Joined by Peter Olney, retired director of organizing with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. With 50 yrs as a labor organizer and countless contributions to the labor movement, Peter brings his experience and wisdom to the discussion on the current state of  American Labor, providing insight into what we as a working class can do to secure a more promising future. Editor and contributor to the book Labor Power and Strategy by John Womack Jr. along with numerous articles Peter has devoted himself to the cause of Labor. There are lots to take away from this powerful conversation.

For our Labor History segment we explore the Great Postal Strike of 1970 a movement that only 53 years ago helped improve the lives of thousands of postal workers for generations to come.

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Feel free to drop us an email at [email protected] with comments or suggestions tell us about your job we'd love to hear from you and may have you on the show!! 

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Joined by Marti Garza, we discuss the recent NLRB union election for the employees at the Ethos Light Turbine shop in Houston Texas. Marti fills us in on the why & the how. From the tactics the company used to the solidarity and resolve of the united Ethos employees.

With the right to organize being the foundation of our rights as workers in this country, yet only 12% of all workplaces that wish to have a union get their wish, this is an extraordinary victory!!

https://www.worker.gov/form-a-union

https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/the-law/employees/your-right-to-form-a-union

In 1911 in one of the toughest times in US history to be a worker. The Triangle Shirtwaist factory caught fire killing nearly 100 workers many of them young immigrant women who were trapped due to management locking the workers in, preventing escape. In this unspeakable atrocity, we see the steps management will take to keep us producing. this event also raises the question, should owners be able to profit from the death of its workers?

 

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Today, Labor Attorney Jay Youngdahl joins us to discuss some essential rights that workers in the US have. Just as valuable and important as the right to free speech and the right to a fair trial, worker rights provided under the FLSA and NLRA should be understood, exercised, and vehemently protected! We discuss our Weingarten rights and Concerted activity.  Jay also makes mention of the recent Supreme Court decision and the Texas HB 2127, helping us to understand how laws and decisions like these impact us as workers.

In Labor History, we learn of an example of extreme worker oppression. Known as the largest labor uprising in United States history, the Battle of Blair Mountain,  is an example of a time in US history when not only was worker oppression supported by the state, but by the federal government. The battle included the deployment of federal troops to rein in the workers and force them back to their "masters".  The Battle of Blair Mountain has a lot to teach us: first ,the reality that our rights are not free; and secondly, that, as in most cases in history, companies will stop at nothing to suppress the collective voices of its workers; Finally, not only has the US government remained complacent in the violation of American's basic human rights, but has often been an active participant.


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6/9/2023 *Truckers Movement for Justice w/Billy Randal & Oscar Lovos. 

The working conditions have gotten so bad for many of our nations truck drivers that thousands are beginning to join in a fight to facilitate industry wide reform. Wages have dropped by nearly 50% over the past 40 years, drivers are required to wait for long periods of time to be loaded and unloaded with no pay, in some cases up to 36hrs. 

Today we hear directly from two members of the Truckers Movement for Justice sharing the first-hand accounts of this injustice, wage theft and out right corporate greed. Billy Randal & Oscar Lovos two drivers from totally different backgrounds and generations share a commonality in that they believe strongly that the Trucking industry needs to change its practices. That drivers need to be paid for the time worked and the only way to accomplish this change is for drivers from across the country to come together in solidarity and demand better!! You can show your support and learn more by visiting their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TruckersMovementforJustice/

In today's labor history segment we learn about the Ludlow massacre of 1914 where men, women, and children were murdered by company thugs and the Colorado National Guard because they believed in the right to liberty and equality through fair and dignified treatment of workers. What happens after they join with the United Mine Workers of America is a sad reminder that the rights and privileges that we have as workers in America are not the natural biproduct of corporate benevolence, but the result of Americas workforce standing together in the face of violence, and harsh oppression for a chance at the American Dream.

 resources:

Buried Unsung Louis Tikas and the Ludlow Massacre. Zeese Popanikolas

The Ludlow Massacre & Class war in the American West: Blood Passion. Scott Martelle

Killing for Coal: Americas deadliest labor war. Thomas Andrews.

 https://www.pbs.org/video/colorado-experience-ludlow-massacre/

Please leave us a review, share the show with your friends and coworkers. Check us out every Friday!!

https://thetexaslaborpodcast.buzzsprout.com/

Contact us @ [email protected]

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“The Texas Labor Podcast” brings to the table discussion on all things labor. From the standpoint of the ones getting it done! Discussions range from worker’s rights to labor shortages and policies, and yes, even the politics that affect us all. Using history as our guide, we explore how we got to where we are and how we may be able to leave things a little better for the next generation of American workers.

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