant retaliation against the brand new union by the bosses at TCGPlayer. In France, Macron has moved to ram his pension reform through by decree, and now only the working class can force him to back down by taking matters into their own hands. We also follow up with the UAW elections, where the Curry team refuses to concede. Violence has broken out on the picket lines at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as two workers were sent to the hospital after being attacked by scabs. A new report shows how the companies using rampant child labor have managed to get some of their funding from public pension funds. Workers at Caterpillar signed a major new 6 year contract, we break down the bottom line. Finally, workers at Bandcamp have formed a union to preserve working conditions at the one company that actually pays artists for their work.

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Shop Floor Discussion 7 PREVIEW - Off The Rails

Fri, 17 Mar 2023 08:31:55 -0300

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 rail systems of the western world seem to be collapsing all at once. As the railroad workers have been telling us here in the US for years, capitalist ownership of the railroads has hollowed out the safety of the networks and left them in a dangerous condition. We saw this illustrated all too clearly in Greece, where a recent tragic collision between a passenger train and a freight train left over 50 people dead. We decided to sit down and discuss the recent upsurge in rail workers fighting back against decades of negligence. We discuss the ways the disaster in East Palestine, the 6 month long rolling strikes by rail workers in the UK, and the massive country wide mass strikes organized in Greece in the aftermath of this most recent tragedy are connected, and how our organizing should respond.

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Ep 148 - The Billionaire Machine

Tue, 14 Mar 2023 08:33:47 -0300

After some discussion of how refreshing seeing union leaders refuse to take shit from politicians is, this week's episode of Work Stoppage starts by continuing our look into the expansion of child labor in the US, this time in Arkansas. Next we discuss the mass strike in France to fight against the attack on workers by the neoliberal Macron regime. We also do very quick follow ups on the status of the strike at Temple University and the UAW elections. Faculty at Rutgers voted overwhelmingly last week to authorize what would be the first strike in the schools history. Meanwhile, Duke is trying a novel strategy against the grad student union drive there: claiming grad students aren't workers and shouldn't be allowed to unionize anywhere. Democrats in Michigan repealed right to work last week, which is good! But they also refused to allow teachers to strike, which is very bad! Workers across the country continue to face wage theft in the form of being misclassified as "managers" in order to use a loophole to avoid paying overtime. Workers at TCGPlayer became the first unionized employees at eBay this week, despite the company's union busting. Finally, we discuss the disgusting attack on municipal union retirees in New York City, with workers being stripped of the healthcare they earned after decades of public service.

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Movie Time 6 PREVIEW - A Bug’s Life and Chicken Run

Fri, 10 Mar 2023 08:23:40 -0400

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

Now, at first glance you may be wondering why your favorite communist labor podcast is doing an episode on two animated kids movies. But that's why we encourage you to take another look at these two classic examples of Marxist cinema. With wholesome messages of working class unity, struggle against oppression, and never trusting Americans, these two films are examples of how complex ideas can be presented simply.

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Ep 147 - Death to Imperialism

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 08:26:06 -0400

Labor never stops, and neither do we, it's another episode of Work Stoppage. We start off with a quick congratulations to the workers at REI in Cleveland who won their union election last week. We then discuss the results of the UAW election runoff, where the presidential vote remains too close to call. We check in on the situation in Sri Lanka, where the government is trying to sell out the country to the IMF and workers aren't having it. New horrors continue to come out of the rail disaster in East Palestine, this time we learn that Norfolk Southern execs received bonuses specifically for making trains less safe. Recent revelations of child labor at companies like Hyundai and Packers Sanitation have prompted major media investigations into the practice and found it to be rampant across the country. Laborers in Portland struck last week after their employer, owned by French giant Saint Gobain, tried to force them to work 13 twelve-hour shifts in two weeks. The grad student organizing wave continues to explode, we check in on drives at Minnesota, Princeton, Dartmouth, and Duke. Finally, we discuss the recent major legal ruling against Starbucks' illegal union busting campaign.

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Unions in Vietnam w/ Luna Oi!

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 13:01:32 -0400

This week we were honored to be joined by Luna Oi to educate us on how the trade union system works in Vietnam. We've talked about union struggles all over the world, from the US and UK to South Africa, to South Korea and many countries in Latin America. But this is the first time we have been able to speak with someone who has experienced the labor movement in a socialist country. We discuss the history of the labor movement in Vietnam, the relationship between unions and the government, the protections afforded all workers under Vietnamese labor law, how strikes work (and boy do they work!) in a socialist system, and the many rights and benefits that workers in Vietnam have won over the years. It was very inspiring to hear about the incredible progress workers have made since the victory of their revolution and we are so excited to share this conversation with all our listeners.

Check out Luna's channel, where she has tons of incredible videos on socialism, Vietnamese history, the global class struggle, and even delicious Vietnamese food! Luna can be found on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@Lunaoi. You can also check out her work on Means TV, and follow her on Twitter at @LunaOi_VN

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Ep 146 - Running on Empty

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 08:22:08 -0400

A quick update on the Temple grad workers strike, which continues after they voted down the administration's last contract offer, gets us started this week. We also discuss the awful history of worker treatment and the way companies like Rich Products use drug tests to keep working from reporting injuries. A restaurant owner in Ohio was recently caught more or less enslaving his workforce. Mental health workers in Hawaii recently ended a 6 month strike, fighting Kaiser Permanente's policy of intentional understaffing. English language voice actors in the anime dubbing industry face an uphill battle for union recognition against Crunchyroll's near total monopoly. UK junior doctors have joined the mass workers movement, declaring their intention to strike over wages so low they can't afford to eat. Amazon workers at the company's air hub in Inland Empire have kept up the fight for a union, and won some important short term victories. Lastly, we get in some discussion of the UAW election as the union finally raised its strike pay to $500 a week, after reversing an earlier vote at last year's convention that would have done the same. Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Movie Time 5 PREVIEW: Hoffa and The Irishman

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 08:22:41 -0400

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

As a coda to our recent series on allegations of corruption and mob involvement in the Teamsters, with a special focus on the career of Jimmy Hoffa, we decided that we couldn't skip out on some of the media portrayals of Hoffa's story. First we check out Danny Devito's 1992 biopic, Hoffa, starring Jack Nicholson. Then we discuss Martin Scorsese's recent 3.5 hour megafilm, The Irishman. For both films, we discuss the ways they track with the real story of Hoffa's life and disappearance, and the ways they diverge from reality. We compare and contrast the portrayals of Hoffa by Nicholson and Al Pacino, and the two films' different visions of the union leader. While we do provide a summary of each film before we discuss it, we definitely recommend checking out the recent Hoffa series in order to get all the background before diving into this one.

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Ep 145 - The State’s Not On Our Side

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 08:32:29 -0400

Support the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Workers: https://cwa-union.org/support-striking-pittsburgh-post-gazette-workers

We start this week's episode checking in with the strike at Temple University, which may end this week as workers are voting on a potential agreement. We got big news that the country's longest strike at Warrior Met coal appears to be heading for an end as the union proposed returning to work. Recent attacks on farm workers in California have exposed the horrific living conditions these vital laborers face in our racist system. Tesla workers in Buffalo launched a union push with Workers United last week and faced immediate retaliation. Medieval Times workers in Buena Park, CA have struck against the company's illegal retaliation for unionizing. The owners of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette have sunk so low as to begin suing the city for not being violent enough against picketing workers. A federal judge issued a nationwide injunction against Starbucks' campaign of illegal retaliatory firings. Education workers in Northern Virginia won the largest new bargaining unit of the year so far. Finally, 3000 grad student workers at USC have joined the academic organizing wave.

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UNLOCKED - Interview: Johns Hopkins University Teachers and Researchers United

Mon, 20 Feb 2023 11:25:57 -0400

In celebration of the massive wave of organizing in academia, we are unlocking our recent interview with worker organizers from Teachers and Researchers United (TRU) at Johns Hopkins University, so that their example can help others organizing across the education sector.

Original Description:
We're so excited to be joined this week by Andrew and Jasmine, two organizers from Teachers and Researchers United (TRU), the union for graduate student workers at Johns Hopkins University. Workers won an incredibly victory last week, with a near unanimous 97% of workers supporting the union drive. So it was great to be able to hear directly from some of the organizers who helped make that landslide win happen. We discuss the power of rank and file organizing, tactics that were effective and those that weren't, and their plans for continuing the struggle as they move into bargaining for a first contract.

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

Overtime Episode 31 PREVIEW - Unions and The Mob: Reputation vs Reality Pt 6

Fri, 17 Feb 2023 08:42:11 -0400

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 final episode of the Teamsters portion of our examination of the history of allegations of union corruption and mafia collusion, we close out the story of Jimmy Hoffa. We discuss the changing of the guard from Hoffa to Frank Fitzsimmons, Hoffa's relationship with Richard Nixon and his eventual release from prison, and of course Hoffa's disappearance, which remains controversial to this day.

But this is a story not just about Hoffa, but the whole history of the Teamsters, so we also touch on the presidencies of Roy Williams and Jackie Presser, the RICO suit against the Teamsters and resulting 25 year trusteeship, and the rise of the TDU as a rank and file movement to root out the decades of corruption that Hoffa brought with him. Finally, we discuss what this all means for the history of the labor movement as a whole, and what lessons we can draw for workers fighting to rebuild the labor movement today.

Main Sources:
Corruption and Reform in the Teamsters Union by David Witwer
The Fall and Rise of Jimmy Hoffa by Walter Sheridan
The Hoffa Wars by Dan Moldea

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Ep 144 - No Child Should Have to Work

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 08:30:22 -0400

VU Mexico Workers Strike Fund: https://www.atcf.org/solidarity_fund

We are forced into discussing major current events this week as the mainstream media is more worried about weather balloons than a major train derailment and chemical spill. We follow that up with an update on the victory of the striking DHL workers in Pawtucket, RI. Also this week, HarperCollins workers reached a tentative agreement on a deal to end their 66 day strike. We also get into the recently released national labor data for 2022 and what that means for the state of the labor movement. Workers in Mexico continue to stand up to company unions, and Saint Gobain auto glass workers there recently won a new union in face of violent threats. Starbucks was in the news for illegally firing workers again, this time after a worker was forced to come in despite testing positive for Covid. Politicians in Iowa this week are reviving the bad days of the 19th century and trying to get kids back to work in the mines and slaughterhouses. Finally, we round out a packed episode with the announcement of two new academic organizing drives in Boston at Northeastern and Harvard.

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PREVIEW: Interview: Johns Hopkins University Teachers and Researchers United

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 08:19:17 -0400

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 so excited to be joined this week by Andrew and Jasmine, two organizers from Teachers and Researchers United (TRU), the union for graduate student workers at Johns Hopkins University. Workers won an incredibly victory last week, with a near unanimous 97% of workers supporting the union drive. So it was great to be able to hear directly from some of the organizers who helped make that landslide win happen. We discuss the power of rank and file organizing, tactics that were effective and those that weren't, and their plans for continuing the struggle as they move into bargaining for a first contract.

Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX

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

Ep 143 - Public Workers Fight Back

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 08:30:05 -0400

It's a (nearly) all public worker episode of Work Stoppage this week. We start with a quick discussion of the excellent short job action by REI workers in Cleveland and a review of some recent stories in wage theft. Then we discuss last week's three day strike by city workers in Portland, where workers were falsely accused of violence on the picket line by Mayor Ted Wheeler. We discuss the ongoing strike by graduate student workers at Temple University where the school administrators have declared war on the students for the crime of demanding enough pay to afford food. We also discuss the recent strike by teachers in Woburn, Massachusetts where that city's mayor also viciously attacked striking workers. We finish off discussing last week's huge strike day in the UK when nearly 600k workers were on the picket lines at once, buoyed by the addition of over 300k teachers to the ongoing strike wave.

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Overtime Episode 30 PREVIEW - Unions and The Mob: Reputation vs Reality Pt 5

Fri, 03 Feb 2023 08:38:31 -0400

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 fifth episode of our new series examining historical allegations of union corruption and relations with organized crime, we discuss Jimmy Hoffa's tenure as president of the Teamsters. We discuss how while on the one hand, Hoffa negotiated some of the best contracts Teamster workers had ever had, he also stole an enormous amount of money from the rank and file. We cover the many criminal trials Hoffa faced during the 1960s, especially the two he was eventually convicted in. We also take a quick detour to interrogate the various theories of Hoffa's alleged involvement in the JFK assassination.

In the final episode of this part of the series, we will discuss Hoffa's imprisonment, his ouster from the Teamsters, his fight to regain his old leadership post, and his eventual disappearance. We will close out discussing Hoffa's legacy and impact on the Teamsters today and the labor movement more broadly.

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Ep 142 - Police Abolition is a Workplace Safety Issue

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 08:31:21 -0400

We start this week following up with workers at Proletariat Studios who have been forced to withdraw their union petition after emotional manipulation from the CEO. Thankfully, the union voted went better for workers at Trader Joe's in Louisville who are now the third union store at the chain. Next we discuss the long struggle by transit workers in Washington DC to beat back exploitative private contracting firms and win a living wage. In another in a seeming unending of similar cases, cops murdered a worker at a meat processing plant in Iowa and the company, Seaboard Farms, tried to cover it up. Another meat monopoly, Tyson Foods, was forced to backtrack recently when its attempts at union busting prompted a strong outcry from workers. We check in on some recent Amazon stories including a strike at a major warehouse in the UK. Via Labor Notes, workers at a Hooters knockoff in Tennessee have united back and front of house against an abusive manager. Finally, we check in on some recent union wins at Starbucks and other coffee shops around the country.

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Overtime Episode 29 PREVIEW - Unions and The Mob: Reputation vs Reality Pt 4

Fri, 27 Jan 2023 08:44:19 -0400

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 fourth episode of our new series examining historical allegations of union corruption and relations with organized crime, we discuss the McClellan Committee investigations into the power of organized labor. We talk about the differences between how the committee's investigations were portrayed, as a fight against corruption, and the actions of the committee, which minimized its focus on corruption and instead took aim at worker power. We discuss the downfall of Teamster president Dave Beck and his replacement by Jimmy Hoffa, and the start of the 10 year crusade against Hoffa by Robert Kennedy.

In future episodes, we will discuss the period of Hoffa's presidency of the Teamsters, his corrupt dealings with major mob figures, and his attempts to stay out of jail.

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Ep 141 - Funding Our Own Exploitation

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 08:38:51 -0400

Labor struggles don't take the week off, and this was another packed one. First, we check in on two long strikes in Iowa which ended within 24 hours this past weekend. We discuss the end of the strikes at Case New Holland and Ingredion and what little information we have so far about the new contracts workers won. Next we discuss the continuing UK strike wave and the upcoming mass strike on February 1. Then we discuss the planned strike at Ubisoft Paris in response to comments from the CEO which aim to foist the company's financial woes onto workers. Also in Paris this week, millions of French workers took to the streets to fight against a proposal to raise the retirement age. Back in the US, faculty went on strike at the University of Illinois for the third time in a decade, a won major wage increases. In a particularly perverse story, a NYT investigation reveals how workers in the restaurant industry have been forced for years to pay fees then used to lobby against raising their wages. South Korea's far right government continues its slide into fascism when the KCIA raided the offices of a major trade union federation. Finally, Nickelodeon took the rare step recently of voluntarily recognizing the organization of 177 animators in their studios.

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Overtime Episode 28 PREVIEW - Unions and The Mob: Reputation vs Reality Pt 3

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 14:06:57 -0400

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 third episode of our new series examining historical allegations of union corruption and relations with organized crime, we discuss the changing of the guard at the top of the Teamsters, from the long era of Daniel Tobin's presidency, to the rise of Dave Beck and Jimmy Hoffa. We discuss Beck and Hoffa's real talent for organizing and the way their efforts helped the Teamsters experience massive growth in the 30s, 40s, and 50s. But we also discuss their opportunism and openness to corrupt deals with mob figures, which hurt the interests of the entire rank and file. We cover the way both Hoffa and Beck's devotion to their own personal power and wealth influenced their adherence to business unionist style of leadership which created the conditions for the mafia to get a foothold in the union.

In future episodes, we will discuss the confrontation between the Teamsters and the US government, largely personified by the Kennedys, during the McClellan Committee investigations.

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Ep 140 - Capitalism Doesn’t Work

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 08:21:43 -0400

We start this week's episode of Work Stoppage discussing last week's big strike victory by nurses in New York City. Next we discuss the looming Supreme Court case that will reshape the ability of workers to strike. Also this week, the NLRB finally officially certified the ALU's victory at JFK8, 9 months after their election. The wave of organizing in academia continues to grow as grad student workers at Northwestern voted overwhelmingly to join the UE this week. The retail organizing wave has also continued with a third REI store filing for a union, this time in Cleveland. Indigenous organizations and trade unions have launched general strikes all over Peru in the weeks since the right wing coup. Incarcerated workers in Texas launched a hunger strike last week to protest policies about solitary confinement that have seen some stuck there for decades. Finally, Starbucks Workers United returns to the show after just one week with a half dozen new union victories!

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Overtime Episode 27 PREVIEW - Unions and The Mob: Reputation vs Reality Pt 2

Fri, 13 Jan 2023 08:38:54 -0400

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 our new series examining historical allegations of union corruption and relations with organized crime, we discuss the Daniel Tobin era of the Teamsters from the first decade of the 20th century to the end of WW2. In this period, massive technological changes revolutionized the work of Teamsters, shifting from driving teams of horses in busy urban streets to interstate motorized trucking. This period also saw the rise of the mafia during the years of Prohibition. With the ruling class desperate for a scapegoat to blame for the collapse of the economy during the Great Depression, the capitalist press seized on the opportunity to attack the unions, and so they immediately made the association between unions and the mob. In this episode, we discuss both real instances of corrupt union officials working with mobsters, but also heroic struggles by union leaders to fight the mob, some even paying with their lives.

In future episodes, we will discuss the rise of Dave Beck as Teamster President, Congress's attempt to go after unions with the McClellan Committee, and the dawn of the Hoffa Era.

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Ep 139 - Athletes Are Workers Too

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 08:28:54 -0400

2023 is showing no signs of being any less militant of a year for workers than 2022 was, so we've got another packed episode of Work Stoppage this week. After a couple brief check ins, we discuss the recent rejection of Case New Holland's "Last, Best, and Final" Offer by UAW workers. Also this week, Microsoft surprisingly held up their end of the neutrality agreement and voluntarily recognized the new QA union at ZeniMax. Workers at Howard Brown Health in Chicago struck last week after the company fired 15% of their staff just months after workers unionized. Newspaper workers at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram finally have their first union contract after winning a month long strike. A recent horrifying near-deadly injury once again brought the extreme exploitation of NFL players to national attention. The Tory government in the UK is trying to speed run the class war, as this week they have proposed new laws banning strikes in many industries. Finally, we got rare good news from the feds, as the FTC proposed a blanket ban on non-compete agreements.

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Overtime Episode 26 PREVIEW - Unions and The Mob: Reputation vs Reality Pt 1

Fri, 06 Jan 2023 08:28:15 -0400

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 very excited to be launching a new, wide ranging series on the history of allegations levied against unions of corruption and relations with organized crime. Ever since the formation of the first labor unions, the capitalists and their media have been denouncing organized labor as corrupt, violent, led by racketeers, and in bed with the mob. This allegation remains common today, and what better way to help fight these ideological attacks on unions than by confronting these allegations head on and examining the historical record. And of course, there's no other place we could start than with the case of Jimmy Hoffa, whose reputation looms large as one of the most notorious figures in US labor history. To rigorously examine his case, we will have to go all the way back to the founding of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and follow allegations of corruption from the early days of the union up through today.

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EP 138 - Wall to Wall

Tue, 03 Jan 2023 16:07:36 -0400

Happy New Year to all our listeners, hopefully 2023 will be another year of worker upsurge. We start our first show of the year discussing the debacle at Southwest Airlines where capitalists have once again proven they can't be trusted to manage vital infrastructure. Next we discuss the third union drive at Activision Blizzard, this time at the ironically named Proletariat Studios. California nurses just wrapped up a 10 day strike to stop assaults on their pensions, while as many as 17k nurses in NYC may soon strike over unsafe staffing and low pay as well. We belatedly check in on the strike by BCTGM workers at Ingredion in Cedar Rapids that has now gone on for over 5 months. NYC construction workers finally forced the passage of a law to hold companies liable for worker deaths caused by negligence. Workers at the Tacoma Art Museum are fighting hard for voluntary recognition of their union in order to be able to bring ALL their coworkers under one organization. Finally we check in on Starbucks, who didn't let the holidays slow down their union busting.

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PREVIEW: Work Stoppage 2022 Year In Review

Fri, 30 Dec 2022 09:46:53 -0400

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

It's the last show of the year, and what better way to finish out 2022 than by reviewing some of the biggest stories in labor over the course of the year. We go back through the year's worth of stories to highlight some of the biggest trends, from the explosive growth of the Starbucks Workers United movement and the first unionized Amazon warehouse in the US to the betrayal of the rail workers by President Biden. We discuss the surge in organizing in academia, new unions that emerged in retail, and the strike wave that broke out across the UK in response to the cost of living crisis. We review our predictions from last year, see how we did, and make some new ones for 2023. Finally of course, we cap off 2022 discussing some of our favorite memes of the year.

Happy Holidays to all our listeners! May next year see an even bigger growth in workers organizing to fight back against their exploitation on the job!

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Ep 137 - Alabama Sleighride

Tue, 27 Dec 2022 13:45:48 -0400

Happy Holidays to all, especially workers fighting for a better world! We start this week's episode discussing the recent end of the largest strike of the year at UC as workers have ratified a new contract. Next we discuss a recent Reuters investigation that uncovered rampant use of child labor in auto manufacturing in Alabama. The lockout of workers at the WestRock paper mill (also in Alabama) has continued for months now with no end in sight, as local politicians have openly sided with the company. Nurses struck again last week across the UK, and were joined by ambulance drivers despite the use of the army as scabs. Trader Joe's workers have filed for a third union election in Louisville and are already facing union busting. NY workers including the ALU have forced the passage of a bill to make Amazon reveal the quotas they use to fire workers. Elon Musk is being sued for illegally firing workers yet again, this time at Tesla for daring to criticize him. Last month a university in Florida decided to stop recognizing their faculty union, and in a twist justified it by quoting the Bible. Finally, we've got a quick check-in with the Starbucks Workers United movement which notched its first win in Nevada this past week.

