With the number of US citizens unionizing and striking at its highest levels since the 1980’s, labor finds itself at the forefront of a growing wealth inequality battle being waged in this country. From the classroom to music festivals, striking workers are having an incredible impact on our economy as we head into the 2020 elections. But does that mean it’s a good time or a bad time for labor? We asked Downtown Boys’ Victoria Ruiz and Joey DeFrancesco, and Jacobin Labor Reporter Alex Press to help us break it all down.

Meanwhile, Nothing Urgent is breaking down the fourth wall: This episode was actually recorded prior to episode 32 with David Roth and Open Mike Eagle, which also happened to be the same week the Deadspin writers quit en masse. So after hearing David’s thoughts on the walkout, you can now hear Alex explain it from a union perspective. Listen to Joey discuss his work on the No Music for ICE campaign, his new La Neve album, The Vital Cord, and his experience as an Uber Eats driver. Lack of holidays and AirBnB also made the cut, but not before Victoria and Alex break down the contradictions between police and labor unions.

We hope you enjoy the fruits of our labor, and if so, please use your labor to like, share and subscribe to Nothing Urgent.