Work Stoppage

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

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

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.

Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX 

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

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

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

Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX

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

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

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.

Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX 

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

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

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

Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX 

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

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

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.

Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX 

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

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

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.

Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX 

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

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

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.

Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX 

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

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

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.

Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX 

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

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

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.

Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX 

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

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