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Ep 136 - First Contract Fight

Tue, 20 Dec 2022 12:26:57 -0400

UAW Local 807 Strike Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-striking-uaw-local-807-cnh-workers

This week's episode of Work Stoppage starts by checking in on the strike at Case New Holland, where over a thousand workers have been on strike for over 8 months. Next we update everyone on the status of the UC strike, where the bargaining team has signed a tentative agreement and some in the rank and file push back. The UK strike wave continues to grow as nurses launched their largest strike in the country's history. Rail workers unhappy with the lack of militancy in leadership responded this week as members of BLET surprisingly voted out their union president. NY Farm Workers now have the right to form unions, but we discuss a case that shows winning a first contract may be the harder challenge. We got some big NLRB news this week, as the board ruled that companies can be held liable for more than just back pay for illegally firing organizers. Also this week the Board issued a long overdue ruling that so called "student athletes" are in fact workers and have all the rights associated with being employees. Finally, we discuss the largest strike yet by Starbucks Workers United, as they Doubled Down for a three day strike over last weekend.

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Movie Time 4 PREVIEW: Made in Dagenham and Norma Rae

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 13:30:52 -0400

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 going back to the movies this week with two films focused on the power of women workers. First we discuss 2010's Made in Dagenham, which chronicles the 1968 strike by women sewing machinists at Ford's largest auto plant in Europe. Standing up against not only the bosses, but also chauvinist union leaders and a reformist Labour government, the women workers held their ground to fight not just for better conditions for themselves, but for equal pay for all women workers. Our second film is the 1979 classic, Norma Rae. In one of the most famous union movies ever made, Norma Rae tells the true story of the fight to organize a textile mill in the rural south. Facing a vicious union busting campaign, racism, anti-semitism, and constant attacks by the bosses and the cops, workers led by the tenacious Norma Rae demonstrate what workers can accomplish when we don't let the bosses divide us.

Ep 135 - There’s No Such Thing As a ”Pro-Labor Capitalist”

Tue, 13 Dec 2022 10:10:14 -0400

We start this week's episode with some sad news, as the South Korean truckers have been forced to end their strike after weeks of vicious government repression. Also this week the NLRB ruled that Apple has been breaking the law with its Starbucks-inspired union busting campaigns at its retail stores. Minnesota nurses have called off their potential strike after tentatively agreeing to a new contract with safe staffing measures for the first time. About a quarter of the striking workers at UC ratified new contracts this week but the majority have stayed out, escalating tactics in response to the intransigence of the administration. The strike at the New School ended this weekend after solidarity between faculty and students forced the school administrators to concede to the workers' demands. Grad students at BU became the latest group of academic workers to unionize this week. Workers also voted overwhelmingly to unionize at the Ultium Cells electric car battery factory in Warren, OH this week. We are getting the first test of Microsoft's "neutrality agreement" with the CWA as QA testers at ZeniMax are aiming to build the largest union within a major games publisher in the country. Workers at Disney World are struggling for a new contract as their low wages leave a majority unable to pay their bills, causing many to have to live out of their cars. And finally, this week marks the 1 year anniversary of the first successfully unionized Starbucks, as the movement has exploded to cover over 7000 workers.

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PREVIEW: Interview: Academia is a Racket

Fri, 09 Dec 2022 16:11:59 -0400

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

This year has seen a huge surge in organizing at academic institutions across the country. Academic workers have formed the five largest new bargaining units of the year AND led the country's largest strike, the ongoing 48,000 worker strike at the University of California. So we thought it would be a good idea to bring on a guest who could help us dig into the conditions that have prompted this increase in labor action in academia. We're joined by Prez, a PhD candidate based in NYC, to discuss the conditions faced by grad students, adjunct faculty, academic researchers, and other academic workers that have pushed so many into organizing. We talk about the way the pandemic has affected academic workers, how workers with disabilities are often left abandoned by their employers, and how the allure of tenure and the social status that comes with it is used to justify forcing academic workers to accept poverty wages.

Check out Prez's podcast The Minyan, which you can find on Twitter @the_minyan

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Ep 134 - Biden Betrays the Rail Workers

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 11:02:15 -0400

We've got a monster episode as last week was full of monumental news in the labor movement. First of course we have an extended breakdown of the move by President Biden and both capitalist parties last week to use the Railway Labor Act to make a rail strike illegal and force a contract the workers democratically rejected down their throats. We discuss how we got here, what this means for the immediate future, and what we can expect long term. Then we discuss updates on the truckers' strike in South Korea, where President Yoon has declared the strike illegal and attempted to force drivers back to work. We also check in on the HarperCollins strike, where workers have received support from many authors who are refusing to submit work to the publisher. We follow up with the QA workers of Blizzard Albany, who finally won recognition of their union. The country's largest strike of 50k academic workers at UC has hit its second month as administrators refuse to agree to provide a living wage and critical benefits. Workers at the New York Times voted to authorize their first strike in 50 years if a deal is not reached before December 8th. 15,000 workers in Minnesota are gearing up for a major strike escalation as healthcare companies continue to refuse the provide safe staffing and fair wages. 800 dockworkers in Mobile, AL have been on strike for two weeks as their employer, CSA, is refusing to pay workers the pension contributions they owe them after four years without a contract. Workers in Ontario got some relief this week as courts struck down a draconian wage law. The movement to reform the UAW made massive wins this week in the union's elections, making a near sweep, making a near sweep for the UAWD backed reform slate. And of course, Starbucks continues its war on workers while the union keeps on winning elections.

Railroad Workers United Donation Fund: https://myemail.constantcontact.com/RWU-Raises-Funds-to-Wage-the-Struggle-.html?soid=1116509035139&aid=jZnP-zHBM4I

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Overtime Episode 25 PREVIEW - Rank and File Rebellions of the 1970s - Pt 3

Fri, 02 Dec 2022 10:31:56 -0400

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

For the final part of our series on rank and file movements of the 1970s, we cover the movements formed by rank and file women workers to fight not only for better wages and conditions, but also to stop the entrenched culture of discrimination on the job. As millions of public sector workers joined unions, teachers, nurses and civil servants had bargaining rights for the first time. Along with flight attendants, nurses, and many other professions, women workers struggled successfully to not just win respect on the job, but to totally change public consciousness around women in the workforce. We also finish our run of rank and file stores with the Teamsters and the birth of the longest enduring organization from this era, Teamsters for a Democratic Union. Fighting against concession filled contracts for decades, the TDU has been a constant presence since this era in the struggle to democratize and reform the Teamsters. As the longest surviving and most successful union reform movement in the US labor movement, there is so much we can learn from the history of the TDU, and all the other inspiring struggles by the rank and file to stop the loss of all that prior generations of union workers had fought for.

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Ep 133 - Unions Keep Workers Safe, Not OSHA

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 10:17:29 -0400

After a bit of complaining about workers being forced to come in during the holidays, we start this week's episode with a check-in on the longest running strike in the US at Warrior Met Coal in Alabama. The strike wave in the UK continues to grow as academic workers held the UK's largest ever academic strike and the RMT announced new rail shutdowns. The largest strike in the US continued into its third week as the University of California refuses to meet workers needs for a living wage and benefits. Electric truck maker Rivian continues to show that tech industry "disruption" usually just means violating labor and safety laws. The horrifying death of a foundry worker at Caterpillar in Illinois exposed the total toothlessness of OSHA and raises the question: how much is a human life worth? In happier news, three major unions announced an agreement to collaborate to unionize Delta wall-to-wall, in a move that could set a new pattern for organizing. Truck drivers in South Korea have launched another major strike after the right wing Yoon government backed out of a deal agreed to earlier this year. And of course, we end with Starbucks, where the company keeps closing stores, but union drives keep winning at a faster pace.

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Ep 132 - Looks Like a Rail Strike’s Back on the Menu

Tue, 22 Nov 2022 10:36:36 -0400

To start this week's episode of Work Stoppage, we check in on the fight for a better contract for school staff in Ontario as CUPE appears to have been backed into a corner following the decision not to launch a province wide general strike. Posties in the UK have voted to extend their strike to multiple dates in December, including Christmas Eve. Our huge news follow up this week is that workers in the two biggest rail unions finally have the results of their vote on the TA, and SMART-TD workers have voted it down, bringing us very close to a nationwide rail strike. While most of the news about Elon Musk lately has been his mismanagement of Twitter, news has come about about rampant wage theft and unsafe conditions at the construction of Tesla's latest "gigafactory" in Austin. Another group of educators has joined the academic strikewave, as adjunct faculty at The New School in NYC hit the picket lines to fight for a wage they can actually afford to live on. A report from The Intercept this week revealed shady management of UAW assets by the incumbent administration, including lowballing estimates of size of the strike fund by tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. This past week also saw the formation of a new union in the South, the Union of Southern Service Workers, to fight for workers rights in one of the most exploited parts of the country. Finally, lots of Starbucks news this week as workers launched the "Red Cup Rebellion", the first nationwide coordinated strike since the union launched a year ago.

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Overtime Episode 24 PREVIEW - Rank and File Rebellions of the 1970s Pt 2

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 09:49:29 -0400

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

For the second part of our series on rank and file movements of the 1970s, we cover the militant workers of the UAW and the CWA. Both these unions faced similar trends of class collaborationist leadership more focused on enforcing existing contracts than resolving problems faced by union workers. Movements like the United National Caucus and the Bell Workers Action Committee arose in response, fighting for democratic control both on the shop floor and within their unions themselves. This era saw both explosive wildcat strikes and oppressive responses from leadership to movements they saw as attacks on their power. While many of these movements were short lived, there's so much we can learn from their fights to inform our practice today. On the third and final part of this series we will cover rank and file movements by nurses, teachers, flight attendants and the formation of the longest lasting and most successful of the 70s rank and file movements, Teamsters for a Democratic Union.

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Ep 131 - Inflation is Class Warfare

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 12:59:42 -0400

California Academic Workers' Strike Fund: https://givebutter.com/uc-uaw

We start this week's episode with a quick update on where things stand with CUPE in Ontario, as negotiations are once again moving slowly. This week workers won their election at a second Medieval Times castle, making their unit of the AGVA bicoastal. Unfortunately we've got another story of awful child labor, this time a company having kids as young as 13 cleaning slaughterhouses. Also this week, workers at an Amazon air hub in Kentucky launched their drive for a union and a living wage. Airline pilots for Delta and United have both taken steps recently towards a potential strike, but are held back by the Railway Labor Act just like the rail workers. In a frustrating story this week, staff workers at SEIU Local 2015 were forced to strike for nearly two weeks due to refusal to negotiate over wages and healthcare. 250 workers hit the picket lines at publisher HarperCollins in NYC this week, fighting to make publishing a career that can actually pay the bills and to open it up to a more diverse workforce. The biggest strike in the US since 2019 kicked off this week as 50,000 academic workers at the University of California system are fighting for raises, better benefits, and workplace protections. The strike wave in the UK has grown once again, as nearly half a million workers in nursing, academia, and public service all announced upcoming strikes. Finally, Starbucks workers hit 260 union stores this week as well as over 7000 workers at unionized locations.

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Overtime Episode 23 PREVIEW - Rank and File Rebellions of the 1970s Pt 1

Fri, 11 Nov 2022 15:08:14 -0400

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 first part of a new Overtime series we dive into the history of rank and file movements that arose during the crises of the 1970s. The 70s were the beginning of the long decline of unionism in the US, but this decline did not happen without worker opposition. In every major union there were workers who refused to accept concession-filled contracts from sellout leadership and took resistance into their own hands. These movements, even where they were not successful, hold many valuable lessons for those of us who want to rebuild the labor movement today. Based primarily on the excellent collection of essays, Rebel Rank and File: Labor Militancy and Revolt from Below During the Long 1970s, this series will explore how we can improve our own movements for reform based on the struggles of the 70s. In our first episode, we introduce the economic and political background to the period and discuss rank and file movements in the United Farm Workers and the United Mine Workers of America. Future episodes will cover the CWA, the UAW, the Teamsters, and more!

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Ep 130 – There Are No Illegal Strikes, Just Unsuccessful Ones

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 12:46:01 -0400

We start this week’s jam packed episode with some sad news, as the vote for NLRB recognition of a union at Home Depot in Philly came up short. We then check in on Chipotle workers, as the NLRB has ruled that the company illegally closed its store in Augusta, ME in retaliation for their union drive. Also this week, 400 workers at Maximus call centers helping people navigate the bureaucratic nightmare of Medicare and the ACA struck for a living wage. Activision continues to fight union efforts in Albany, now trying to subvert an ongoing election by trying to force a change in bargaining unit makeup. The Feds announced the breakup of a modern slavery operation in Florida this week, but the fact that it took 5 years to prosecute the case doesn’t bode well for actually stopping the practice. A recent report from the Seattle Times has revealed a long battle by a Delta pilot against attempts by the company to weaponize their mental health evaluation system against them to quash criticism of inadequate safety protocols. 40,000 sanitation workers in India won regular contracts and better safety conditions after an 11 day strike. Our big story this week is the attempt by the right wing Ford government to make it illegal for school support staff to strike, prompting the entire Canadian labor movement to mobilize and threaten a general strike across the province. Finally, we’ve got a new kind of Starbucks union drive as the company is now testing locations that force workers to do two jobs, including stocking shelves at an Amazon Go store, but only paying them for one.

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UNLOCKED - Royal Mail Strike Interview

Fri, 04 Nov 2022 20:08:29 -0300

In order to let as many folks as possible hear directly from the workers about the conditions Royal Mail workers are fighting to change, we've decided to unlock our full interview from last week! We hope you enjoy the interview, and if you like the show please support us at patreon.com/workstoppage.

Original Description:
We are so excited to be joined this week by Gary Banks, a worker for the British Royal Mail and local union representative for the Communication Workers Union. We discuss the conditions that led to over 100,000 Royal Mail workers to hit the picket lines over the last few months, and how both the workers and the broader public have been hit hard since the privatization of the mail. We talk about the solidarity being built between different unions during the current cost of living crisis, and how workers have supported each others' strike actions. Finally, we look at the political situation in the UK and how the resurgent union movement can force the changes that the working class desperately needs.

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Movie Time 3 PREVIEW - The Organizer and Western Ghats

Fri, 04 Nov 2022 10:05:47 -0300

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 at the movies again this week, this time covering films from Italy and India. First we discuss 1963's The Organizer, a working class drama about the early days of labor organizing in northern Italy in the late 1800s. The film covers the extreme exploitation of 19th century textile workers and their earliest attempts at organizing, even before major national unions existed. For our second film this week we watched Western Ghats (Merku Thodarchi Malai), from India's southern state of Tamil Nadu. Western Ghats follows the struggle of landless workers forced to labor for the big landowners as they strive to become independent peasant farmers themselves. The film portrays the difficulties of peasants, the way debt is used to dispossess them, and the semi feudal conditions they face in many parts of the Global South in ways western cinema rarely covers.

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Ep 129 – End Slavery, End the Empire

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 12:03:15 -0300

We start our episode this week checking in with the movement to unionize Trader Joe’s, which hit a setback this week after fierce union busting defeated a union election in Brooklyn. This week we got one step closer to a national rail strike, as the Brotherhood of Railway Signalmen voted down their tentative agreement. A sad story this week of a worker who lost her life at UPS highlights the incredible pressures placed on workers and the toll that takes both physically and mentally. A new report from Documented NY this week highlighted the complicity of the NYC government with rampant wage theft against immigrant workers hired to sanitize the subway in 2020. An investigation by NBC News has highlighted the rampant use of slave labor on US military bases around the world, adding yet another reason to support the end of US Imperialism. Grad student workers at Yale submitted cards this week for what would be one of the largest new bargaining units of the year if successful. Finally, we check in on the Starbucks Workers United movement, as the company continues to refuse to bargain and the court system continues to show its true nature as a weapon against the working class.

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PREVIEW: Royal Mail Strike Interview

Fri, 28 Oct 2022 12:30:04 -0300

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 are so excited to be joined this week by Gary Banks, a worker for the British Royal Mail and local union representative for the Communication Workers Union. We discuss the conditions that led to over 100,000 Royal Mail workers to hit the picket lines over the last few months, and how both the workers and the broader public have been hit hard since the privatization of the mail. We talk about the solidarity being built between different unions during the current cost of living crisis, and how workers have supported each others' strike actions. Finally, we look at the political situation in the UK and how the resurgent union movement can force the changes that the working class desperately needs.

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Ep 128 – Protect the Right to Strike!

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 12:22:16 -0300

We start this week’s episode on a sad note, as workers at Amazon’s ALB1 facility outside Albany have voted against joining the ALU following Amazon’s intense union busting campaign. Striking Teamsters in Boston ended their strike against Sysco, signing a new deal with better wages and healthcare. California mental health workers ended their 10 week long strike at Kaiser Permanente this week as well, forcing the company to agree to hire more workers. Two teachers strikes in Massachusetts directly challenged the state’s law banning public workers from striking, winning major gains in spite of court orders trying to stop their strikes. Like much of Europe, France has seen a major cost of living crisis erupt into labor action, and the Macron government has attacked the right to strike to stop workers from standing up against austerity. We also check in on union drives at Chipotle, Lowe’s, Home Depot, and CVS. As usual, we close discussing Starbucks Workers United as they continue to win victories even as Starbucks can’t stop breaking the law.

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Overtime Episode 22 PREVIEW - Weavers of Revolution Pt 2

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 12:43:03 -0300

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 part of our series on Peter Winn's book Weavers of Revolution, we discuss the moves made by the workers at the Yarur Mill in Chile following their successful union election. Faced with sabotage by the mill owners, workers found themselves forced to take control of the mill in their own hands. Pulling the government along behind them, workers advanced the transition to socialism themselves, seizing the mill and demanding its nationalization. During the period of worker self-management, the mill's productivity soared along with workers wages while the culture of fear and oppression disappeared. Workers developed their own systems of democratic management, bringing dignity and respect to their jobs for the first time. Though their victory was short lived due to the US-backed coup that overthrew the government, there is so much we can learn from these workers' incredible struggle.

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

Ep 127 – Child Labor is a Crime Against Humanity

Tue, 18 Oct 2022 12:28:49 -0300

We start this week’s episode with an update on the Sysco strike, where Teamsters in Syracuse have won their demands, but workers in Boston continue to face repression. In Philadelphia, workers have won their strike at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and won major gains in their new contract. We also check in with the Medieval Times workers who are now being sued for trademark infringement because their union logo…has swords in it. This past week saw strikes at Amazon facilities all over the place, from Hamburg, Germany to San Bernardino, California, protesting low wages on Prime Week to maximize workers’ leverage. We got another big victory in the retail union wave this week when workers at an Apple store in Oklahoma City won their union election and joined the CWA. Workers at T-Mobile have joined the union surge, with customer service workers launching an independent union, the T-Force Social Care Alliance. Backed by impossible to trace dark money, business groups have been successfully lobbying states across the country to expand the legal use of child labor to keep wages low during the so-called “labor shortage.” Finally, we check in with how Starbucks has continued illegally closing stores that unionize, but how workers continue to use strike actions to fight back, getting some help this week from Billy Bragg.

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

Overtime Episode 21 PREVIEW - Weavers of Revolution Pt 1

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 13:05:21 -0300

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 new two-part Overtime series we will be discussing Peter Winn’s fantastic labor history book, Weavers of Revolution: The Yarur Workers and Chile’s Road to Socialism. The story of the workers at the Yarur cotton mill and their movement for worker control of the factory is rich with lessons for our struggles today. Though the Chilean Revolution was short lived, it was full of experimentation with different forms of worker control of the means of production. In this first episode, we get into the background history of the Yarur mill and the decades of struggle by the workers there for an independent union. We discuss the different class forces in play in Chile during this period and how Allende’s Popular Unity government tried to maintain a balance of these forces to allow them to advance their program of a transition to socialism. In the second part we will cover the seizure of the mill by the workers, the response from the state, and the fate of the workers’ movement in the wake of Pinochet’s coup.

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

Ep 126 - Workplace Safety is Non-Negotiable

Tue, 11 Oct 2022 13:02:03 -0300

Right as we were sitting down to record this week some big news regarding the potential nationwide rail strike dropped, so we start discussing that. Then we follow up with the unionized workers at Raven Software, where the NLRB has ruled that Activision illegally withheld benefits from workers. We have a whole block of Amazon stories this week: first, Amazon suspended nearly 100 workers for demanding safe working conditions after a fire at JFK8. Also, Amazon has sued Washington State for the audacity of enforcing workplace safety laws, claiming their implementation would be too expensive. And lastly, Amazon drivers in Japan have been forced to use fake IDs to avoid having to be paid overtime. Also this week, over 500 Teamsters at Sysco facilities in Boston and Syracuse are on strike after the company tried to force them off their pension plans. Workers at a paper mill in Alabama have been locked out by their employer after voting down a contract that would remove all protections against overwork. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case next term that could potentially make strikes impossible due to legal costs, we discuss the implications for the labor movement. Finally, as always, we discuss the Starbucks Workers United movement as it approaches 250 unionized stores.

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PREVIEW: Health Communism: An Interview with Death Panel

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 12:42:25 -0300

Order Health Communism here: https://www.versobooks.com/books/4081-health-communism

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 were so excited to be joined by our friends Bea and Artie from the Death Panel to discuss their new book Health Communism. We talk about the way capitalism divides us into "workers" and "surplus", and how the surplus are sorted into arrangements of extractive abandonment so they can be profited from. We discuss the fight for universal healthcare and why we can't just stop at health finance reform. We also talk about the revolutionary potential in the struggle to separate health from capital and build a system that really provides all care to all people.

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Check out the Death Panel at patreon.com/deathpanelpod

Follow Death Panel @deathpanel_ , Bea @realLandsEnd, and Artie @avierkant

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

Ep 125 – Prison Abolition Is Not a Metaphor

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 13:01:16 -0300

We start our episode this week checking in with friends of the show Doughnut Workers United, who have finally won their union at Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland, OR after years of organizing. It only took two days for the strike by food service workers at San Francisco Airport last week to win huge gains. We also give a brief update on where the different rail unions are in the contract ratification process. Workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art struck this past week when management refused to agree to grant workers raises that would cover inflation. The drive to unionize Trader Joe’s has spread to another store, this time in Brooklyn, and unfortunately the company’s union busting has followed. As the auto industry shifts to electric vehicles, the UAW faces an uphill battle to ensure the new EV jobs are unionized. Over 13,000 incarcerated workers went on strike against the system of mass incarceration and prison slavery they face over the past week, and the state has responded with violence and attempts to starve the workers out. Finally, as always, we check-in with the Starbucks Workers United movement and discuss the list of contract proposals that the union has released.

