In this episode of How We Build This, May Boeve sits down with Chris Neff, a nationally respected labor leader, union builder, labor lawyer, and leadership coach. Neff unpacks how worker power actually gets built (and defended) in a moment of rising authoritarianism. She also traces her path from “seventies feminist troublemaker” to union leadership, sharing how she discovered the leverage of collective bargaining, and what it looks like to organize locally when federal protections are being dismantled. 

Together, May and Chris dig into the labor movement’s role in resisting Trump era attacks, why institutions need cross-generational succession, and how changing who leads can transform an entire movement. They also explore the delicate (but essential) work of building solidarity between climate and labor.

How We Build This is created and hosted by May Boeve

Producer: Phil Surkis

Theme music: ‘Within’, composed by Ruthie Dineen, and performed by Negative Press Project.

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can find us on Instagram and Bluesky at HWBT Pod, and on Linked in and Substack at How We Build this Pod. 

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