Doughnut Workers United Contract Support Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/dwu-strike-hardship-and-negotiation-fund

Gofundme for Fired Trader Joe’s organizer: https://www.gofundme.com/f/trader-joes-united-solidarity-fund

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

Movie Time 2 PREVIEW – Sorry We Missed You and Pride

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 12:03:46 -0300

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

For the second episode of our series discussing the labor movement in films, we’re going across the pond to cover two movies from the UK. First up, we discuss Ken Loach’s Sorry We Missed You, a devastating realist look at the state of the working class in Britain. The film follows the struggle of a working class family trying to provide for their kids in a job market where no matter how hard you work, a living wage and a comfortable life feel further and further out of reach. Sorry We Missed You provides no illusions about class mobility or hard work winning out in the end, it forces us to confront the reality that so many jobs in the modern economy are premised on poverty wages and hours so long that you never see your family. For our second film, we discuss 2014’s Pride, which tells the true story of a group of LGBTQ activists in London who band together to support striking coal miners in Wales. The film focuses on the power of solidarity, and shows how by combining all the struggles against all the forms of oppression faced by the working class, we can be much stronger than when we’re divided.

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

UNLOCKED - Starbucks Workers United Oklahoma City Interview

Fri, 30 Sep 2022 18:56:15 -0300

In order to let as many folks as possible hear from Starbucks workers fighting for their union, we've decided to unlock our full interview from last week! We hope you enjoy the interview, and if you like the show please support us at patreon.com/workstoppage.

Original Description:

This week we were excited to be joined by Alisha Humphrey, a worker-organizer with Starbucks Workers United in Oklahoma City. We discuss the ins and outs of organizing at Starbucks, what prompted her store to unionize, and how covid has played a major role in all of this. We talk about how the company’s scorched earth union busting campaign has influenced the nationwide union drive, and how organizers have dealt with union busting tactics. We also talk over how to have organizing conversations with workers who may be hesitant, how workers who are thinking about organizing can reach out for help in getting the ball rolling, and how members of the community can show their support for organizing workers. Check out Alisha's writing in Jacobin on the cruel ways Starbucks has weaponized benefits against workers here: jacobin.com/2022/08/starbucks-a…tunt-union-contract

No Contract No Coffee Pledge: crm.broadstripes.com/ctf/SJID0H

Solidarity Fund for SBWU partners: secure.actblue.com/donate/starbucksworkersfund

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

Ep 124 – We All Need A Living Wage

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 12:06:02 -0300

Once again we start this week’s episode of Work Stoppage checking in on the rail workers, as details of the tentative agreements have been released and a strike remains a real possibility. We follow that with some quick updates as the NLRB hits Amazon with a complaint for illegal union busting at LDJ5, the Case New Holland strike hits five months, the ridiculous attempt to bill UMWA for $13M in unmined coal is reversed, and Chipotle continues to rack up thousands of criminal violations of labor law. The RMT will be hitting the picket lines in the UK alongside postal workers, dock workers, nearly 200,000 workers total on October 1. 1000 food service workers at San Francisco Airport went on strike this week in protest of wages 50% below the area’s living wage. We have a truly unhinged story of a small business tyrant in Iowa who bribed workers to decertify their union, amongst numerous other crimes. Home Depot workers in Philly are organizing with the aim of forming the first unionized store in the entire chain. Finally, we check in on Starbucks Workers United, where the retaliation against workers continue but strikes at many stores seem to be making a real impact and winning real gains for workers.

Gofundme for fired working mother at Washington Starbucks: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-amber-fired-5-year-partner-and-mother

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

PREVIEW - Starbucks Workers United Oklahoma City Interview

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 17:55:34 -0300

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

No Contract No Coffee Pledge: https://crm.broadstripes.com/ctf/SJID0H

Solidarity Fund for SBWU partners: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/starbucksworkersfund

This week we were excited to be joined by Alisha Humphrey, a worker-organizer with Starbucks Workers United in Oklahoma City. We discuss the ins and outs of organizing at Starbucks, what prompted her store to unionize, and how covid has played a major role in all of this. We talk about how the company’s scorched earth union busting campaign has influenced the nationwide union drive, and how organizers have dealt with union busting tactics. We also talk over how to have organizing conversations with workers who may be hesitant, how workers who are thinking about organizing can reach out for help in getting the ball rolling, and how members of the community can show their support for organizing workers. Check out Alisha's writing in Jacobin on the cruel ways Starbucks has weaponized benefits against workers here: https://jacobin.com/2022/08/starbucks-abortion-transgender-health-care-promises-pr-stunt-union-contract

Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX

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

Ep 123 – It’s Not Over Until the Workers Vote

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 12:08:26 -0300

We start this week’s episode summarizing developments with the potential national rail strike, which was delayed but very much not completely canceled by the recent tentative agreement. Next we discuss the end of the Seattle Teachers Strike and what we can glean from the little information available at the moment. Moving into new stories, over 1000 timber workers are on strike in the Pacific Northwest over wages that don’t come close to keeping up with inflation. Over 12,000 workers at Kroger may strike this week after voting down the company’s “last, best and final offer.” Workers have been organizing an independent union at Geico in Upstate NY, which could be the first in a type of office work that is nearly entirely unorganized. Amazon workers are rising up all over the country, with walkouts in Atlanta and St Louis and a union election date set for Albany to see if workers will join the ALU. Finally, as usual, we check in on the Starbucks Workers United movement where the company’s illegal campaign of union busting refuses to let up.

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Shop Floor Discussion 6 - National Rail Strike w/Justin Roczniak

Wed, 14 Sep 2022 11:40:10 -0300

The potential for a national rail strike has been looming for a long time, and now that we have finally reached the point where one could actually happen, we decided we needed to have someone who knows a lot more about the railroads than we do on the show to help explain the situation. We were very excited to be joined by Justin Roczniak from Well There’s Your Problem to bring us historical analysis of the long road to where we are today. We discuss the history of how the railroads have operated in the US, how the national freight network has been shaped by the profit motive, and how rail executives have let the entire national rail network decay in pursuit of maximum dividends. This history sets the stage for the current crisis, where companies have merged into a few mega-carriers with no real competition, and “precision scheduled railroads” have slashed rail crews and stretched their existing employees to the breaking point. We summarize the long labor process to get to this point demanded by the Railway Labor Act, and what we might see in terms of a potential long term outcome of the current dispute. With a national strike possible as soon as this Friday, we hope this discussion provides some helpful background to understand what state the railroads are in, how they got that way, and the roots of the horrific working conditions rail workers are fighting against.

Follow Justin on twitter @who_shot_jgr and check out Well There’s Your Problem on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPxHg4192hLDpTI2w7F9rPg

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

Ep 122 – Striking for the Public Good

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 12:00:13 -0300

We’ve got an absolutely jam packed episode this week, labor news never stops. First, we are excited to discuss the victory of the Heine Brothers Coffee workers in their union election. Next we cover the Seattle teachers strike, where workers are fighting for resources needed to serve special education and multi-language learning students. A recent report from the Washington Post has documented the incredible work by Unite Here in unionizing 90 percent of the cafeteria workers at Google campuses across the country. The union drive at Target may have hit setbacks in Virginia but has sprung up in Pueblo, Colorado as well. Every Hollywood production these days uses a ton of visual effects, but effects workers are some of the only non-union production workers in the business, which some are now fighting to change. The ALU grew again this week as workers organizing in Modesto, CA, announced their affiliation with the union. California passed a major new bill this past week aimed at regulating the fast food industry, we discuss the pros and potential cons of this kind of reform. A report from The Intercept this past week raised some troubling questions about the effect the “neutrality agreement” at Microsoft is having on the relationship between the union and the company, with the union killing a report that was critical of the company’s military contracts. Finally we close out with our weekly recap of the Starbucks Workers United movement.

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

Movie Time 1 PREVIEW – Matewan and Cradle Will Rock

Fri, 09 Sep 2022 17:09:32 -0300

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

Work Stoppage is going to the movies! In this first episode of a new series, we check out some classics of labor cinema, Matewan and Cradle Will Rock. Matewan tells the story of one of the most famous battles of the Appalachian Mine Wars of the early 20th century which would culminate in the Battle of Blair Mountain shortly after. Covering the struggle of workers in West Virginia to unionize, it gives audiences a window into the absolute tyranny of the coal companies and the level of violence they were willing to use to try and prevent the unions from organizing the mines. Cradle Will Rock recounts the development of the play of the same name by the Federal Theater Project during the great depression. In whirlwind fashion, the film covers the anti-communist witch hunt to purge the Federal Theater Project, the collusion between the US ruling class and fascism, and the struggle for artistic freedom under capitalism. We discuss the themes of the films and how we can use them as agitation tools in our organizing. On future episodes, we’ll discuss many more examples of labor cinema and how we can use them to help make workers’ struggles and their history relatable in our fight to build unions today.

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

Ep 121 – Nothing Beats Solidarity

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 15:54:51 -0300

Fund to donate to Leonard Peltier’s Walk to Justice: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=24H3YHAGGSZ7Y

Solidarity Fund for Fired Starbucks Workers in Anderson, SC: https://www.gofundme.com/f/fired-starbucks-union-leaders-in-anderson-sc

Happy Labor Day everyone, we’ve got another packed episode of Work Stoppage. We start out with a sad follow up as yet another young organizer with the South African Shack Dwellers’ Movement has been brutally murdered. There’s no easy way to transition out of that so we move into our labor news, as the MLBPA is finally organizing the exploited minor league players. Also this week, another huge win for the independent union movement in Mexico at another auto parts manufacturing plant. Moving to a story out of Canada, workers at a construction firm have been threatened with jail for refusing “voluntary” overtime. The NLRB ruled against Tesla this week, saying they cannot bar workers from wearing clothing with union insignia on it. Nursing home workers struck in unison across multiple employers a few weeks ago in a bid to address sector wide problems. Another major healthcare workers struggle is coming up next week, when 15,000 nurses in Minnesota will hit the picket lines. Finally, the NLRB ruled against Amazon’s frivolous challenges to the ALU’s win at JFK8, and for Labor Day the ALU and Starbucks Workers United came together for a massive rally in NYC to demand both companies recognize the unions and bargain in good faith.

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Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Ep 120 – Name and Shame Wage Thieves!

Tue, 30 Aug 2022 17:56:35 -0300

On this week’s Work Stoppage, the Columbus teachers’ strike ended after just a few days, we discuss the new contract the workers ratified this weekend. Workers at REI in Berkeley finally got their votes counted and their win extends the union to both coasts! An ongoing trial over Whole Foods’ attempts to ban workers from wearing masks with BLM on them has revealed the direct links between the fight for racial justice and the class struggle. The labor upsurge in the UK continues to escalate as 115,000 Royal Mail workers shut down the post this past Friday. Punjabi workers in the Toronto area have been fighting wage theft using community organizing tactics inspired by the Indian farmers’ movement. Chipotle workers in Lansing, Michigan won the first union election in the company’s history this week. Finally, Starbucks continues its campaign of union busting, workers keep fighting back, and the union movement has hit over 230 stores!

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Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Overtime Episode 20 PREVIEW - Injury Impoverished w/Nate Holdren

Fri, 26 Aug 2022 21:03:46 -0300

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

This week we were honored to be joined by Nate Holdren, professor at Drake University and author of the recent book Injury Impoverished: Workplace Accidents, Capitalism, and Law in the Progressive Era. In the book, Nate chronicles the shift in the way workplace injury is handled in the US from liability trials to workers compensation. We discuss the dehumanizing aspects of both systems and the ideology used to justify the devaluing of working class life. We also discuss Nate's work on Engels' concept of Social Murder, and how that concept is so applicable to the way modern capitalist society chews up and spits out working class people in the pursuit of profit.

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Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Ep 119 – No More Pay Cuts

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 18:27:58 -0300

Amazon recently fired friend of the show Matt for his organizing work with the ALU. Donate to his support fund here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/1f94594f-a62a-4a3b-bf7f-88e92b69442a

We’ve got strikes everywhere this week. First we start by checking in with Trader Joe’s, where the company recently closed a store in NYC to kill a union drive. Next we discuss the recommendations from Biden’s Presidential Emergency Board, which fail to resolve any of the major problems faced by rail workers. For our Amazon roundup this week, workers in San BernaRdino staged a walkout at one of the company’s Air Hubs last week, workers in Albany officially filed for an NLRB election, and TikTok creators form a pledge to support ALU demands. In Northern California, 2000 mental health workers with Kaiser Permanente are on strike to force the company to actually hire enough staff to provide patients the resources they need. Columbus teachers hit the picket lines on Monday for the first time in nearly 50 years, fighting for smaller class sizes, safe ventilation, and music and PE classes for all students. Workers at the biggest container port in the UK, Felixstowe, are on a weeklong strike to protest the port operator’s refusal to pay them a wage that keeps up with inflation. Finally, the Starbucks Workers United movement got a huge win this week when a judge ruled the company must rehire the Memphis 7.

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Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Overtime Episode 19 PREVIEW - US Textile Strikes - Pt 2

Fri, 19 Aug 2022 18:50:23 -0300

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

On the second part of our series on the history of early US textile strikes, we move into the 20th century. As the textile industry expanded, advances in technology did not come with advances in safety. The drive for maximum profit led to one of the worst industrial disasters in US history, the Triangle Shirtwaist fire of 1911. Just a year later, not far from where the Lowell Mill Girls formed one of the first labor unions in the country, workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts waged a massive strike for fair wages and safer conditions that would come to be known as the Bread and Roses strike. The workers, led by socialists and organizers from the IWW, fought to overcome the efforts of bosses to split workers up along ethnic lines. Finally, in 1934 as the textile industry moved out of New England and into the South in search of cheaper labor, one of the largest labor uprisings in US history erupted into a national textile strike all along the east coast. These struggles show many of the core contradictions of capitalism, and can teach us many valuable lessons for our organizing today.

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Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Ep 118 – Close the Concentration Camps

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 17:41:33 -0300

This week’s episode is kind of an angry one. We start out with some good news, as the ATU in DC have won their strike, and workers at Intelligentsia Coffee in Chicago have won their union vote. Trader Joe’s workers in Minneapolis won their union election in a landslide, potentially setting up a new nationwide union push. We also follow up with the workers at Heine Brothers coffee, where union busting efforts by management have escalated. We discuss the many (600,000+) crimes of Chipotle, which recently settled a massive lawsuit from NYC with a minor fine. Working conditions at Amazon continue to maim and kill workers, we discuss more deaths in New Jersey, unsafe temps in Memphis, and backbreaking labor in Albany. A new report was recently issued showing that unions have far more cash, and far fewer organizers, than business unionist leadership would like us to believe. Also this week, “detainees” have been on strike for months at two of the US migrant concentration camps, refusing to work for slave wages of $1/day in unsafe conditions. Finally, we close out looking at the weekly developments with Starbucks Workers United.

Donate to help striking migrants: http://www.kwesi.org/donate.html

More Perfect Union video on conditions at Amazon: https://twitter.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1556731115737595904

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Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Overtime Episode 18 PREVIEW - US Textile Strikes - Pt 1

Sat, 13 Aug 2022 12:03:16 -0300

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 development of the industrial revolution in the United States begins with the textile industry. Centered in New England, the explosion of wealth from industrial manufacturing of cloth would form the foundation for the construction of the rest of the US industrial base. Along with that early capitalist development came the rise of the labor movement. In this two part series, we will discuss some of the earliest factory strikes in US history, and how they show in microcosm the development of the forms of capitalist oppression we still see today. We will discuss how class exploitation has always been bound up with oppression based on gender, race, age, and any other ways the capitalists could find to divide workers against each other. In the first episode we cover the very first factory strike in US history, at the Slater Mill in Pawtucket, RI, as well as the rise of the Lowell Mill Girls Association in Massachusetts. In the second episode, we will move into the 20th century, discussing the Triangle Shirtwaist fire and the national textile strike of 1934.

Bibliography for this series available in the Discord

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Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Ep 117 – Breaking Free From the Capitalist TRAP

Wed, 10 Aug 2022 20:13:04 -0300

We start this week’s episode with a quick follow up with the Indiana grad student workers who have won major gains despite the university’s continued refusal to recognize their union. Boston teachers have used rank and file methods to win a historic new contract that will help address homelessness in the city. The NLRB has signed onto an order demanding UMWA workers cover the costs of their more than a year long strike against Warrior Met coal, but they are fighting back. The Democrats introduced a bill in Congress with bipartisan support to permanently misclassify gig workers, which would destroy existing labor law. The DOJ has sued the poultry monopolies for wage fixing, but the proposed settlement doesn’t do much to help workers’ wages or job conditions. PetSmart, the nation’s biggest pet supply store, is being sued for trapping employees with thousands of dollars in debt for “grooming academy” training. 200 DC area transit workers are on strike, and could even potentially force out the private company managing what otherwise would be a public service. Finally we check in with the Starbucks Workers United movement, where the company continues to find new, creative ways to illegally retaliate against their own workers for unionizing.

Support fund for fired Buffalo Starbucks organizer: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-sam-fired-13-year-starbucks-union-leader

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Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Why Rank and File? Pt 3 PREVIEW

Sat, 06 Aug 2022 13:21:29 -0300

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

On the first two parts of this series, we discussed what exactly rank and file organizing is, and how it differs from top down, business unionist organizing methods, and then discussed some historical examples. In this third part of the series, we do a deep dive on two major rank and file movements from the last decade. First we look at the Chicago Teachers Union and the rise of the rank and file caucus, CORE, to leadership over the massive 2012 teachers’ strike. Then we discuss one of the most recent major union drives from the IWW, the Burgerville Workers Union. Both of these drives show the power unions can have when they actually engage and empower the workers themselves to take the reins of their organization and fight for the issues that matter most to them. These, along with the other examples we’ve covered, make a strong case for major unions to embrace rank and file leadership of union drives if they want to rebuild the labor movement.

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Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Ep 116 – No Job is Worth Your Life

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 18:01:11 -0300

Alabama Starbucks Support Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/relief-fund-for-scottsboro-starbucks-partners

This week on Work Stoppage, we start with a couple big union election victories. First, Hudson Workers United finally has their union election win recognized after a year-long ordeal. Then, workers at Trader Joe’s in Hadley, MA won their election to form the first recognized union at the chain. We also check in on the national strike in Panama, where workers have won two of their key demands to relieve the cost of living crisis. In recent weeks, lawmakers in Ukraine have moved to slash worker protections in the country, using the war as justification for dismantling the country’s labor code. More news came out this week about the worker who died at a New Jersey Amazon warehouse during Prime Week, and Amazon’s union busting has increased in Albany as the ALU moves towards filing for an election there. Also in Albany, a new union at Activision was announced recently, with game testers at Blizzard Albany filing for representation with the CWA. This past week was the first UAW convention since the one member, one vote reform campaign, and we discuss several of the measures passed in the run up to this fall’s elections. Finally, as always, we close out checking in on the Starbucks Workers United campaign, which continues to win over 80% of their elections.

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Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

UNLOCKED - CAUSE: Organizing Amazon in North Carolina

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 17:24:59 -0300

In order to let as many folks as possible hear from the CAUSE workers fighting for a union at Amazon, we've decided to unlock our full interview with them! We hope you enjoy the interview, and if you like the show please support us at patreon.com/workstoppage.

Original Description:
We were honored this week to be joined by Lance, an organizer with Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment, CAUSE. CAUSE has been working to organize workers at Amazon’s RDU1 warehouse in Garner, North Carolina, just outside Raleigh, since the beginning of this year. We discuss the challenges and successes they’ve had building power with their coworkers, what tactics they’ve found effective, and which ones less so. We discuss how soaring inflation has blunted Amazon’s argument that they pay a good wage, and how other folks thinking about organizing their workplace can get started. Finally, we discuss how folks can support CAUSE in their fight to organize at Amazon.

Support the workers at CAUSE by checking out their website and donating: https://amazoncause.com/

Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX

Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Ep 115 – Waging the Class War

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:34:56 -0300

Lina’s back and we had so much labor news this week it was hard to squeeze it all in one episode. We start with several quick follow-ups. 400 Planned Parenthood workers in the upper Midwest won their union election in a landslide this week, as did the workers at America’s Test Kitchen. Workers at Activision walked out across the country this week in protest, and Medieval Times’ union movement has spread to a second castle. Also this week, Chipotle went full scorched earth and closed the store in Augusta, Maine who had been fighting to unionize. Amy’s Kitchen did something similar, closing a plant in San Jose where workers were unionizing even though the plant had been open for less than a year. A shocking story came out last week about the use of child labor at a Hyundai plant in Alabama. The recent upsurge in labor militancy in the UK spread to the Royal Mail this week, as 115,000 postal workers voted to authorize a potential strike. Also in Europe, Italy’s repression of militant trade unions escalated yet again this week, as several organizers from two militant unions were arrested for organizing strikes in the logistics sector. Finally, we close out checking in on the Starbucks Workers United movement, which has now unionized over 200 locations across the country!

Augusta, GA Starbucks Strike Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-partners-in-striking

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Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

PREVIEW - CAUSE: Organizing Amazon in North Carolina

Sat, 23 Jul 2022 16:45:21 -0300

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 were honored this week to be joined by Lance, an organizer with Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment, CAUSE. CAUSE has been working to organize workers at Amazon’s RDU1 warehouse in Garner, North Carolina, just outside Raleigh, since the beginning of this year. We discuss the challenges and successes they’ve had building power with their coworkers, what tactics they’ve found effective, and which ones less so. We discuss how soaring inflation has blunted Amazon’s argument that they pay a good wage, and how other folks thinking about organizing their workplace can get started. Finally, we discuss how folks can support CAUSE in their fight to organize at Amazon.

Support the workers at CAUSE by checking out their website and donating: https://amazoncause.com/

Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX

Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Ep 114 - Your Boss is Not Your Friend

Wed, 20 Jul 2022 18:48:02 -0300

Lina is away so it’s just John and Dan on this week’s episode of Work Stoppage. We start out with the Medieval Times workers in New Jersey who have won their union…and immediately got threats from the company to not bargain in good faith. Next we discuss the Verizon Retail union movement expanding to stores in Portland and Flint, Michigan. We have yet another case of a “progressive” coffee chain trying to stop its workers from unionizing, this time Heine Brothers in Louisville, Kentucky. We also discuss the state of the struggle by railway workers to be able to strike for better working conditions, as once against the government has intervened using the Railway Labor Act. Workers at the Guttmacher Institute won their union nearly unanimously this week, but faced immediate retaliation. Guides at Yellowstone National Park have been fighting for a union in the face of vicious repression by the private contractor who employs them and uses the park as a 21st century company town. Finally, we do our weekly update on the Starbucks Workers United movement, where repression continues to escalate, but so do the ways workers are fighting back.

Guttmacher Institute Petition: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/guttmacher-union-busting

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Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

UNLOCKED - Organizing Amazon in Kentucky: An Interview

Thu, 14 Jul 2022 17:14:44 -0300

By popular demand and in order that as many folks as possible are able to hear about the amazing organizing effort going on at Amazon in Kentucky, we've decided to unlock the entire interview!

We hope you enjoy, and if you like the show, please consider supporting us at patreon.com/workstoppage

Original Description:

We were very lucky to be joined this week by Matt, a worker-organizer at Amazon’s SDF1 facility in Campbellsville, Kentucky working to organize his facility with the ALU. Matt explains the challenges of organizing in a rural area where Amazon more or less runs like a company town. We discuss the differences in worker consciousness you encounter when working to organize at Amazon, the different tactics that they’ve used, and how they’ve worked to explain the importance of unions in fighting against exploitation. We also discuss the ways that Amazon has retaliated against Matt and other organizers for their work, including calling the local sheriff on organizers.

We encourage our listeners to donate to the SDF1 organizing committee’s solidarity fund: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/fundraising/b524f63e-8261-41dc-b593-b775eb35c3f3

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Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Ep 113 – People’s Palace Pool Party

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 16:42:01 -0300

Workers are flexing their power all over, and we start this week with a quick update on the situation in Sri Lanka, where the people have had enough and stormed the presidential palace this weekend, chasing the government from power. Next we have a check-in on the Planned Parenthood workers in Massachusetts, who have voted nearly unanimously to join the SEIU this week. Also this week, the ABK Workers Alliance is planning a major walkout to fight gender inequity at Activision. In Mexico, the independent union movement continues to spread and help empower workers, now moving to the agricultural sector. We had another major national strike in Latin America this week, this time in Panama, where like so many other places workers are demanding something be done to address the inflation and cost of living crisis. Back in the US, workers at REI in Berkeley, California have joined the union wave. The ALU has expanded its efforts to unionize Amazon to multiple other organizing drives this week, including one just outside of Albany. Finally, we close with our weekly Starbucks update as the union movement nears 200 stores.

College Ave Starbucks Solidarity Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/sbworkerunited-ithaca-relief-fund

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PREVIEW - Organizing Amazon in Kentucky: An Interview

Thu, 07 Jul 2022 17:31:47 -0300

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 encourage our listeners to donate to the SDF1 organizing committee’s solidarity fund: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/fundraising/b524f63e-8261-41dc-b593-b775eb35c3f3

Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX

Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Ep 112 – Squire Solidarity

Wed, 06 Jul 2022 22:59:46 -0300

We start this week with some rapid fire follow-ups with workers organizing at Apple, Trader Joe’s and Amazon. Then we discuss the end (for now) of the national strike in Ecuador, what was won, and where it goes from here. Next we check in on the Case New Holland strike, which is going international as UK Case workers have also gone on strike. Also this week, knights, squires, and falcon-handlers are organizing into a guild at Medieval Times to fight for safer, fairer work conditions. Airlines took massive bailouts early in the pandemic, then slashed staff and lobbied against covid protections, and now the whole air travel system in this country is messed up. Workers installing solar fields are doing incredibly important work towards a renewable energy future in the US, but face some of the most atrocious work conditions in the country due to the temporary, contract nature of the work. Finally, as usual, we check in on the Starbucks Workers United campaign, where the company’s illegal retaliation continues, but the union has grown to over 5000 workers strong.

Chicago Starbucks Strike Fund: https://t.co/h7XVJQD7FF

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Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Ep 111 – All Aboard The Strike Train

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 19:03:57 -0300

We start this week’s episode with a discussion of how unions can play a major role in fighting for workers’ right to reproductive healthcare in the wake of the Supreme Court gutting abortion rights. Then we start the episode proper with a follow-up with the Indiana University grad workers, where despite winning overwhelming support from faculty, the administration is digging in and refusing to recognize the union. Then we have some on the ground labor reporting from Dan, who discusses a local strike of Teamsters at DHL in Pawtucket, RI, where workers are fighting for healthcare and a living wage. Next, over 4000 workers in one of the largest platinum mines in the world in South Africa have gone on strike to protest horrible wages paid to contract workers. Also this week, workers in Maine filed for the first union in the country at a Chipotle and are fighting against understaffing and overwork leading to unsanitary conditions. Train drivers in New Jersey delivered a master class in a well-timed industrial action when they staged a sickout the Friday evening of Juneteenth weekend in protest of not receiving holiday pay. The big story this week is obviously the massive rail strike in England, where 40,000 workers shut down the rails for three days to protest the government’s plan to slash thousands of jobs, destroy pensions, and enforce a pay cut during record inflation. Finally, as usual, we close with our update on the Starbucks Workers United movement as it continues to rack up wins.

No Contract, No Coffee Pledge to Support Starbucks Workers: https://crm.broadstripes.com/ctf/SJID0H

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Shop Floor Discussion 5 PREVIEW – Microsoft Union Neutrality Agreement

Fri, 24 Jun 2022 18:26:00 -0300

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

On June 2, Microsoft announced that it planned to shift its position on how it relates to unions, rather than pursuing scorched earth union busting campaigns like Amazon and Starbucks, it would embrace “neutrality”. While it’s possible this is just cover to try and smooth the approval of Microsoft’s $70B acquisition of Activision Blizzard, it presents some big questions for unionists. We know our interests are directly opposed to the bosses, and they will never tolerate militant unions that fight for what the workers deserve, so how should we approach this sort of “neutrality”? We decided this was a topic a bit too long winded to squeeze into the middle of a regular episode, and so this Shop Floor Discussion is dedicated to trying to hammer out how unions should react to these sorts of “olive branches” from companies.

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Ep 110 – AppleCORE Wins at the Apple Store

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 18:56:17 -0300

Filled with renewed energy from watching some of the amazing panels and speeches at this weekend’s Labor Notes conference, it’s another episode of Work Stoppage. We start with several follow-ups, first in South Korea, where truckers won their strike and secured an agreement to extend minimum wage protections. Also this week, XPO Logistics truckers at the Port of Los Angeles finally won their NLRB hearing and have been reclassified employees rather than independent contractors and will now have a union election. The Massachusetts Supreme Court struck down a proposed Prop 22 clone this week, in a good move for gig workers in the state. In big news this week, we finally have our first unionized Apple store, as the workers of Towson, Maryland won their election by a 2:1 margin to organize with the Machinists. Retaliation against ALU organizers continued this week with yet another being fired, the same week as the hearing to determine whether the JFK8 election will be upheld got underway in Arizona. 1450 researchers at the University of Washington voted overwhelmingly to unionize with the UAW after the University refused voluntary recognition last December. For our big story this week, a massive national strike has been underway in Ecuador as Indigenous groups are leading huge swaths of the working class in protest of the right wing government. Finally, as usually, we close out with a look at the many Starbucks wins this week, even as the company continues its failing scorched earth campaign of union busting.

ALU Hearing Zoom Link: https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJIsdeCqrTouHO9YNidbEDeTe2Ea38X-NqU
Passcode: 968885

No Contract, No Coffee Pledge to Support Starbucks Workers: https://crm.broadstripes.com/ctf/SJID0H

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Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Ep 109 – Without Workers, Nothing Moves

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 20:57:22 -0300

It’s shaping up to be a hot labor summer out there, we’ve got union busting, we’ve got strikes, we’ve got unions working together on this week’s episode of Work Stoppage. First we check in on the union drive at Trader Joe’s in Massachusetts, where the company has started its union busting campaign by violating the Button Clause of the NLRA. Next, we got exciting news this week as Workers United and CWA announced they will be working together on their efforts to unionize Apple Retail stores, starting in NYC. Truck drivers in South Korea have been on strike for the last week and have paralyzed commerce across the country as they seek fair minimum wages for all truckers. In LA, workers at the Genwa Korean BBQ chain signed their first contract after a five year organizing drive. Intelligentsia Coffee workers are joining the union coffee ranks in Chicago, as they have filed for union representation with the IBEW. Dollar General workers have been fighting back against the atrocious conditions at their stores with protests, walkouts, and mass resignations. Finally, we check in with the non-stop momentum of the Starbucks Workers United campaign, now pushing 150 unionized stores.

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Overtime Episode 17 PREVIEW - AFL-CIA Pt 2 - El Golpe

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 14:42:21 -0300

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

As we discussed in our first episode of this series, there’s a long, sordid history of collaboration between the upper leadership of the AFL-CIO and the US National Security State, specifically the CIA. Over several decades during the Cold War, through the American Institution for Free Labor Development (AIFLD), the CIA used US labor to infiltrate, subvert, and destroy independent labor movements in numerous countries around the world. We continue the discussion of that history in this episode, largely drawn from the new book El Golpe: US Labor, The CIA, and The Coup at Ford in Mexico by Rob McKenzie. The collusion between the AFL-CIO and the CIA continued all the way up through the 90s, and in this episode we cover how that relationship led to the involvement of the CIA in violently crushing a nascent rank and file labor movement at Ford in Mexico in 1990. The history of this collaboration is dark, but understanding it is vital to building a revived, transparent, worker-led labor movement in this country that will learn from the class collaborationist mistakes of the past.

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Ep 108 – Synthesizer Solidarity

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 18:21:36 -0300

Another jam packed episode of Work Stoppage this week, as we start with a check in on workers at Amy’s Kitchen, where a second plant has started a union drive. We also follow up on the Case New Holland strike where 2000 UAW workers remain on strike as the company refuses to bring a fair offer to the table. Amazon has continued their campaign of harassment of organizers, and new documents released this week show the details behind how they discipline workers. There’s also a new independent union drive at Amazon, this one in North Carolina, that deserves all our support. Also this week, Seattle passed a first of its kind minimum wage law for gig workers to prevent companies from evading labor regulations. We may be on the verge of the biggest national rail strike in England in nearly a century, with 40,000 workers voting to authorize a strike in the coming weeks. Workers at Moog in North Carolina are unionizing with the IBEW due to the company paying poverty wages while workers assemble synthesizers that cost more than they make in a month. Finally, we catch up on the Starbucks Workers United movement, which has just set up a $1 million strike fund to help workers fight the company’s vicious union busting campaign.

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Ep 107 - 100 Unionized Starbucks!

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 19:53:00 -0300

Unfortunately, we’ve got a few setbacks to start the episode this week. First, we follow up with the USW workers at Chevron’s refinery in Richmond, CA, where workers have narrowly approved a new contract that doesn’t meet the main goals their two month long strike set out for. Next, we talk about workers at the unionizing Apple store in Atlanta being forced to withdraw their election petition due to union busting. Also this week, workers at Great Lakes Coffee in Detroit have been on strike for recognition of their union for three months, and rather than recognize it and reopen a profitable location, the owners decided to close the store. Workers with Amazonians United held a walkout this past week in Chicago to demand the reinstatement of a recently fired Black worker who had faced racial discrimination on the job. 600 Planned Parenthood workers in six states have filed to unionize with the SEIU, and hopefully we don’t see a repeat of the organizations 2017-18 union busting. Workers at America’s Test Kitchen in Boston are unionizing because for many, they spend all day making recipes they could never afford to eat. Finally, we close out with our Starbucks Workers United update, as many workers struck or walked out over Memorial Day weekend, and the movement crossed the 100 union store threshold.

Leesburg Strike Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/leesburgbaristas

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Overtime Episode 16 PREVIEW - Why Rank and File? - Pt 2

Fri, 27 May 2022 17:43:51 -0300

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

On the first episode of the series, we talked about the reasons why rank and file unionism, running your union in a democratic fashion, is so important to rebuilding the labor movement. On our second episode, we dig into a few historical examples of rank and file organizing which demonstrate the power of these organizing methods. First, we start out by discussing the history of the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers, the UE. The UE was started back in the 30s as a democratic union, and despite facing fierce attacks from business unionists and the US state, they have stayed true to their organizing methods for over 80 years. Then, we discuss the history of the One Member, One Vote campaign, which was the result of decades of struggle for more democracy within the UAW. Finally, we discuss a couple other real world examples of how rank and file methods can build real power on the jobsite and sum up with how these methods can be the foundation for a revival of the US labor movement as a base for a class conscious movement. In the final part of the series, we will discuss a few more major examples of rank and file organizing from the Chicago Teachers Union and the Industrial Workers of the World.

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Ep 106 – The Law Won’t Save Us, Solidarity Will

Wed, 25 May 2022 12:34:14 -0300

Labor never stops, and neither does labor news. We start this week’s show with a couple quick follow ups on the status of the Hudson Workers United and Target Workers Unite campaigns. Then, in great news, we discuss this week’s victorious union election at Raven Software, where testers have formed the first recognized union in a major video game studio. We also cover the union busting campaign at Apple retail stores where workers are organizing with the CWA. Workers at a Refresco bottling plant in New Jersey have had to win TWO union elections to get their union with the UE recognized due to a insane legal technicality, but now hope their determination will inspire others. 30,000 workers in South Africa’s gold mines have been on strike for three months as the company refuses to budge on a raise of $63 a year. As the war in Ukraine continues, companies and politicians in the country have used it as an opportunity to strip workers of many of their labor rights, while putting no controls on capitalists reaping superprofits from the increased exploitation. Finally, we wrap up with our weekly update on the many actions and union elections in the Starbucks Workers United movement.

If you like the show, please support us at patreon.com/workstoppage. We couldn’t do the show without your support, and patrons get access to evergreen Overtime episodes and periodic Shop Floor Discussion episodes on current issues too long to cover in our regular episodes.

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Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee.

Ep 105 – Flaming Hot Lambos

Wed, 18 May 2022 21:02:37 -0300

We start this week’s episode of Work Stoppage following up on several stories we’ve previously covered. First, the Indiana Grad Students have suspended their strike for the summer after winning overwhelming faculty support for recognition of their union. Next, educators in Brookline held a one day strike on Monday after negotiations stalled, winning their first new contract in three years. Also this week, the protests and mass resignations at BNSF have had an impact, forcing the company to alter their draconian attendance policy. Independent union SINTTIA reached a tentative agreement on their first contract to represent workers at GM Silao and won big wage gains. The crisis in Sri Lanka entered a new phase last week, with protestors forcing the Prime Minister to resign. Target Workers filed for union representation with the IWW in Virginia last week, bringing their many years long struggle into a new stage. Workers at Trader Joe’s also announced their union drive last week, yet another “progressive” company whose actions during the pandemic exposed them as the same as any other capitalist enterprise. Finally, we run through the most recent series of union election wins by the inspiring Starbucks Workers United movement.

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Shop Floor Discussion 4 - Starbucks May 2022 PREVIEW

Fri, 13 May 2022 19:12:33 -0300

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 tried to cover all the news coming in from the Starbucks Workers United movement on the regular show every week, but this week there was just so much news we had to give it its own episode. We start out covering Howard Schultz committing a ULP on an earnings call by threatening to withhold benefits from unionizing employees. We also cover a recent study showing just how much extra profit Starbucks has raked in during the pandemic, and how little has made it to workers. The NLRB finally responded to Starbucks’ massive illegal union busting campaign this week, filing a flurry of complaints against the company for violations of the NLRA. These suits demand the rehiring of several of the worker organizers that Starbucks has fired in retaliation for unionizing, as well as changes to captive audience meetings and even changes to the Starbucks employee handbook. In weirder news, Oscar nominated actor James Cromwell glued himself to a counter at an NYC Starbucks as part of a PETA protest. Finally, we wrap up with a roundup of the results of the 14 union elections since our last episode.

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Ep 104 - Cops Have Always Been Strikebreakers

Wed, 11 May 2022 19:42:07 -0300

There’s so much to cover this week we had to pull Starbucks out for its own episode, watch for that in the patron feed later this week. We start by following up with the striking Chevron workers in Richmond, CA, where the oil conglomerate has hired local cops to act as strikebreakers. After a few more quick-hit follow up stories, we discuss a strike at Case New Holland in Wisconsin and Iowa, where 1000 members of the UAW have hit the picket lines to fight a two tier system. In Amazon news this week, the company’s newly announced abortion benefit leaves out the workers who need it most, the NLRB files a massive complaint arguing captive audience meetings are illegal, and Chris Smalls testifies on Capitol Hill. Boston teachers have been fighting for a new contract for months and have turned to creative tactics since they are banned from striking. The Connecticut state legislature banned companies from holding captive audience meetings in the state this week, and bus drivers in DC won major wage gains after just 3 days on strike.

Case New Holland Workers Strike Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-striking-uaw-local-807-cnh-workers

If you like the show, please support us at patreon.com/workstoppage. We couldn’t do the show without your support, and patrons get access to evergreen Overtime episodes and periodic Shop Floor Discussion episodes on current issues too long to cover in our regular episodes.

Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX

Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee.

Ep 103 – Organize the Fruit Stands

Wed, 04 May 2022 16:32:17 -0300

We start this week’s episode of Work Stoppage with some tough news, as the organizing drive at the LDJ5 facility by the ALU was defeated 62%-38% in their election. The same week, OSHA refused to do anything to Amazon after they murdered six of their workers in last year’s tornado, while at the same time Amazon has now dropped any covid protections for their workers. Meanwhile, Delta is feeling the heat from the ongoing organizing efforts among their flight attendants, announcing new benefits to try and head off the surging union support. We also discuss the continuing fight for independent unions in Mexico, where another auto parts plant has voted to throw out the old company union and replace it with a worker led one. Canadian chain Freshii’s has been testing a pilot program where they replace their cashiers with remote workers in the Global South in order to evade Canadian labor law and profit from superexploitation. A general strike paralyzed Sri Lanka last week as workers demand the resignation of the current government, which has responded to their economic crisis by slashing state services. Workers at a store in Atlanta have filed for the first NLRB election by Apple workers, with several more stores across the country hot on their heels. Finally, the Starbucks victories don’t stop rolling in and it’s getting hard to keep track when there have been over 20 elections since our last episode.

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Overtime Episode 15 PREVIEW - Why Rank and File? - Pt 1

Wed, 04 May 2022 10:21:20 -0300

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 the importance of unions being organized and run in a “rank-and-file” manner a million times on the show, but we hadn’t really had a good opportunity to sit down and layout exactly what that means. On this episode, we discuss what exactly rank-and-file unionism is, what it is not, and why it’s so vital if we want to build effective organizations that will fight for the working class. We go through counter examples of Consumer Co-ops, ESOPs, and the methodology used for many bureaucratically run unions here in the US, Business Unionism. We finish off by discussing a short guide to rank-and-file organizing used by communists during the Depression, Organizing Methods in the Steel Industry by William Z Foster, and how that methodology is still relevant today. On part two of this series, we will discuss several examples of rank and file unionism in practice in more detail.

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UNLOCKED - Shop Floor Discussion 3 - Amazon Labor Union

Sun, 01 May 2022 11:11:09 -0300

For International Workers' Day, we decided to unlock our recent patron episode on the organizing methods of the Amazon Labor Union since it's a discussion on such an important, ongoing organizing campaign. Happy May Day Comrades!

Original Description:

On April 1, the Amazon Labor Union won one of the most historic labor victories in the US in decades. Despite the enormous difference in resources, the ALU was able to defeat one of the richest, most anti-union corporations in the world. This is such a momentous development, we thought it would be important to try and learn as much as possible from their incredible work. So in this Shop Floor Discussion, we discuss the ways that the ALU’s campaign differed from traditional union organizing campaigns. We go over their commitment to worker-led, rank-and-file organizing, the way they embraced the diversity of the JFK8 workforce and made it a strength, how they used every tactic possible to get their messaging out, and how their adaptability and willingness to go beyond the scope of traditional tactics helped them succeed. While there’s no single blueprint that can be copied from one workplace to another, there’s a lot that the ALU’s success can teach us about how to successfully organizing in today’s harsh labor environment. If we want to revive the US labor movement, we would be wise to learn from this amazing upset.

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Ep 102 – Unionized Coffee Shrines

Wed, 27 Apr 2022 17:38:58 -0300

We start this week’s episode following up with Verizon workers, where the company seems to be taking a page from Starbucks’ union busting as they have illegally fired a worker at a store in Washington for organizing. Then we catch up with the striking Finnish healthcare workers, who have ended their strike and are threatening mass resignations in response to threats from the government to make healthcare worker strikes illegal. Also in healthcare, workers staged 24 hour strikes at a nursing home in Saugus, Massachusetts and at healthcare facilities across Northern California last week decrying low wages and unsafe staffing levels. The ALU held a major rally this weekend to bring out support for the workers at the LDJ5 sorting facility who will vote on whether to unionize this week. Teachers in Richmond, Virginia have voted overwhelmingly to unionize for the first time in over 40 years, after a change in law allowing collective bargaining for public workers. University of Chicago Illinois grad students went on strike for the past week to protest poverty wages and lack of protections against discrimination and sexual misconduct. Finally, another week, another huge slate of wins for the Starbucks Workers United movement. This week saw 8 more locations unionized, including the Seattle Roastery, a huge hub just 2.5 miles from Starbucks corporate HQ.

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Ep 101 – Retail Rising

Wed, 20 Apr 2022 21:26:56 -0300

We start this week following up on the effort to unionize in immigration law by the brave organizers of Hudson Workers United, whose fight has now dragged on for over a year. Next we check in with the ALU, where the focus has turned to the LDJ5 sorting center’s upcoming election, and Amazon has cranked up the union busting. In our weekly look at the Starbucks Workers United movement, we discuss strikes protesting the company’s retaliation against its employees in North Carolina and Seattle. Meanwhile, the union is 7-1 in NLRB elections over the last week. Indiana grad student workers have gone on strike to demand recognition of their union, and have seen solidarity from undergrads and faculty. Theater is not an industry we have covered much, but there have been a few signs that the surge in labor organizing may be spreading there as well. Finally, workers have won union recognition at two Verizon retail stores in Washington, and we discuss the potential impact of the energy from Amazon and Starbucks workers spreading to retail.

Fired Starbucks Worker Gofundme: https://www.gofundme.com/f/fundraiser-for-hannah-a-fired-sbwu-organizer

Indiana Grad Students Strike Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/igwcue-strike-fund-spring-2022

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Shop Floor Discussion 3 PREVIEW – Amazon Labor Union: Lessons Learned from JFK8

Fri, 15 Apr 2022 20:25:23 -0300

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Ep 100 – Scabs Aren’t Seaworthy

Wed, 13 Apr 2022 20:37:17 -0300

We start this week’s episode of Work Stoppage checking in on the fallout from P&O Ferries illegally laying off their entire workforce without warning. Three weeks later and their fleet is still out of service, leading to massive shipping and travel delays in the UK. Next we discuss the end of the striking IBEW workers at WTTW, where the three week strike seems to have ended largely in defeat with a concession filled contract. 25,000 healthcare workers in Finland are on strike, demanding fair wages and an end to short staffing. We cover the police raid on the headquarters of the Unione Sindacale di Base in Italy after they have led several anti-imperialist protests. Then we discuss the potential move by the NLRB to ban captive audience meetings and what the general outlook of the labor movement should be to NLRB rulings. We had another major victory for organizing in higher education this week, as 4000 MIT graduate students voted to unionize with the UE. Finally, we do our weekly check-in with Starbucks Workers United, where workers have won an incredible nine more union elections over the past week, bringing their total to 18 recognized union stores.

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Ep 99 - David Beats Goliath

Wed, 06 Apr 2022 09:50:58 -0300

It’s a jam packed episode this week, everyone’s excited for the main story but we’ve got a lot to talk about in the labor world first. After hitting a few quick updates to some ongoing stories, we discuss the end of the Sacramento teachers’ strike, where a new tentative agreement has won raises without cuts to healthcare. Next, we cover some of the recent news in organizing in the games industry, with the ABK Workers Alliance winning covid protections with the threat of a walkout, support for unions on the increase in the industry, and Capcom raising salaries to try and head off employee organizing. Then we do a whirlwind tour of recent organizing victories by student workers at Wesleyan, New Mexico State, Clark University, and Dartmouth. Amazon wasn’t the only major win last Friday, as Starbucks’ flagship Roastery voted to unionize in the biggest single win of the Starbucks Workers United movement so far. Finally, while the vote is too close to call in Bessemer, Chris Smalls and the Amazon Labor Union pulled off an absolutely historic victory to form the first unionized Amazon warehouse in the country. We discuss the election, the background to the drive, and what lessons we can learn from the incredible worker-organizers in the ALU and how they can be applied more broadly to re-invigorate the labor movement.

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Overtime Episode 14 PREVIEW - The Decline of American Unionism - Part 3

Sat, 02 Apr 2022 17:46:31 -0300

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 final part of our series on the decline of the US labor movement, we reach the End of History. We discuss major events in US labor since the 90s, including waves of mergers, corporate consolidation, accelerating financialization, NAFTA, and the crash of 2008. We then get into some common myths about why US labor union membership has declined, as well as about the US economy overall. We finish off with a call for a rededication to rank and file union democracy and embracing the class struggle, rather than class collaboration.

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Ep 98 - Millions of Strikers Can’t Be Wrong

Thu, 31 Mar 2022 22:32:59 -0300

It’s another packed episode this week, as the class struggle never stops. First, we follow up with the Minneapolis educators, who have agreed to a new contract, ending their three week strike. Next we do our weekly Starbucks roundup, discussing union busting in Boston and union victories in Mesa, AZ, Seattle, and Knoxville, TN. Another major teachers strike is on, this one in Sacramento, where low wages and awful working conditions low has led to a crisis of short staffing. IBEW technicians have been on strike for a couple weeks now at Chicago’s PBS affiliate, WTTW, where the union is fighting to protect union work from being farmed out to contractors. Finally, we finish up covering the colossal two day general strike in India, where as many as 200 million workers have shut the country down to protest the anti-worker policies of the Modi government.

If you like the show, please support us at patreon.com/workstoppage. We couldn’t do the show without your support, and patrons get access to evergreen Overtime episodes and periodic Shop Floor Discussion episodes on current issues too long to cover in our regular episodes.

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Overtime Episode 13 PREVIEW - The Decline of American Unionism Part 2

Sat, 26 Mar 2022 21:55:14 -0300

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 part of our series on the decline of the US labor movement, we discuss the impact of business unionism in the 1970s and the 1980s. We dispel the commonly promoted image that Jimmy Carter was a friend of the working class, and cover some of the many anti-labor actions taken by his administration. We cover the Reagan years, the PATCO strike, and the rise of Neoliberalism. Finally we go over the development and spread of Lean Manufacturing and Just-In-Time Logistics, and how those methods of management have come to shape today's labor environment. Throughout, we show how the class collaborationist ideology of business unionism left the major US labor unions totally unprepared to deal with the assault by business in the 70s and 80s. In our last episode of the series, we will discuss some of the more recent developments in the 90s and 2000s, some myths and realities of our current labor climate, and what we need to change to rebuild a strong labor movement in the US.

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Ep 97 - Ferries to Nowhere

Thu, 24 Mar 2022 20:07:45 -0300

After some discussion about the transition to new leadership at the Teamsters, our first story on this week’s episode of Work Stoppage covers the recent walkouts at 3 Amazon facilities carried out by Amazonians United. Then we hit the weekly quota of Starbucks coverage discussing the return of Howard Schultz as CEO, the refusal of the company to stop its aggressive union busting campaign, and a strike by Starbucks workers in Kansas City. Next we discuss an awful story out of the UK, where 800 workers at one of the country’s largest ferry companies, P&O Ferries, were summarily fired by a 3 minute zoom recording with no prior warning. Also this week, 500 workers at the Richmond oil refinery in the Bay Area have gone on strike over wages not covering soaring costs of living. Airport workers in Italy refused to continue work this week after discovering that so called “humanitarian aid” they were loading onto a transport plane was in fact weapons being sent by NATO, prompting protests from the workers and their union. Finally, teachers and education workers in San Francisco staged a 3 day sit in at the headquarters of the Unified School District to protest unpaid wages during a payroll system changeover.

Video of P&O boss laying off workers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04lx6GiFyyE

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Overtime Episode 12 PREVIEW - The Decline of American Unionism – Part 1

Sun, 20 Mar 2022 20:17:37 -0300

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 first episode of a new series, we dig into the primary causes of the ongoing decline of union membership in the US, especially in private industry. While there are certainly spots of hope in movements like Starbucks Workers United and other grassroots union organizing drives, US labor union density has continued its long 40 year decline. If we want to rebuild the US labor movement as a fighting movement of the working class, we must understand the root causes of the precarious situation we are in today. In this episode, we look at some of the foundational issues behind the problems of the US labor movement, like the class collaborationist approach of “business unionism”, the refusal of major unions to address “controversial issues” like racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression, and an abandonment of the struggle for control of the shop floor. In future episodes, we will look at some of the key moments in the failures of business unionism from the height of raw union membership numbers in the 70s, through the losses of the Reagan era, to the long steady retreats of the Neoliberal 90s to today.

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Ep 96 - Strike Breakin’ Ghost Trucks

Thu, 17 Mar 2022 21:05:39 -0300

Our episode of Work Stoppage starts this week with a reminder that the workers at Amy’s Kitchen have called for a boycott as the company attacks their union efforts. Our first full story catches up with the Teamsters in Seattle who are now facing attempts by companies to break the strike in the concrete industry by hiring unlabeled “Ghost Trucks” to supply job sites. Next, Starbucks workers in Denver aren’t waiting for official union recognition to strike against retaliation by the company. Then, we discuss a recent bill in Florida that would have put new onerous requirements on public unions in an attempt to sap them of resources. Also this week, in Slovenia 40,000 teachers and other education workers struck to demand living wages and compensation for working through the pandemic. We also cover recent violence in South Africa, where a leader in the militant Shack Dweller’s Movement was gunned down by armed men connected to the local ruling political party. Finally, the GMG union held a successful four day strike, the first open ended strike by a digital media outlet, to demand that their healthcare include Trans affirmative care and that their wages keep pace with soaring inflation.

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Ep 95 – Union Democracy Gets the Goods

Fri, 11 Mar 2022 19:44:45 -0400

After yet another crazy week both in and outside the labor world we’ve got another packed episode for you. First, we follow up with the workers at REI in Manhattan who have won their union election in a landslide. Next, the NYT Tech Guild also overwhelmingly won their election, becoming the largest union of tech workers in the US. Following up our story on the rise of independent unions in Mexico, workers at the Tridonex auto parts factory in Matamoros voted by a large margin to replace their old company union with a new democratic one. We also discuss organizing efforts by Philly Starbucks workers to fight for covid safety protections after the company dropped its mask mandate for customers, and also touch on 3 more union election victories in Buffalo for the Starbucks Workers United movement. We cover two stories of workers in Italy: First, tens of thousands of students protested to end the requirement that all high school students perform unpaid labor for private companies in order to graduate after multiple students have died on the job. Then, thousands of doctors have protested the government’s austerity policies towards primary care physicians and its slow slide towards privatization. Finally, we cover the massive strike of teachers and education support professionals in Minneapolis.

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Shop Floor Discussion 2 PREVIEW – Colombian State Violence

Wed, 09 Mar 2022 00:17:38 -0400

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 the violence facing labor organizers, human rights defenders, and Indigenous leaders in Colombia on the show before, in the context of last year’s working class uprising. But we hadn’t really had a chance to give the topic the amount of time it deserves. Colombia is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a labor organizer, with hundreds killed in the last few years. The US neocolonial control of Colombia’s government and economy is largely to blame, as major US corporations like Nestle and Coca-Cola have taken advantage of the Colombian state’s complicity with paramilitary death squads to quash organizing drives at their facilities. On this Shop Floor Discussion, we get into the history of state/para-state violence in Colombia, the difficulties that presents for labor organizing, and some of the connections to Operation Condor.

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Ep 94 - Working Overtime at the Hershey Prison

Wed, 02 Mar 2022 17:02:33 -0400

It’s been a busy week in Labor news so we’ve got a jam packed episode of Work Stoppage. First, we’ve got a few recent victories: Workers at Coffee Tree Roasters in Pittsburgh won their union election 17-3 and will now be represented by UFCW Local 1776. Workers at Rich Products’ Jon Donaire ice cream cake plant have ended their four month long strike with three times the wage increase that the company initially offered. Also, following up our story about gig workers in Canada, Ontario’s labor ministry has ruled that Ontario Uber drivers are in fact employees and gig companies must immediately act to comply with provincial labor law. In that vein, we also report on a bill in Washington state currently supported by both gig companies and Uber that would permanently misclassify gig workers in exchange for some mild benefits. Amazon has once again stepped up their repression, having the NYPD arrest several organizers with the Amazon Labor Union, including Christian Smalls, for “trespassing.” We also discuss the awful working conditions at the Hershey’s candy factory in Stuarts Draft, Virginia, where over 1300 workers are voting on whether to unionize with the BCTGM. Finally this week, Starbucks workers got another major victory as the workers at a Mesa, Arizona location finally got their ballots counted and won the third successful Starbucks union election.

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Ep 93 – Minor Leagues, Major Exploitation

Wed, 23 Feb 2022 20:55:40 -0400

We start this week’s episode checking in with Starbucks’ latest repressive move against its workers as they’ve fired one of the lead organizers at the first store to unionize in Buffalo. Next, we discuss a recent shady deal by the UFCW to represent Uber drivers in Canada, where the representation costs will be covered by Uber and the UFCW will lobby Canada’s parliament to preserve worker “flexibility.” Over the past couple weeks there have been huge protests in Haiti, as textile workers in free trade “assembly zone” sweatshops have risen up to demand an increase in the minimum wage. We also cover the announcement that workers are unionizing with the IWW at Alamo Drafthouse’s flagship location in Austin. Also this week we discuss the exploitation of minor league baseball players in the context of the ongoing lockout of the players in the majors, and the necessity of solidarity from the major league players. Finally this week, workers at the Midtown Detroit location of Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Company have launched a strike to demand recognition of their union.

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Ep 92 - Unionize Temp Workers!

Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:10 -0400

After making fun of REI’s attempt to make a “progressive" union busting podcast, our episode starts following up with the striking Clover workers in South Africa. Workers have faced violent attacks from company strikebreakers against their picket lines but are standing strong and expanding their strike activity. Next we cover strikes by healthcare workers in Sri Lanka and Nigeria, where workers have faced salary cuts, unpaid wages, and insufficient PPE. Since going on strike, both countries’ governments have threatened the striking workers with legal reprisals. Also this week we discuss Amazon’s attempts to hide their covid numbers and how workers at facilities in California have helped expose them. We also cover a new report documenting rampant wage theft and abuse in the temp worker industry, which is ripe for unionization. Finally, we’ve got the first of what will hopefully be many union victories at PetSmart, as the workers in Toronto have won their union election to become the first unionized PetSmart of their over 1700 stores across North America.

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Shop Floor Discussion 1 PREVIEW – The Freedom Convoy and the Problem of Tailism

Mon, 14 Feb 2022 20:03:41 -0400

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

Sometimes there’s a story in the news that needs a bit more in depth discussion than we can give it on a regular episode. So we’re starting a new patrons-only series of Shop Floor Discussion episodes to cover them. For our first longer form discussion, we want to tackle the recent Freedom Convoy protests that have been going on in Canada for the last few weeks. Hailed as a “working class revolt” by the American right wing (and some on the left), we investigate the actual class character of the protests as well as the response from the Canadian trucking industry and the Teamsters. This event gives us a good opportunity to discuss how to identify a real working class uprising versus an astroturfed white nationalist protest, as well as a chance to define and discuss tailism and how to avoid it.

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Ep 91 - Company Unions are Fascist Unions

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 22:17:34 -0400

We’ve got a packed episode of Work Stoppage this week. Just before recording Starbucks decided to fire seven of their workers in Memphis for unionizing, in one of the more obvious cases of retaliation we’ve covered. Thousands of teachers protested last Friday in Puerto Rico over incredibly low wages which force many of them to take second or even third jobs just to make ends meet. The GOP introduced a bill last week to try and bring back company unions and are trying to disguise it as “pro-worker” legislation, we break down why it’s bullshit. Target workers organizing for hazard pay have given us a window into how corporations train their managers to be union busters by leaking screencaps of the company’s anti-union training. Also this week, Amy’s Kitchen, yet another company cultivating a “progressive” image with their line of vegan and non-GMO frozen foods, is trying hard to suppress workers organizing to combat years of labor intensification. Finally, we cover the victory of workers at a major GM plant in Mexico, who overwhelmingly voted to replace their corrupt company union with one led by rank and file workers.

Fund for fired Memphis Starbucks workers: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-fired-starbucks-union-leaders-in-memphis

If you like the show, please support us at patreon.com/workstoppage. We couldn’t do the show without your support, and patrons get access to evergreen Overtime episodes .

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UNLOCKED - The Nature of the State Pt 1

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 12:21:51 -0400

Since we've just finished a new patrons-only series on the nature of the state, this time focusing on the repressive state apparatus, we figured it would be a good idea to make the first part of our series on the theory of how the state functions available to all our listeners. This episode gives a window into what we have been going over on the Overtime episodes.

To support the show and get access to more episodes like this, as well as episodes on labor history and organizing, subscribe over at patreon.com/workstoppage. We couldn't do the show without the support of our patrons.

Original Description: On this Overtime episode, the first in a series, John, Lina, and Dan take some time to dig into the fundamentals behind our understandings of the nature of the state: what it is, its historical development, how it functions, and how it can be changed. During this first part of our discussion, Dan takes us through the theoretical work and historical analysis on the state by Marx, Engels, and Lenin, how they defined the state, how they foresaw it being abolished in the future, and how we could get from where we are under the domination of the capitalist ruling class, to a real democracy where workers would have state power instead of a tiny rich ruling class. We talk about how their theories apply today, how we see their historical materialist analysis reflected in the US state today, and why their theories remain vital for workers struggles for control of their own lives.

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Ep 90 - Gig Nurses, Lean Railways

Sat, 05 Feb 2022 21:44:55 -0400

This week we begin following up with our friends at Student Workers of Columbia who have finally ratified their first contract after a years’ long struggle for recognition. Next we discuss the recent developments in the healthcare industry where several companies are attempting to apply the gig model to nursing. Issues have been brewing in the rail industry for years as companies have slashed workforces to raise profits, and recently 17,000 workers voted to authorize a strike after BNSF unilaterally imposed a draconian attendance policy, but the workers have been blocked from striking by the courts. We check in on the union drive in Bessemer where ballots for the re-do election go out this week and Amazon’s union busting continues unabated. Amazon workers are also organizing in NYC, where Amazon Labor Union has re-filed for election at the JFK8 warehouse as the NLRB alleges Amazon’s union busting has broken the law. Finally, workers have filed for the first union election at REI in Manhattan, as yet another “progressive, liberal company” shows its true colors in refusing voluntary recognition.

If you like the show, please support us at patreon.com/workstoppage. We couldn’t do the show without your support, and patrons get access to evergreen Overtime episodes .

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Overtime Episode 11 PREVIEW - The Repressive State Apparatus Pt 4 - The Imperial Boomerang

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 17:23:27 -0400

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 final episode of our series on the history of the US repressive state apparatus, we discuss some of its major developments on the homefront during the last 20 years. We cover the massive rise in state surveillance and attacks on the Muslim community in the wake of 9/11. Also the rise of intelligence sharing “Fusion Centers”, pulled straight from the CIA’s coordinating role in Operation Condor. We go over the creation and massive expansion of ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, the vicious repression of Indigenous land and water defenders protesting DAPL, Line 3, and other pipelines, and the string of suspicious deaths of leaders of the uprising in Ferguson. Finally, we close out the series summing up the lessons we can apply in our organizing today from this history, and what inspiration we can draw from the movements that have resisted the repressive apparatus over the last century.

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Ep 89 - There is no Family in Family Dollar

Sat, 29 Jan 2022 20:50:56 -0400

We start this week’s episode of Work Stoppage following up with the King Sooper’s workers, who have ratified a new contract and ended their strike. Next we check in with the Game Workers Alliance drive at Activision Blizzard King, where Raven Software QA workers have officially filed for union recognition with the NLRB. Also this week, truck drivers at the Port of Los Angeles are fighting their misclassification as independent contractors and hoping to start a movement to re-unionize the entire sector. We discuss a recent investigation by Business Insider that exposed thousands of arbitration settlements for horrific treatment of store managers and employees at Family Dollar. We move to Karnataka, India, where a report from the Workers’ Rights Consortium has revealed tens of millions of dollars in wage theft propping up massive profits in the fast fashion industry. Finally, there’s an actual general strike going on in the concrete industry in Seattle, where the local construction industry has ground to a halt after a consortium of concrete firms refuse to bargain with local Teamsters.

If you like the show, please support us at patreon.com/workstoppage. We couldn’t do the show without your support, and patrons get access to evergreen Overtime episodes.

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Overtime Episode 10 PREVIEW - The Repressive State Apparatus Pt 3 - Guns, Drugs, and NGOs

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 15:57:09 -0400

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

On the third part of our Overtime series on the history of the US repressive state apparatus, we dive into the long relationship between the CIA and the global drug trade. From working with the Mafia to break strikes in post-war Europe and protecting their heroin smuggling, to helping the Kuomintang fight China in the 50s funded by opium traffic, to funding a secret war in Laos on the back of the drug trade, the CIA has been involved in drugs since its inception. Knowing how these operations worked greatly affects how we view the “War on Drugs” here in the US. We also discuss Operation Cyclone, the US war against the socialist government of Afghanistan, using Mujahedin fighters armed, trained, and paid by the CIA. Much of the propaganda around the "Brave Mujahedin Fighters of Afghanistan" is still reflected in how our media reports on CIA backed forces in "enemy" countries today. Finally, we cover the last major foreign operation of the series, the US post-Cold War policy of instigating “Color Revolutions” in countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, to install neoliberal Western-friendly governments, and how these tactics and the use of NGOs are seen here in the US as well.

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Ep 87 – Seafood Super Spreader

Sat, 22 Jan 2022 16:44:44 -0400

We start this week’s episode following up with the Republic Services sanitation workers in San Diego, who have ended their month long strike and ratified a new contract. We discuss the gains and the limitations of the new deal. We also check in with the massively expanding Starbucks Workers United campaign, which has spread to 26 locations as of this writing and likely more once we release the episode. For a look at how a more united labor movement is fighting for workers’ safety, we cover a massive teachers strike in France over insufficient covid response, and the actions the strike forced the government to take to meet teachers’ demands. The entire US service sector gets screwed over with a lack of paid sick leave, but a new report shows how Red Lobster treats its workers particularly badly and forces a majority of them to work sick. Finally, South Korean workers and farmers held a massive rally in Seoul this past Saturday to demand radical action by the government to solve the crisis of neoliberal austerity.

USPS Covid Test Website: https://special.usps.com/testkits

If you like the show, please support us at patreon.com/workstoppage. We couldn’t do the show without your support, and patrons get access to evergreen Overtime episodes .

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Ep 86 - Sooper Strikers

Sat, 15 Jan 2022 21:48:37 -0400

Covid is still raging out of control as the government refuses to handle the pandemic, so our first story this week is a look at some of the ways teachers and now students are fighting for safe learning environments, starting with a sickout by teachers and a strike threat by students in Oakland, California. Then we follow up with the Student Workers of Columbia, who have reached a tentative agreement to end their 10 week long strike, winning some major gains that the university initially claimed they would never agree to. Thousands of South African dairy workers have been on strike for almost two months after their employer, Clover, was purchased by a major firm that promised to create jobs but actually ended up slashing them. Our big story this week is over 8000 grocery workers at King Soopers stores across Colorado striking over poverty wages, no covid protections, and parent company Kroger’s general horrific treatment. Finally, we’ve got two successful union drives as Image Comics becomes the first unionized shop in the comics industry and Titmouse becomes the first unionized animation shop in the US outside LA.

King Soopers Workers Hardship Fund: https://my.cheddarup.com/c/hardship-fund-for-striking-king-soopers-workers

If you like the show, please support us at patreon.com/workstoppage. We couldn’t do the show without your support, and patrons get access to evergreen Overtime episodes .

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Overtime Episode 9 PREVIEW - The Repressive State Apparatus Pt 2 - Operations Gladio & Condor

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 00:14:44 -0400

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

On the second part of our Overtime series on the history of the US repressive state apparatus, we discuss its extension to attack working class movements overseas in Operation Gladio and Operation Condor. We discuss how in the aftermath of World War 2, the United States organized, armed, and trained fascist terrorist groups to act as “stay behind” armies, ostensibly in preparation for a Soviet invasion of Western Europe. In reality, these groups were primarily used to target the domestic population of their countries and suppress any left wing or workers movement deemed too friendly to communism by the CIA. We also discuss the extension of the CIA’s secret war against the working class to Latin America via the organization of a trans-national network of intelligence agencies connecting the fascist military dictatorships they brought to power. We cover how these security agencies erased borders in their murderous quest to destroy any movement deemed “subversive” and a threat to United States interests. These massive secret operations left tens of thousands dead, and no one in the US has ever been held accountable for orchestrating them. We go over what lessons we can draw from the lengths the US national security state is willing to go to maintain its dominance over the world’s resources, and how these tactics have evolved into operations being carried out today.

Ep 85 - Sacrificed on the Altar of Profit

Fri, 07 Jan 2022 14:04:27 -0400

It’s the first episode of Work Stoppage of 2022 and the state is once again throwing workers to the wolves. We start with a follow up on the St Vincent nurses strike, where they’ve ratified a new contract to end one of the longest strikes in the country, but have faced a nefarious move by the company to try and spark a decertification vote. Next we discuss a union drive recently launched by workers in Pittsburgh at Coffee Tree Roasters, where workers were immediately retaliated against by management. Sanitation workers in San Diego have been on strike for 3 weeks for better wages, benefits and reasonable workloads, as their employer Republic Services have brought in scabs to break the strike. Our main story this week is the US government’s policy of forcing workers to get sick and die in order to “keep the economy open.” We discuss OSHA rescinding workplace safety protection rules for healthcare workers and the efforts by nurses to fight back. We also cover the CDC’s absurd change in guidelines to allow companies to slash their sick time for workers who get covid and force them back to work after only 5 days. Teachers are also fighting back, as the Chicago Teachers Union voted to switch to remote learning, only to have the city lock them out and try and pit parents against teachers to cover for the government’s failures. In our final story this week, Indigenous groups, environmental activists, and labor unions united in Argentina last month to stand together to force the repeal of a neoliberal mining law that could have devastated the region, showing that mass struggle gets results.

If you like the show, please support us at patreon.com/workstoppage. We couldn’t do the show without your support, and patrons get access to evergreen Overtime episodes on labor history, theory, and more.

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Ep 84 - Work Stoppage 2021 Year in Review

Fri, 31 Dec 2021 14:46:37 -0400

For the last episode of Work Stoppage of 2021, we decided to take a look back at the stories and trends that we covered in the labor movement this year. We discuss the first major efforts at unionizing Amazon [7:00-24:11], the ways in which OSHA let workers down [24:12-35:19], and the many companies that put forward a "progressive" image only to use the same union busting tactics of every other company [35:20-51:35]. We also talk about the unfortunately large number of stories we covered this year on modern slavery [51:36-1:02:49], the year long struggle and triumph of the Indian Farmers Movement [1:02:50-1:15:51], and finally the fall upsurge in the labor movement here in the US during "Striketober" [1:15:52-1:25:30]. We try and draw what lessons we can take from these major trends labor took in 2021, and look ahead to what might be in store for 2022.

As always, thank you to all our listeners, we love doing the show and look forward to another year covering the labor movement!

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Overtime Episode 8 PREVIEW - The Repressive State Apparatus - A Brief History - Pt 1

Fri, 24 Dec 2021 21:17:31 -0400

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

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 Pinkertons 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 repressive tactics used by the US against working class movements around the world, so we can understand how that affects our movement today.

(Note: I realized in the preview I said the Church Committee was 1965, it was actually 1975)

Ep 83 - Understaffing Kills

Thu, 23 Dec 2021 14:12:42 -0400

We start this week’s episode with a check in with Doughnut Workers United, who finally officially won their unfair labor practice charges against Voodoo Doughnuts for illegally firing workers protesting unsafe working conditions during this summer’s heat wave. Next, we go over the end of the Kellogg’s strike, covering the new contract’s wins but also the notable fact that it doesn’t eliminate the two tiered employment system. Also this week, the longest nursing strike in 15 years may be about to end, as workers at St. Vincent’s hospital have reached a tentative agreement to end their 9 month long strike. We also discuss a whistleblower at Apple who was fired for inquiring into potentially unsafe working conditions, and exposed the company’s culture of extreme (and probably illegal) levels of secrecy. Pharmacists are yet another profession facing proletarianization, as the industry has been consolidated among a few huge firms, leading to low wages and massive overwork due to understaffing, so some are fighting back and launching a walkout. Finally, one of the least talked about areas of healthcare is long term home care, where workers face brutal conditions, leading to workers in NYC protesting loopholes in labor law allowing them to be forced to work 24 hour shifts.

Donate to the Pharmacists’ strike fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/rux92-national-pharmacist-and-technician-union

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Ep 82 - Why We Fight

Thu, 16 Dec 2021 12:55:59 -0400

It’s a heavy start to this week’s episode, as we begin with the horrific aftermath of the multi-state tornado system that killed over 80 people, including at least 14 workers forced to stay at their jobs by their management. These workers were murdered by their employers in the pursuit of profit, for which the companies are unlikely to ever be brought to justice. We follow up that difficult segment with an update on the Kellogg’s strike, where workers overwhelmingly rejected a tentative agreement that would have maintained the two-tier contract system, standing strong to protect the rights of future workers. Moving on to the first unambiguously happy story of the episode, Starbucks workers in Buffalo won their union elections at two of the three Buffalo stores that held votes last week, and have inspired union drives in at least 6 more stores. Also this week, workers at Activision Blizzard King went on strike to protest the firing of testers at Raven Software and also announced their drive to form the first unionized workforce at a major game studio. We also discuss the IATSE strike on the set of the film “Nefarious”, where the right wing production company used Oklahoma’s right to work law and free child labor from a local technical school to try and evade union protections. Finally, we close on a high note, as the biggest new bargaining unit of the year was recognized as 17,000 student researchers finally had their branch of the UAW recognized by the University of California system.

Donate to the family of Larry Virden, killed by Amazon in the tornado: https://www.gofundme.com/f/2nd7wq-dads-funeral

Support the striking Kellogg’s workers: https://labor411.org/411-blog/five-ways-to-support-the-kellogg-strike/

Donate to the striking ABK workers: https://www.gofundme.com/f/abk-strike-fund

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Ep 81 - Student Workers of Columbia Interview

Sun, 12 Dec 2021 18:41:29 -0400

On a very special interview episode of Work Stoppage, we were lucky enough to be joined by Charlie, a PhD student and organizer with Student Workers of Columbia, who are currently engaged in the largest strike in the country. We discuss the history of student worker organizing at Columbia and the process students have been going through to try and get their first contract with the university. We go over the conditions which led to the strike, from poverty wages in one of the most expensive cities in the world, to insufficient access to healthcare, dental care, childcare, and other issues. Charlie explains some of the difficulties faced by the students, especially in the earlier strike this spring, of organizing during covid, but also how students and faculty have rallied around the striking student workers during the current strike. Columbia has consistently refused to bargain in good faith with the workers, even going so far as to send an email to all students with veiled threats to fire workers who stay on strike. We talk about how the community has responded to the strike, the student workers’ relationship with the broader labor movement including the UAW, and how our listeners can support the workers.

Support the workers by donating to their hardship fund : https://opencollective.com/student-workers-of-columbia/projects/withheld-stipends

Donate to feed the strikers: https://www.gofundme.com/f/feed-and-support-striking-student-workers

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Follow the Student Workers of Columbia on Twitter @SW_Columbia, follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee.

Ep 80 - One Worker, One Vote

Wed, 08 Dec 2021 18:36:07 -0400

John's back, Lina's away, and businesses keep oppressing their workers. We start this week's episode with an Amazon roundup, as the NLRB officially orders a new election in Bessemer, the NY AG demands Christian Smalls be reinstated, and independent researchers find Amazon concealed 20,000 workplace related COVID cases. Next we have a rare discussion of labor relations in the sports world, as the owners in Major League Baseball have locked out the players is a dispute over player salaries. The big labor news of the week was the membership of the UAW voting to switch election of their leadership from an undemocratic delegate system to a one member, one vote system, potentially setting the stage for a new rank and file upsurge at next years convention. Workers at a Rich Products' ice cream cake plant in Los Angeles have been on strike for a month, as their multibillion dollar parent company refuses to give the workers a measly $1/hr raise and more than 3 sick days a year. Finally, we discuss the recent story of hackers accessing receipt printers and making them print out an "Antiwork Manifesto". Jon Donaire Workers Strike Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/official-jon-donaire-strikers-gofundme-page Subscribe for additional Overtime episodes at patreon.com/workstoppage Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee.

Ep 79 - And More US Slavery

Sun, 05 Dec 2021 17:51:27 -0400

We weren’t able to line up everyone’s schedules this week so it’s just Lina and Dan on this week’s episode of Work Stoppage. We start with the Kellogg’s strike, where a new tentative agreement has been reached to potentially end the two month long strike. Next we discuss the international effort to reign in Amazon’s labor abuses with strikes around the world on Black Friday organized by the Make Amazon Pay coalition. Then we talk about yet another horrific example of modern slavery, this time with the breaking of a ring of trafficking and abuse of migrant workers in Georgia here in the US. We also cover the recent spate of sickouts, unionizations, strikes, and protests amongst school bus drivers all across the country, as they face paltry wages, chaotic schedules, and few safety protections. Finally, the art world has seen a surge in workplace organizing since the beginning of the pandemic, with visitor staff, creative workers, security guards, and many others uniting to fight back against the massive disparity in pay between the workers that keep museums running and the rich boards that direct them.

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EP 78 - Mass Struggle Gets The Goods

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 18:37:18 -0400

The holidays are right around the corner but the class struggle never stops. We start this weeks episode checking in with the Amazon Labor Union in New York, where issues with turnover and vicious union busting have forced the union to temporarily withdraw their NLRB election petition. 14,000 Kroger workers in Houston have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, which could start as soon as this week. We finally got the results of the Teamsters election this week and it’s a landslide victory for Teamsters United and the TDU, with big implications for the struggle against UPS and Amazon in the coming years. OSHA continues to serve its function running cover for corporations this week after they issued an insultingly small fine to Smithfield for inadequate safety measures during the pandemic. Our big story this week, in one of the most inspiring victories of the year the Indian Farmers’ Movement has succeeded in forcing Modi and the BJP to announce the repeal of the three neoliberal farm laws that they’ve been fighting against for well over a year. Finally, UPMC workers in Pittsburgh staged a one day strike last week demanding living wages, safe staffing, and health care that doesn’t leave them with mountains of medical debt.

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Ep 77 - HelloUnion

Thu, 18 Nov 2021 20:55:51 -0400

There are new contracts all over the place on this week’s episode of Work Stoppage. We start with Kaiser Permanente, where a tentative agreement has been reached to prevent the planned implementation of a two tiered contract. Then we discuss the end of the month long John Deere strike, after workers ratified a new deal which contains hard fought gains but maintains their two tiered system. Also this week, IATSE has ratified a new contract against the wishes of a majority of union members due to the use of an undemocratic delegate system. HelloFresh workers have faced sub-poverty wages, racist abuse from management, dangerous working conditions, and now a vicious union busting campaign as they fight for their right to collectively bargain. Finally, Burgerville workers have fought hard for three years, making admirable gains for workers across the company, and now finally have a historic tentative contract agreement to become the first recognized fast food union in the country.

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Ep 76 - S Is For Strike

Sat, 13 Nov 2021 17:37:29 -0400

We start this week’s episode of Work Stoppage catching up with some of the bigger strikes in the country. First, Starbucks has pulled out all the stops in its union busting efforts, even bringing in former CEO and failed presidential candidate Howard Schultz to try and convince workers to vote against their union as ballots go out this week. Then we check in on the Kellogg’s strike, where the company has refused to budge on its two-tiered contract system and workers have dug in for the long haul. Mercy Hospital workers have ended their 5 week long strike after ratifying a new contract that met all their key demands. 3000 student workers at Columbia University have gone on strike again over poverty wages, insufficient healthcare, and unfair grievance procedures. In Germany, 2500 Amazon workers with the Verdi union federation have struck over the company’s refusal to accept the industry standard collective bargaining agreement, while at the same time Amazon has been found to have illegally stolen $60M in tips from Flex drivers. Finally, 800 teachers in Scranton, PA have struck after four years without a contract after suffering years of austerity budgets and rising class sizes.

Support the striking Kellogg’s workers who have had their healthcare cut off: https://bctgm.org/2021/10/08/5-ways-to-support-the-kelloggstrike/

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Ep 75 - Masterfully Malicious

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 21:48:13 -0300

A lot has happened on the John Deere picket lines since we last talked about the strike, so we start there this week. One UAW worker was tragically killed after being struck by a vehicle walking to their car from the picket line, and the union has turned down Deere’s most recent contract offer after it failed to remove the current two-tiered system. We also follow up with the organized Netflix workers, who have filed unfair labor practice charges against the company, and Amazon workers in Staten Island have officially filed with the NLRB for a union election. Also in New York, taxi drivers have been protesting for months, including a recent two week hunger strike and have finally won relief from predatory medallion debts often running well over half a million dollars for many drivers. UFCW workers recently ended a six week strike at Heaven Hill bourbon distillery but their new contract was actually approved with only a minority of yes votes. Finally, we’ve got a great example of malicious compliance as UPS drivers in Columbus show up en masse to screw with the company’s exploitative weekend scheduling practices.

Relief fund for the family of the recently killed UAW striker: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ebzuse

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Overtime Episode 7 - Lenin on the Trade Union Question PREVIEW

Sat, 30 Oct 2021 11:38:57 -0300

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

As a Labor News show, we talk about unions constantly and how vital they are to building any sort of socialist project. But the labor movement has been around a long time without prompting a revolution, so what should our organizing tactics be if our ultimate goal isn't just slightly better wages and working conditions, but a revolutionary transformation of society? On this patrons-only episode, Dan dives into Lenin's work to dig into the Marxist perspective on union organizing and its relationship to socialist politics. Contrasting the Bolsheviks' orientation on the trade union movement to revolutionary syndicalism and social democratic reformism, Lenin aimed for a dialectical approach to the process of raising working class consciousness both within and without the trade union movement. While acknowledging the different material conditions 100 years later, there's still a lot we can learn as organizers about the difficult balance of agitating within often reformist institutions in order to meet the masses where they are. This review of Lenin's theoretical work on the subject centers on the lessons learned from the long struggle for a unified workers movement and how we can apply them today.

Ep 74 - Mai Più Fascismi

Thu, 28 Oct 2021 19:34:48 -0300

John is on the mend so the gang’s back together for this week’s episode of Work Stoppage, which starts with a follow up on the United Paizo Workers, whose union was voluntarily recognized by the company! Then we discuss the tragic death of Halyna Hutchins and how everything that led to it demonstrates why the IATSE workers voted so overwhelmingly to strike. Also this week, workers in Italy have rallied to defend the country’s major trade unions after attacks from neo-fascists. Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans staged a one day general strike this week to protest the country’s massive inequality and exploitation of workers. Finally, 36,000 Kaiser Permanente workers have voted to authorize what could be the largest US strike of the year so far.

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Ep 73 - Deere Season

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 20:18:05 -0300

John’s under the weather this week, and Lina and Dan start off with a follow up on the IATSE strike, where a tentative agreement was reached by the bargaining committee over the weekend but may not be ratified when the membership gets to vote. We also check in with Starbucks Workers United as the company has closed two of the stores that had been attempting to unionize, while insisting that it has nothing to do with the union drive. Also this week, Netflix employees plan a walkout after an organizer with the company’s Trans Employee Resource Group was fired in the wake of worker complaints about the handling of the recent Dave Chappelle special. Over 160,000 workers in South Africa’s biggest union are on strike for fairer wages, and threaten to completely shut down the country’s lucrative auto parts industry. The biggest US strike of the year so far is underway as 10,000 UAW workers at John Deere are on the picket lines in three states, and the company is struggling to find enough scabs to keep plants open. Finally, we discuss the announcement of the first union in the tabletop gaming industry, Paizo Workers United.

John Deere Strike Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-john-deere-strike

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Ep 72 - Striketober

Fri, 15 Oct 2021 21:47:06 -0300

Major strikes are popping up all over and Striketober is in full swing. This week we start with our friends at Doughnut Workers United, where the NLRB recently ruled in their favor that Voodoo Doughnuts illegally fired several of their workers for striking and must rehire them and pay back pay. Then we discuss the recent car attack on protesting farmers in Lakhimpur, Uttar Pradesh, where four farmers were killed. One of the biggest strikes in recent memory looms across the US as IATSE voted overwhelmingly to strike after decades of understaffing and an enforced culture of overwork. Kellogg’s workers are also on strike nationwide facing many of the same issues as Nabisco workers, with the company pushing a two tiered employment system and threatening to cut jobs. Finally this week, 2000 nurses and hospital workers are on strike in Buffalo, and a factory in Argentina celebrates 20 years of worker control and self-management.

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Ep 71 - AI: Algorithmic Imperialism

Wed, 06 Oct 2021 21:48:01 -0300

Our first story this week is following up with Automobile Mechanics Local 701 in Chicago, where hundreds of mechanics have narrowly agreed to end their 8 week long strike and accept a new contract. Then we discuss a package of reforms passed in New York City to address some of the most egregious aspects of gig work for delivery drivers. We also cover harsh working conditions and intimidation at the El Milagro tortilla company in Chicago, where workers faced a lockout after demanding better treatment. While some listeners may be aware of the often exaggerated claims made by companies about their use of “AI” in the products, this week we cover how often times the work is actually being done by refugees for extremely low wages. This week also saw a huge action by the Indian Farmers’ movement, which shut down transit and commerce across the country in a 10 hour general strike. Finally, in an example of the power of the threat of the strike even on a smaller scale, concessions workers at Oracle Park in San Francisco have been able to force their employer to grant them the fair wages and benefits they deserve.

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Ep 70 - Google Wage Theft

Wed, 29 Sep 2021 19:36:01 -0300

We’re back to the news on this week’s episode and we start with some follow ups. First we discuss the victory of the Nabisco workers in their 5 week strike and break down the specific wins in their new contract. Then we check in with the workers at Activision Blizzard King who have filed an unfair labor practice charge alleging the company is intimidating workers organizing in the wake of the recent lawsuit and revelations about ABK’s toxic culture. We discuss Verso Books UK dragging out their negotiations with their workers’ union, and also cover a push by developers and contractors to eliminate a needed safety regulation in the NYC construction industry. Also this week, revelations from leaked emails show Google has been underpaying thousands of temporary workers around the world in violation of Pay Parity laws. Finally, the Teamsters have started the process of making good on their pledge to organize Amazon, launching union drives at 9 warehouses in Canada.

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Ep 69 - Hudson Workers United Interview

Sat, 25 Sep 2021 20:42:14 -0300

On this week’s episode of Work Stoppage we were lucky enough to be joined by a couple guests from Hudson Workers United (@HWUnited) to tell us about their drive to organize workers in the legal industry. They tell us about the difficult conditions they’ve face during the pandemic, the strategies that have worked for them in their struggle to build collective power, and the backlash they’ve faced as a result.

Disclaimer: By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that Work Stoppage makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, Work Stoppage does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Work Stoppage assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. WORK STOPPAGE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S USE OF, REFERENCE TO, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS PODCAST OR THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS PODCAST.

Overtime Episode 6 PREVIEW - Saul Alinsky & The Fall of Effective Organizing

Mon, 20 Sep 2021 18:13:53 -0300

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 Overtime Episode Lina goes over some of the legacy of Saul Alinsky, who is often credited with creating the organizing model that is still used by many people and unions today. All quotes from this episode are from the book No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age by Jane McAlevey. We encourage anyone who wants to get a better understanding of how to do labor organizing to read this book. Look out for the sequel to this episode were we will go over the effective alternative to this organizing model.

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Ep 68 - Sweatshop Shutdown

Thu, 16 Sep 2021 22:53:18 -0300

Every week’s a busy week in the world of Labor, and this one’s no different. First we follow up with Starbucks Workers’ United (@SBWorkersUnited) and their quest for recognition of their union, as Starbucks management has pulled out all the stops to fight them. Then we cover several Amazon related stories, from California passing a bill to regulate algorithmic work quotas, to the company’s fake offer of “Free College”, to investigations of discrimination against pregnant workers. Then we check in on a big recent conference of farmers organizations in India to coordinate the movement against the neoliberal farm laws. Finally, we discuss a California bill aimed at stopping some of the most egregious labor exploitation in the US, garment workers forced to work in sweatshop conditions in Los Angeles.

More Perfect Union’s Video on the sweatshop conditions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEid6y3wP0M

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Ep 67 - Investigate Labor Day

Fri, 10 Sep 2021 23:02:40 -0300

The regular gang is back together this week and we start out discussing the cruel irony of the government allowing unemployment benefits to run out for millions of workers on Labor Day. Also this week, major hotel chains like Marriott and Hilton are using the crisis of the pandemic to consolidate their market position and attacked unionized workforces. We also cover the harsh conditions faced by tobacco pickers here on H2-A visas, as well rampant union busting at a couple of the biggest logistics companies you’ve probably never heard of. Finally, teachers at Oakland University (Michigan not California) responded to demands that they take benefit cuts with a 2 day strike that successfully forced the University back to the bargaining table.

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Ep 66 - Collectivize Colectivo feat. Ethan (Invent the Future/Red Game Table)

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 16:23:56 -0300

Our rotating cast continues this week as Lina is back but John is out and we have our first recurring guest, Ethan from Invent the Future and Red Game Table, back on the show. We start out covering the NLRB dismissing complaints from striking Warrior Met coal miners about vehicles striking their picket lines for “lack of evidence” despite numerous videos. Then, we cover a couple international stories with workers in Colombia returning to the streets to protest proposed austerity measures as well as sugarcane farmers in India blocking highways and railroads to win higher purchase prices for their crops from the government. Also this week, after a nearly 5 month delay workers at Colectivo Coffee have won their election to become the largest café workers union in the country, and a new union drive at Starbucks has started with Starbucks Workers United aiming to organized over 20 stores in the Buffalo area. Finally, window washers in Minneapolis have successfully struck for higher wages and state certified safety training for their vital, dangerous jobs.

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Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee. Check out Invent The Future at anchor.fm/InventTheFuture and follow them @ProletarianInfo.

Ep 65 - No Contracts No Snacks!

Fri, 27 Aug 2021 22:23:17 -0300

It’s just John and Dan as Lina is off this week, and we start with a dire warning to never trust a man in a cravat after Nathan J Robinson responded to the staff of Current Affairs’ desire to form a co-op by firing everyone. Then, after a brief check-in with the Teamsters in Indiana who have reached an agreement with Pepsi to end their strike, we hit some of the big news this week as a judge in California has ruled Prop 22 unconstitutional. However, this hasn’t stopped gig companies trying to expand their misclassification schemes across the country as a Prop 22 clone is being pushed in Massachusetts. We also cover a strike by nurses in Worcester, MA that has stretched into its sixth month, as Tenet Healthcare brings in scabs rather than hiring more nurses. Also this week, Nabisco workers across the country are on strike after their parent company Mondelez, enemies of the show, have recently closed two facilities in the US and attempted to force remaining workers to work 12 hours shift or up to 70 consecutive days without paying overtime.

Portland Nabisco workers’ strike fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/bctgm-local-364-strike-support

Richmond Nabisco workers’ strike fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/bctgm-local-358-strike-support

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Ep 64 - Robo-Union Trojan Horse

Wed, 18 Aug 2021 20:06:05 -0300

On this week’s episode of Work Stoppage we start by checking in on the Teamsters strike at a Pepsi plant in Indiana, where workers have gotten a surprising show of support from the local government of the nearby town of Hammond. Then we take a look at how a Wisconsin healthcare company is giving bonuses only to non-union workers, and discuss a new app called Unit which claims it can help workers unionize without any of the resources of an actual union. We also cover a walkout by tech workers at the New York Times and the revelations of the Times’ anti-union strategy to try and force as small a bargaining unit as possible. Finally, we talk about a weeklong strike by contract sanitation workers in India demanding equal pay for equal work, and the inspiring success of workers in Venezuela who seized a Kellogg cereal factory when the company abandoned it.

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Overtime Episode 5 - The Nature of The State Pt 3 PREVIEW

Mon, 16 Aug 2021 21:57:12 -0300

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

On the third and final part of our series on the nature of the state, we examine the work of two theorists of the modern capitalist state, Antonio Gramsci and Louis Althusser. Starting with Gramsci’s understanding of the concept of hegemony, we look at the arms of the state that extend beyond the traditional public sphere, how state ideology influences and is reproduced by “civil society”. We then go over Althusser’s development of Gramsci’s concepts into his formulation of the arms of the state into two distinct groups, the repressive state apparatuses and the ideological state apparatuses. Both of these theorists help expand our understanding of how state ideology works even with the “private” sphere to reproduce and reify the ideological superstructure on top of the economic relations of exploitation fundamental to capitalism. We discuss Gramsci’s imperative for revolutionaries to work to build a counter-hegemony, a new proletarian understanding of how society can be restructured away from capitalist relations of exploitation. We wrap up with some examples of how this all affects workers organizing on the shop floor, and how a solid understanding of the state reproduces its own ideology can help us build competing models for society, and fight back against capitalist hegemony in all its manifestations.

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Overtime Episode 4 - The Nature Of The State Pt 2 PREVIEW

Thu, 12 Aug 2021 20:10:08 -0300

On the second part of our Overtime series on The Nature of the State, John brings us through some of the core aspects of the Anarchist theory of the state. Taking a look at the analysis of Kropotkin and Malatesta, we examine how the early Anarchist conception of the state is similar to the Marxist definition, and also where it differs. With a bit of a looser structure than the first episode of the series, perhaps befitting the subject matter, we wrestle with some of the complexities of power structures, hierarchies, and the difficulties of trying to build radical new societies within the harsh material realities of the world. We also touch on how the broader definition of the state from the early Anarchist perspective anticipates later developments in the Marxist theory under thinkers like Gramsci, which we will discuss in Part 3.

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Ep 63 - No More Overdraft Fees

Wed, 11 Aug 2021 21:58:07 -0300

This week’s episode starts by following up with the striking UMWA workers at the Warrior Met coal mine in Alabama who have recently picketed in NYC in front of Blackrock and also held a large solidarity rally drawing union workers from across the country. We also cover the declaration of one NLRB official that Amazon made a fair election in Bessemer “impossible” and therefore the election should be rerun. We discuss an excellent piece by friend of the show Sam Knight on Walmart and its associated banks’ predatory practices targeting poor workers, illegal anti-union actions taken by both Elon and Kimbal Musk, and how agricultural workers are bearing the brunt of the burden of dealing with climate change. Finally, over 800 auto mechanics are on strike in Chicago, where dealerships are attempting to slash contributions to healthcare funds and cut pay.

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Ep 62 - OSHA Won't Save Us

Thu, 05 Aug 2021 07:29:27 -0300

We’re back to the regular news format this week and it’s a heavy one. First we follow up with the Frito-Lay workers, who have won some concessions from the company after being on strike for almost 3 weeks. Then we cover a major truck drivers’ strike across Puerto Rico that has resulted in a confrontation between the local government and the colonial “oversight board” installed by the US. We also discuss OSHA issuing paltry fines for a liquid nitrogen leak that killed 6 workers at a food processing plant in Georgia, and US politicians doing nothing to prevent the shutdown of one of the largest generic pharmaceutical plants in the US and the loss of its 1500 jobs. The past week has seen a flurry of organizing activity around revelations of major misconduct and a pervasive culture of sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard specifically and across the games industry generally. Finally, we cover California Dr. Pepper workers voting to unionize with the Teamsters, threatening to shut down the whole region’s production if the company doesn’t bargain in good faith. Subscribe for additional Overtime episodes at patreon.com/workstoppage Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX Follow the pod @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter, John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Ep 61 - Iran Oil Strike Interview

Wed, 28 Jul 2021 19:42:28 -0300

On this week’s episode of Work Stoppage we were lucky enough to be joined by a guest, Ida Nikou, a PhD student studying labor relations in Iran to discuss the recent strikes among temporary and contract workers in Iran’s oil industry. We learn some of the background on the situation for workers in Iran across various industries, what kinds of unions exist, what level of labor rights (or lack thereof) most workers have in Iran, and generally discuss the parallels and differences between the conditions workers face in both Iran and the US. We go over the specific conditions faced by the oil workers that lead to this wave of strikes and the impact they’ve had in Iran. Finally we discuss the ways US imperialism has exacerbated this situation, and the importance of workers within the US standing against US imperialism in solidarity with workers around the world.

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Overtime Episode 3 - The Nature of the State Pt 1 PREVIEW

Wed, 28 Jul 2021 16:32:41 -0300

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

On this Overtime episode, the first in a series, John, Lina, and Dan take some time to dig into the fundamentals behind our understandings of the nature of the state: what it is, its historical development, how it functions, and how it can be changed. During this first part of our discussion, Dan takes us through the theoretical work and historical analysis on the state by Marx, Engels, and Lenin, how they defined the state, how they foresaw it being abolished in the future, and how we could get from where we are under the domination of the capitalist ruling class, to a real democracy where workers would have state power instead of a tiny rich ruling class. We talk about how their theories apply today, how we see their historical materialist analysis reflected in the US state today, and why their theories remain vital for workers struggles for control of their own lives.

In the next episode(s) in this series, John will bring in analysis of the state from the Anarchist perspective, and we will take a look at how later theorists like Gramsci and Althusser expand on these concepts based on modern historical developments.

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EP 60 - Let Public Workers Strike

Wed, 21 Jul 2021 23:11:49 -0300

After a bit of a detour talking about Cuba, this week’s episode starts with a follow up on the striking SEIU Local 73 Cook County workers who have ended their strike after securing several key victories. Then we take a look at the surge in support for rank and file democracy at the latest Teamsters convention and the prospects for a major win for the Teamsters for a Democratic Union slate. We discuss a new report documenting the obscene ratio between average executive pay and average worker pay, and also cover workers in India who have gone on hunger strike to protest the closure of the yarn factory they worked at and how the local government is using rules nominally designed to protect people from covid to crack down on them. Also this week, public workers in Massachusetts are pushing to repeal a law banning them from striking, and workers at Great Lakes Brewing Company have organized a union to try and ensure that they actually have a voice in the operation of their “employee owned” brewery.

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EP 59 - Scab Bullies

Thu, 15 Jul 2021 14:28:44 -0300

Dan is back from vacation and this week’s episode starts with a follow up on the striking Cook County Health workers and nurses, where the nurses won major concessions from the county but the other healthcare workers remain on strike. Next we cover some of the evolving tactics the UMWA workers have been using during their ongoing strike at Warrior Met coal, as well as recent revelations that Amazon has been instructing its managers not to tell employees when they’ve been placed on “performance improvement plans” which could result in their termination. We also cover a week-long strike by workers at the Chicago-based Portillo’s chain, a bizarre dual contract situation at a Pepsi plant in Indiana, and finish up discussing Iceland’s move to a 4 day work week.

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EP 58 - Doughnut Workers United Interview

Wed, 14 Jul 2021 13:18:28 -0300

On last week’s episode we discussed the recent strike by workers organizing with Doughnut Workers United at Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland during the recent heat wave. This week we were lucky enough to be able to interview one of the workers illegally fired in retaliation for that strike. We discuss the general conditions at Voodoo Doughnuts, the tactics used by management to combat the union drive, and how the company tried to justify its firing of workers for a legally protected strike action over unsafe work conditions. Listeners can help out the affected workers by donating here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/dwu-strike-and-hardship-fund-june-2021 Subscribe for additional Overtime episodes at patreon.com/workstoppage Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX Follow Doughnut Workers United on Twitter @DWU_PDX Follow John @facebookvillain, Lina @solidaritybee and find Dan in the discord as Kelbaenor.

EP 57 - We See This All The Time feat. @laborkyle

Thu, 08 Jul 2021 11:22:27 -0300

This week we are joined by @laborkyle as a guest! We start with a follow-up from the Colorado Labor Board on how employers aren't allowed to just put "not hiring in Colorado" on their listings to avoid labor law. We then cover the retaliatory firing of workers for a workplace safety strike at Voodoo Doughnuts, ways in which Trader Joe's is attacking worker rights again, and how Amazon's work conditions are so bad that some of their contractors have had to stop doing business entirely. Finally we end on a strike at a Frito-Lay plant in Tacoma which is also a partial struggle to get democracy in their union, and the repression of Atlanta's Homeless Union by the police. Subscribe for additional Overtime episodes at patreon.com/workstoppage Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX Follow John @facebookvillain, Lina @solidaritybee and of course follow Kyle @laborkyle

EP 56 - Fast Food Bank

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 15:26:11 -0300

This week’s episode starts with a follow up on the Cedar Point Nursery Supreme Court case we covered in our interview with Sam Knight, where the Court has now made it functionally illegal to do workplace organizing of agricultural workers in California. Then we cover 2700 Chicago area nurses and other hospital staff going on strike for better wages and to stop plans to double their healthcare costs. We also discuss a recent series of wildcat strikes by workers for delivery startup Gorillas in Germany, states using facial recognition software to deny unemployment benefits, and the Teamsters recent momentous vote to make organizing Amazon workers their top priority. Finally, we close with a heartwarming story from Marseille, France, where workers have seized a closed McDonald’s and turned it into a food bank serving hundreds of families every week.

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EP 55 - Convenience Store Panopticon

Sun, 27 Jun 2021 09:11:07 -0300

On this week’s episode of Work Stoppage we start out following up on the BlockTheBoat campaign, which has faced police violence after moving up the west coast to Seattle. Then we discuss the recent Supreme Court ruling defending Nestlé and Cargill’s use of child slavery in Africa, and workers at the AFL-CIO’s offices filing a labor complaint against the Federation for its plan to force them back into the office. We also cover union busting at a charter school named for Brazilian labor activist and educator Paulo Friere, major corporations refusing to be transparent about job salaries in Colorado, and a dystopic move to remotely monitor convenience store employees 24/7.

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EP 54 - Evil Foods Interview

Sat, 26 Jun 2021 10:48:48 -0300

We have a special interview episode this week as we are joined by two former employees of "No Evil" Foods, who tell us what it was like to face a fierce union busting campaign from a company supposedly founded on progressive values. The anti-union campaign waged by Evil Foods against its employees, followed by the firing of the entire production staff, is one of the starkest recent reminders than no matter how nice your boss is, they will throw you on the street if it will make them more money.

Help out the former Evil Foods employees: https://givebutter.com/PlVQ64

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EP 53 - Use Your Collective Power

Sat, 19 Jun 2021 00:24:06 -0300

We open this week’s episode with a follow up on the Warrior Met coal miners’ strike, where striking workers have faced repeated car attacks while picketing. We also catch up on the striking ATI steelworkers, who are pushing back on company attacks on their healthcare. Then we cover the Biden Administration’s recent betrayal of a campaign promise to extend OSHA protections to cover covid, and a fight by pilots in India for protections and fair compensation after hundreds have been hospitalized. We discuss “No Evil” Foods recent extremely evil move of firing their entire production staff, a successful organizing drive by preschool teachers in Colorado, and finish up with Argentina’s new law to protect the rights of trans workers.

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Overtime Episode 2 PREVIEW - AFL-CIA

Wed, 16 Jun 2021 08:56:49 -0300

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

On this Overtime episode, Dan examines the long, sordid history of collaboration between the leadership of the AFL-CIO and the CIA. Working to enforce the interests of US Empire and the ruling class that controls it, the leadership of the AFL-CIO used the specter of “communist domination” to justify subverting labor movements around the world. Hoping to prevent such betrayal of the global working class in the future, here we look at why this collaboration occurred, who was behind it, and what we can do to make sure that US labor stands in solidarity with workers around the world.

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EP 52 - "Political" Unions

Fri, 11 Jun 2021 10:21:16 -0300

This week we start out checking in on the striking Volvo Truck workers in Virginia, who have rejected a corporate-friendly tentative agreement for the second time. We then cover the demise of New York’s proposed bill to create toothless state unions for gig workers after strong opposition from Los Deliveristas Unidos and other unions. Next, we discuss the success of the AROC/ILWU #BlocktheBoat campaign in Oakland, as well as a proposed resolution from the LA Teachers’ Union calling for an end to US aid to Israel and to support the BDS movement. Then we cover Canada’s postal workers union pushing to transform the postal service into a broader agency capable of meeting more community needs. Also this week, while the Biden admin gets rosy media coverage, the federal government has continued to award massive contracts to companies using detained migrants as slave labor. Finally, with the news that Jeff Bezos will be heading into space (hopefully forever), we take a look at the numbers behind his wealth, and how Amazon’s speedup based business model is taking its toll on workers’ bodies.

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EP 51 - End School Privatization

Fri, 04 Jun 2021 01:53:28 -0300

We start this week’s episode with workers from the ILWU refusing to allow an Israeli-operated ship to dock in Oakland in solidarity with labor unions in Palestine. Then we discuss massive demonstrations across Brazil led by trade unions calling for an end to the fascist Bolsonaro regime, and a series of sit down strikes in Indian auto plants protesting unsafe working conditions during the current covid surge. We also cover lawmakers in several states attempting to pass union busting legislation aimed at privatizing schools in the wake of recent major teachers’ strikes, and a recent wave of companies in the UK using “Fire and Rehire” tactics to cut workers’ wages and benefits. Finally, we discuss a strike by McDonald’s highway service plaza employees in Connecticut over Memorial Day Weekend, and how the constant threats from employers to replace their workers with robots are laughable.

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EP 50 - Labor Peace Is Not In Our Interest

Thu, 27 May 2021 20:59:23 -0300

This week’s episode is a heavy one as we cover some of the harshest consequences of the pandemic faced by workers. We start on a happy note, following up on nursing home workers winning their demands and avoiding a strike in Connecticut after the governor had threatened to use the National Guard as scabs. We then move to New York for two stories on gig workers, one covering draft legislation which would force workers into two toothless state-approved unions with no ability to strike, another covering the grassroots organizing efforts of gig workers themselves to fight for better working conditions in NYC. Next we discuss an investigation into the murder by neglect of nearly a dozen migrant workers at a Seneca Foods green bean facility in Wisconsin during the height of the pandemic, and how every level of power, from the company to the legislature to the state OSHA worked together to sacrifice these workers for increased profits. Also this week, the AFL-CIO has announced their long awaited report on how to handle police unions, and finish off with the unionization of 17,000 workers in the University of California system.

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EP 49 - Overwork Exacerbates Death

Wed, 26 May 2021 12:11:39 -0300

John is back and this week’s episode starts with an update on the status of the ongoing uprising in Colombia, followed by a general strike in occupied Palestine and workers actions around the world standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people. We follow up with striking workers at a Virginia Volvo Truck plant who overwhelmingly voted to reject a proposed business friendly contract, cover a series of recent dystopian moves from Amazon including the launch of a new “AmaZen mindfulness program”, and discuss the “shocking” new science linking being worked into the ground with higher risk of early death. Finally, we close out on the ways the CDC’s recent handling of mask guidelines screws over workers, and congratulate two groups of ski patrollers who recently voted to unionize in Colorado and Montana.

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Overtime Episode 1 PREVIEW - Detroit: I Do Mind Dying

Thu, 20 May 2021 12:54:31 -0300

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

On this solo episode, Dan reads several sections from Detroit: I Do Mind Dying, a history of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers, and discusses what we can learn from a criminally under-analyzed movement. The League represented an advanced attempt to unify the class struggle on the shop floor with social struggles in broader society, and a powerful pushback against entrenched bureaucratic business friendly union leadership. The first in a future series of deep dive 'Overtime' episodes into labor history, here we examine what about the League’s practice worked, what didn’t, the historical context in which the movement took place, and what parallels can be drawn to struggles today.

Finally Got The News: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hGfZBaFHwo

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EP 48 - Strike Breaking Soldier Scabs w/ Ethan (Invent the Future/Red Game Table)

Thu, 13 May 2021 01:16:17 -0300

This week’s episode has a bit of a shuffle as John is busy moving, but Lina and Dan were lucky enough to be joined by special guest Ethan from Invent the Future and Red Game Table! We start out with a follow-up on the uprising currently happening in Colombia, then move to the governor of Connecticut calling out the National Guard to act as scabs to break a potential strike at nursing homes. Next we discuss an upcoming McDonald’s strike on May 19 for $15/hr, Amazon drivers being forced to choose between driving safely and keeping their jobs, and the nationwide push by the ruling class to end unemployment benefits to force people to work for less than a living wage. We close out covering workers quitting a Maine Dollar General and calling to overthrow capitalism on the way out. As mentioned during the meme review,

Gaza Fights For Freedom is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnZSaKYmP2s

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Ethan (@utopologist) co-hosts Invent the Future (@proletarianinfo) and GMs Red Game Table (@RedGameTable)

EP 47 PREVIEW - Breakin' The Law

Thu, 06 May 2021 15:51:46 -0300

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

On this week’s episode, John, Lina, and Dan follow up on a successful union drive at Maine’s largest hospital, and workers at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island working to build an independent union with lessons from the BAmazon drive. Next, we discuss the president of NYU running to the parents of grad students to complain about them going on strike, and bus drivers going on wildcat strike in Mississippi. Our main story this week is the ongoing general strike and protests across Colombia over the past week in response to regressive taxes on the working class, the attempted privatization of Colombia’s healthcare system, and violent police repression. Finally, we applaud In These Times’ call to get rid of no-strike clauses in union contracts.

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EP 46 - This Week's Dailies

Thu, 29 Apr 2021 12:47:45 -0300

Sign the Trader Joe's Employee Petition here: https://www.coworker.org/petitions/trader-joe-s-crew-members-demand-no-cuts-to-wages-and-healthcare-coverage-be-returned?fbclid=IwAR1swxthYfSMbaVrigvusuRZEK2-Yql0QHscE-9xqFp49Rm05Xf1HBMRMuU

This week’s episode starts with an update on the ongoing United Steelworkers strike against ATI in multiple states. Then John, Lina and Dan discuss a petition by Trader Joe’s workers aimed at making benefits gained during the pandemic permanent, Joe Biden raising the minimum wage for federal contractors and starting a labor task force, and several major unions threatening to withhold funds from Democrats who don’t support the PRO Act. In our main story, we cover the awful working conditions of drivers for Walmart’s gig service, Spark, and how it seems to combine all the worst aspects of the various gig companies into one. Finally, we close out with an update on the Indian Farmers’ Movement, staying strong five months on.

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EP 45 PREVIEW - Third Amendment Rights

Fri, 23 Apr 2021 08:54:38 -0300

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

We start this week’s episode with a brief follow-up to our deep dive on the BAmazon election and then get right back into our regularly scheduled labor news. We cover a strike by 2900 UAW members at a Volvo Truck manufacturing plant in Virginia, a Teamsters strike at the Port of Los Angeles with the ILWU walking out in solidarity, and a couple stories of union members resisting the police and national guard repression of protestors in the Twin Cities. Finally, we wrap up the episode discussing the longest ongoing strike in the country, which has gone on so long the striking workers have formed their own co-operative ISP.

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EP 44 - BAmazon Deep Dive

Thu, 15 Apr 2021 14:27:41 -0300

It’s the BAmazon episode of Work Stoppage this week, as John, Lina, and Dan dedicate the entire episode to covering Amazon in the aftermath of the workers’ loss in the recent union election in Bessemer, Alabama. We recap the run-up to the union drive, summarize Amazon’s ferocious and underhanded anti-union campaign, and try and draw out what lessons we can take from the BAmazon union drive to improve future unionizing efforts. We also cover a ruling that Amazon illegally fired two white collar workers for speaking out against the company’s practices, and a walkout at an Amazon facility in Chicago as part of the burgeoning Amazonians United movement.

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EP 43 PREVIEW - Upton Sinclair Ain't Goin' Away

Fri, 09 Apr 2021 11:25:35 -0300

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

This week’s episode starts with some more labor history as John, Lina, and Dan discuss a selection from Detroit: I Do Mind Dying, on working conditions in the auto industry in Detroit in the 1970s. We then get into the week’s labor news discussing a medical marijuana dispensary unionizing in Rhode Island and the proliferation of “Labor Peace Agreements”, a federal judge throwing out a USDA rule allowing meatpacking plants to remove speed limits on pork processing lines, and another protest from inmates at the St Louis County Jail over inhumane conditions and trial delays. Finally we cover two major strikes, one by 1100 UMWA coal miners in Alabama, the other by 1300 Steelworkers across five states in the Northeast.
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EP 42 - Catching COVID At The Vaccine Plant

Thu, 01 Apr 2021 15:27:31 -0300

John, Lina, and Dan start this week’s episode with a look back at some labor history, discussing child labor and child labor unions in Pennsylvania coal country in the early 20th century. Then we turn to Amazon, covering the end of voting for the BAmazon union, some of Amazon’s recent aggressive social media activity, the “coincidental” unveiling of Boston Dynamics’ new warehouse robot during one of the most consequential union drives in recent memory, and discuss an interview with a worker at the Bessemer facility describing the conditions in their own words. We also cover a lack of enforcement of covid safety protocols on the jobsite during the construction of a vaccine bottling plant, a campaign by garment workers around the world to stop the fashion industry from stealing $40 billion in already completed labor, and a 24 hour general strike in Belgium.

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EP 41 PREVIEW - Organizing Agricultural Workers feat. Sam Knight

Thu, 25 Mar 2021 11:27:24 -0300

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

This week, John, Lina, and Dan are joined by Sam Knight, cofounder of The District Sentinel Co-op, correspondent with Means Morning News and freelance journalist, to discuss his recent piece for Truthout on a case before the Supreme Court with potentially huge consequences for workers across the country. We also cover the NLRB ruling that Amazon violated labor law when they harassed workers for leading walkouts, a one day strike by Amazon workers across Italy, and the Teamsters’ push to organize Amazon drivers, even if that means militant action outside the confines of the NLRA. Finally, we discuss the effort to create the largest unionized coffee shop in the US, and Spain’s proposed trial of the four day work week.
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You can follow Sam @ these links:
twitter.com/thedcsentinel
patreon.com/districtsentinel
districtsentinel.substack.com

EP 40 - Silk Servitude

Thu, 18 Mar 2021 20:11:31 -0300

This week, John, Lina, and Dan follow up on the results of the UK Supreme Court’s ruling against Uber, the House passing the PRO Act because they know it has no chance in the Senate, and Amazon’s nightmarish use of ‘Gamification’ in their warehouses. We also discuss attacks on undocumented workers attempting to unionize at a bake shop in Long Island, Elon Musk getting hundreds of Tesla workers infected with covid, a walkout by Teamsters at a Coca-Cola plant in Calgary, and cover the use of “Bonded Labor”, AKA indentured servitude, in the silk industry in India.

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Follow John @facebookvillain, Lina @solidaritybee and find Dan in the discord as Kelbaenor.

EP 39 PREVIEW - Unions In Myanmar

Thu, 11 Mar 2021 16:45:28 -0400

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

John, Lina, and Dan cover an attempt to pass a Prop 22 clone in Massachusetts and the efforts of local gig workers to oppose it, workers alleging that Google forced them out of the company after they reported instances of sexism or racism, and Panda Express’ use of bizarre abusive “self-improvement seminars”. We also discuss PepsiCo locking out workers at a Topeka Frito-Lay plant, the recent surge in unionization and “labor peace agreements” in the legal cannabis industry, and Myanmar’s unions leading the general strike movement against their recent military coup.

Join the discord: http://discord.gg/tDvmNzX

Follow John @facebookvillain, Lina @solidaritybee and find Dan in the discord as Kelbaenor.

EP 38 - McPinkertons

Thu, 04 Mar 2021 19:43:12 -0400

John, Lina, and Dan cover Biden’s mild comments on the BAmazon union drive, Danny Glover’s actual material support for said union, and the way Amazon has used calls for a $15/hr minimum wage as a PR move to hide how they drive wages down. We also cover McDonald’s spying on their workers involved in Fight for $15, and a series of lawsuits accusing the company of tolerating pervasive sexual harassment. Continuing our series on modern slavery, we cover the superexploitation of migrant domestic workers, especially from the Phillipines, and then close out the episode with an entire taproom workstaff finally having enough and quitting en masse.

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Follow John @facebookvillain, Lina @solidaritybee and find Dan in the discord as Kelbaenor.

EP 37 PREVIEW - Modern Day Slavery

Thu, 25 Feb 2021 11:50:05 -0400

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

Continuing the series on modern slavery we started last week, John, Lina, and Dan follow a recent story on the horrifying working conditions for migrant workers on construction work for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and how they are emblematic of a widespread use of indentured and slave labor in the region. We also follow up on Uber’s attempts to (mis)classify workers as independent contractors facing a rare defeat in the UK, several stories about Amazon’s attempts to undermine the union election at their Bessemer Alabama facility, employer retaliation against organizing janitorial workers in Florida and a hunger strike by inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary protesting long term use of solitary confinement.
The hunger-strikers are asking concerned people to call Warden Nettles LSP at 225-655-4411 to demand they be moved from solitary confinement to appropriate, safe conditions.

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Follow John @facebookvillain, Lina @solidaritybee and find Dan in the discord as Kelbaenor.

EP 36 - Private Intelligence

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 09:43:27 -0400

John, Lina, and Dan cover Amazon hiring former FBI employees as “Intelligence Analysts”, teachers in Texas forming a minority union in the face of horrible Covid working conditions, a West Virginia bill aiming to ban teachers’ strikes,and taxi drivers in New York blocking the Brooklyn Bridge demanding pandemic debt relief. In our main story, we cover a recent lawsuit over the practice of child slavery in the cocoa industry in West Africa, in which all of the world’s major chocolate producers are complicit, and how the practice of forced labor is used in the US prison system to produce superprofits for major US corporations.

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Follow John @facebookvillain, Lina @solidaritybee and find Dan in the discord as Kelbaenor.

EP 35 PREVIEW - Teachers Roundup

Thu, 11 Feb 2021 10:29:06 -0400

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

There are so many work stoppages by teachers this week that John, Lina, and Dan do a whirlwind roundup to cover the actions around the country, including Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco. We also follow up on the Alphabet Workers Union and their first legal action, a union drive at a Pennsylvania marijuana grower being nipped in the bud by the NLRB, a brief update on the union drive at the Bessemer, Alabama Amazon facility, and a dive into Amazon’s new horrific “Megacycle” shifts being forced on warehouse workers.
Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX

Follow John @facebookvillain, Lina @solidaritybee and find Dan in the discord as Kelbaenor.

EP 34 - General Strike In Haiti

Thu, 04 Feb 2021 11:48:41 -0400

John, Lina, and Dan discuss a union drive at the largest hospital in Maine, a horrific workplace accident in Georgia and why OSHA is no substitute for a union, and a change to how wage theft is reported. We also cover a massive general strike in Haiti, Amazon being fined for stealing up to a third of the tips their Flex drivers were supposed to be earning, and how lockouts have spiked during the pandemic as an anti-union measure.

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Follow John @facebookvillain, Lina @solidaritybee and find Dan in the discord as Kelbaenor.

EP 33 PREVIEW - Co-op Or Union Power?

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 12:46:00 -0400

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

John, Lina, and Dan follow up on some recent communication problems between the CWA and AWU, cover a teachers strike in Bellevue, WA and the attempted union busting by the school district, as well as striking care workers at Sage Nursing Home in North London. We also cover a corruption scandal in the UAW and the potential for democratization of the union as a result of the fallout, and discuss some critiques of co-ops vs industrial unionism.
Check out the Sage Care Workers video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCvDQZqHvC4
Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX

Follow John @facebookvillain, Lina @solidaritybee and find Dan in the discord as Kelbaenor.

EP 32 - Oops! All Follow-ups!

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 12:22:51 -0400

It’s a follow up heavy episode this week as John, Lina, and Dan cover victory for the Teamsters in the Hunts Point Market strike, the NFLPA coming out in support of the Amazon workers union drive in Alabama, the Indian farmers storming the Red Fort in New Delhi, the Chicago Teachers Union refusing to work in unsafe conditions, proposed anti-union legislation in Montana, and new dystopian practices taken by Lyft.

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Follow John @facebookvillain, Lina @solidaritybee and find Dan in the discord as Kelbaenor.

EP 31 PREVIEW - DOLT Without Dues

Thu, 21 Jan 2021 09:51:31 -0400

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

John, Lina, and Dan follow up on the major Amazon workers union vote in Alabama, look into the conditions in the trucking industry that have made strikes more difficult, cover strikes by the Teamsters in New York and fast food workers across California. We get into why the Fight For $15 doesn’t go nearly far enough, discuss the roadblocks Democrats in Virginia have put up to stop attempts to repeal Right to Work, and go over the potential outcome of Donald Trump being kicked out of SAG-AFTRA.

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Follow John @facebookvillain, Lina @solidaritybee and find Dan in the discord as Kelbaenor.

EP 30 - ESOP's Foibles

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 09:57:40 -0400

John, Lina, and Dan cover the latest updates in the major farmers strike in India, new wildcat actions by the Chicago Teachers Union, and an overview of the recent history of the repression of the labor movement in Colombia. We also go over the anti-worker leadership of the AFL-CIO, attempted crackdowns on organizing by Google in the wake of the Alphabet Workers Union announcement, and Taylor Guitars becoming “Employee-Owned”…sort of?

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Follow John @facebookvillain, Lina @solidaritybee and find Dan in the discord as Kelbaenor.

EP 29 PREVIEW - Google Workers Solidarity Union

Thu, 07 Jan 2021 12:08:33 -0400

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

John, Lina, and Dan cover the fallout from Prop 22 already hitting delivery drivers in California, huge strikes by agro-export workers in Argentina and Peru, and the biggest labor story of the very new year, the Alphabet Workers Union, and the possibilities it presents for organizing in Tech.

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Follow John @facebookvillain, Lina @solidaritybee and find Dan in the discord as Kelbaenor.

EP 28 - New Year New Co-Host

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 12:50:10 -0400

John and Lina discuss some of the most egregious crimes against logistics workers, Uber getting BTFO'd by some Australian judges, and are joined by a suprise third mic Dan to discuss what labor and leftist outreach can look like in the present day

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follow John @facebookvillain and Lina @solidaritybee and find Dan in the discord as Kelbaenor

EP 27 PREVIEW - The PRO Act

Thu, 24 Dec 2020 12:04:10 -0400

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

Lina fills John in on the details of the PRO Act, and they talk about several strikes across Alabama as well as a new Trump administration DOL regulation that steals money from tipped workers

Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX

EP 26 - Bootlicking Wrestlers

Fri, 18 Dec 2020 14:41:35 -0400

Lina and John tackle some familiar material and some unfamiliar material. We're talking about the strikes in India and Cleveland Heights, we're talking about rideshare unions and possibly co-ops, and we're definitely out of our depth talking about some shit CM Punk said

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follow John and Lina on twitter @facebookvillain and @solidaritybee

EP 25 PREVIEW - Examining The Strike In India

Fri, 11 Dec 2020 12:04:55 -0400

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting http://www.patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month for the full episode and many more!

This week Lina and John do a deeper dive on the general strike in India and how it is related to an ongoing farmer protest. They also cover racist retaliation against Carlos Cruz who organized with people to get a cost of living adjustment at UC Santa Cruz, as well as a few other movements that have happened internationally due to Covid-19.

The movie referenced is called: Merku Thordarchi Malai

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Follow John on twitter @facebookvillain and Lina @solidaritybee

EP 24 - Verso Books Voluntarily Recognizes Worker Union

Thu, 03 Dec 2020 20:33:04 -0400

This week Lina and John discuss some back pay wins for workers, voluntary recognition of the Verso Books union, the biggest strike of all time in India, and much more. Conditions for workers are worsening across the country and the world, and we also take a look at the ways, not just financial, in which workers and their workplaces are being affected.
Remember to check out http://www.patreon.com/workstoppage for twice as many episodes every week! Follow John @facebookvillain and Lina @solidaritybee
Join the discord: https://discord.gg/tDvmNzX

EP 23 PREVIEW - Gambling With Human Lives

Sat, 28 Nov 2020 10:11:27 -0400

For the full episode become a patron: www.patreon.com/workstoppage

In this week's episode Lina and John cover a lockout of nurses in Pennsylvania, bosses betting on how many workers will get covid, Amazon Black Friday strikes, Amazon warehouse unionization in Alabama, and some shitty union busting bosses getting in trouble by the NLRB.

Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX

EP 22 - Blacklist Your Boss

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 11:53:46 -0400

Lina and John tackle the re-closing of NYC public school, a failed union vote in the Twin Cities, police blacklisting union organizers in the UK, South Korean workers becoming ungovernable, and much more.

For twice as many episodes every month, subscribe to our patreon at www.patreon.com/workstoppage

Follow John @facebookvillain and Lina @SolidarityBee

Ep 21 PREVIEW - Retaliation Against H2-A Workers

Thu, 12 Nov 2020 15:04:54 -0400

To get the full episode become a patron http://www.patreon.com/workstoppage

This week Lina and John talk about union presidents' response to Biden's win, how the Trump administration lost a small battle with labor in court and then retaliated with a huge wage freeze for H2-A farm workers. Finally we hear about a potential gig workers co-op.
https://migrantjustice.net/

EP 20 - Quitting Stories

Fri, 06 Nov 2020 13:13:46 -0400

John and Lina talk too much about the election, celebrate and criticize drug reform, recount some quitting stories, and talk about the Coca-Cola workers striking in Ohio and the robots Walmart won't use anymore

If you want to support the show and get an episode every week go to www.patreon.com/workstoppage

follow John on twitter @facebookvillain and Lina @solidaritybee

(UNLOCKED)EP 9 - Learning From An Organizer [feat. Eric]

Wed, 04 Nov 2020 17:33:29 -0400

Become a patron! http://www.patreon.com/workstoppage

John and Lina are joined by Lina's friend and professional organizer Eric to learn a thing or two about how organizing a union works on the ground

EP 19 - More Worker Rights Gone [PREVIEW]

Thu, 29 Oct 2020 15:20:00 -0300

To get the full episode become a patron at http://www.patreon.com/workstoppage

This week Lina and John cover the executive order by Donald Trump that takes rights from up to 2.1 million public workers. They follow up on the AFL-CIO general strike, the protests and strikes around the Poland nearly abolishing abortion, and a wildcat strike in Alberta surrounding healthcare austerity.

EP 18 - The Supreme Court Sucks Ass

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 13:34:16 -0300

Lina and John follow up on Danielle Brown's hunger strike, cover the latest developments with Amazon, the AFL-CIO, and the Supreme Court. They also take a look at a proposal from the EU to "ban" unpaid internships, and also some memes. Support Danielle Brown on CashApp at $Danniex2 follow us on twitter, Lina @solidaritybee and John @facebookvillain

EP 17 PREVIEW - Content Creators Unions

Thu, 15 Oct 2020 13:53:44 -0300

Hear the full episode at patreon.com/workstoppage John and Lina discuss the finer points of what unions might offer to independent content creators, follow up on the Brooklyn Friends School strike, and cover a lot of stuff happening in Pennsylvania, from firefighters to google employees follow Lina @solidaritybee on twitter follow John @facebookvillain on twitter

EP 16 - Boss Battle

Thu, 08 Oct 2020 14:42:05 -0300

Lina and John cover a bunch of very cool things, russian dock workers throwing helmets at the boss, a detroit bus driver goes absolute beast mode, plus strikes at norwegian oil fields, rhode island care facilities, and much more beast mode bus driver: https://amp.detroitnews.com/amp/3617653001 russian dock workers: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/10/05/striking-dockers-in-far-east-russia-pelt-new-management-with-helmets-a71655 follow john @facebookvillain and lina @solidaritybee on twitter and become a patron for twice as much content

EP 15 PREVIEW - Game Devs Rise Up

Thu, 01 Oct 2020 12:40:17 -0300

Hear the Full EP at patreon.com/workstoppage

John and Lina talk about the major success of the nurses in Illinois, spotify employees demanding a say in what's allowed on their platform, the plight of game devs without unions, and much more!
follow Magne Skjæran - @Meneth_
follow Jason Schreier - @jasonschreier
follow John and Lina - @facebookvillain & @solidaritybee

Episode 14 - Thailand, Brooklyn, and Everywhere Else

Fri, 25 Sep 2020 10:47:40 -0300

Lina and John follow up on the Spyhouse Coffee strike and the situation at University of Michigan, tackle some news from Thailand and Germany, and comment extensively on the growing power of students and healthcare workers during these times

Ep 13 - Teachers Around The World [PREVIEW]

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 23:17:26 -0300

www.patreon.com/workstoppage

Lina and John follow-up on the Michigan State Graduate Union Strike and a lot of the things going on around it. They also cover Nigerian doctors who have been striking for a while and have made a deal with their government. Then we move to discussing the few different ways that countries around the world have responded to teachers and how teachers have acted in response. Finally, we cover a brewery that was voluntarily recognized as a union in Minneapolis, and a scholar strike.

Ep 12 - No Biscuits!

Thu, 10 Sep 2020 00:41:01 -0300

Lina and John cover even more education strikes and actions, a UK biscuit strike, a union busting brewery, and a bit about the history of Labor Day.

www.patreon.com/workstoppage

San Diego State University vs Covid

https://twitter.com/sharky_marky17/status/1302361276945895425

Ep 11 - End "No Strike" Clauses [PREVIEW]

Thu, 03 Sep 2020 20:16:41 -0300

www.patreon.com/workstoppage for the full episode! Thanks!

Lina and John cover a unionizing coffee house chain in the Minneapolis area, a faux leftist vegan meat company doing DMCA requests to silence workers they union busted, Amazon blatantly tracking labor organizing, the massive sports strike, and as always we talk about teacher's unions.

https://www.moevilfoods.com/blog/vice-no-evil-foods-scrubs-internet-audio-w8n5x

https://workingpeople.libsyn.com/mo-evil-foods

https://workingpeople.libsyn.com/no-evil-foods-got-our-last-episode-removed

Death Panel - Back to School w/ Work Stoppage

Fri, 28 Aug 2020 00:09:17 -0300

We went on the Death Panel podcast today! Here is their description of the episode.

We're joined by Lina and John of Work Stoppage to discuss the push to reopen schools in the U.S. at any cost, and the actions teachers' unions have (and haven't) taken to stop it. We also get into the strikes vs boycotts discussion brought on by the NBA work stoppage.

Find Work Stoppage on your podcast player of choice and support them at www.patreon.com/workstoppage

As always, support Death Panel at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod

new Death Panel merch here (patrons get a discount code): www.deathpanel.net/merch

join our Discord here: discord.com/invite/3KjKbB2

Ep 10 - Hunger Strike, Colonized Workers, & More Teachers

Wed, 26 Aug 2020 20:14:51 -0300

In this episode, Lina and John follow-up on Bath Iron Works and cover Detroit teachers authorizing a strike, a dead worker left under umbrellas in Brazil, Marchallese workers at risk for covid-19 in Arkansas, police surveillance of an organizer, and Dannielle Brown's hunger strike to get answers for her son's death at Duquesne University.

We really packed in the stories this week, and we hope you enjoy the episode!

To support Dannielle Brown you can cashapp her: $Danniex2

EP 9 - Learning From An Organizer [feat. Eric] [PREVIEW]

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 11:12:55 -0300

John and Lina are joined by Lina's friend and professional organizer Eric to learn a thing or two about how organizing a union works on the ground

EP 8 - Strikes At Schools

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 17:06:09 -0300

John and Lina discuss the scummy things police unions are up to, what's going on in Seattle, how we do not understand sports whatsoever, turning employees into mask police, and especially some labor actions happening at schools scheduled to reopen across the country.

Hear the bonus episodes at patreon.com/workstoppage

Ep 7 - Unionize Weed (Teaser)

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 21:25:54 -0300

Become a patron for the full episode @ www.patreon.com/workstoppage

In this episode we talk about more health worker strikes, union busting in the marijuana industry, and The Strike For Black Lives

Ep 6 - Covid Causing Unionization

Tue, 21 Jul 2020 21:20:11 -0300

Lina and John discuss a lot of ways that Covid-19 is effecting work conditions and how teachers, child care workers, baristas, and legislature staffers are responding to it.

Support us on Patreon @ www.patreon.com/workstoppage

EP 5 (Teaser) - Canceling Moldy Jam

Wed, 15 Jul 2020 00:34:00 -0300

Become a patron to get the full episode @ https://www.patreon.com/workstoppage

Lina and John follow-up on the Haymarket Pole Collective, discuss cancel culture, a gentrifier moldy jam company, blatant union busting in the UK, and more

Ep 4 - Haymarket Pole Collective

Tue, 07 Jul 2020 15:19:53 -0300

John and Lina follow up on the New Orleans trash collectors and discuss an ironworkers strike, a nurse's strike, a stripper's strike, and the right to protest at work.

Donate To The Haymarket Pole Collective: https://www.haymarketpole.com/donate

Donate To The New Orleans Garbage Collectors: https://www.gofundme.com/f/helping-the-essential

Ep 3 - New Orleans Garbage Collectors Strike

Tue, 23 Jun 2020 17:00:41 -0300

Lina and John talk the Atlanta pOliCE sTriKe, dock workers striking across the west coast on Juneteenth, the New Orleans trash collectors strike, and some CHAZ memes

Donate to the striking New Orleans trash collectors gofundme: https://www.gofundme.com/f/helping-the-essential

outro music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUEU8nMy5mA

Ep 2 - Abolish Police Unions

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 15:37:06 -0300

Lina and John discuss the intersection of policing and labor, and the hypocrisy of police unions for even existing

Donate to help LGBTQ+ black people affected by police violence
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Mo2E-M9Bw57ndJrRVegxVhwhI11SWFNPQdQEFVyn02Q/edit?usp=drivesdk

Ep 1 - Hello Fellow Workers

Tue, 26 May 2020 10:54:24 -0300

Lina and John explore the current working conditions of McDonalds employees in Michigan, Jersey Shore nurses, and fruit packing workers in Washington. We also tell a couple jokes but not too many, this is a serious show

Donate to Familias Unidas Por La Justicia here: http://familiasunidasjusticia.org/en/home/

just click on the "donate" button