Unf*cking The Republic Unf*cking Flashback: Labor Unions: From Pullman to Kellogg’s. Labor’s long, hard road.
We're re-releasing our Labor Union episode in honor of Labor Day. For Unf*ckers outside of the United States, this is the day government set aside as a token of appreciation to the labor movement for eight hour days, weekends, anti-child labor laws, protection from discrimination and more. (In reality, it was a consolation prize after Grover Cleveland jailed Eugene Debs and sent federal troops to beat the shit out of Pullman railcar workers on strike.) We celebrate this glorious day by giving members of the PMC a holiday to shop at stores run by the working poor.
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From Pullman and Carnegie to Kellogg's and the PRO Act, this week we unf*ck the labor movement in the United States. No single episode can possibly do labor justice but we give it our best shot. The episode includes a blow-by-blow analysis of a recent interview with the CEO of Kellogg's to translate Wall Street speak for “how to fuck workers and influence inflation.” And we rip off a few Milton references to exercise our #FMF muscle.
Chapters
Intro: 00:00:42
Segment 1: 00:02:11
Segment 2: 00:04:25
Segment 3: 00:12:18
Segment 4: 00:17:46
Segment 5: 00:21:29
Segment 6: 00:28:00
Segment 7: 00:30:20
Segment 8: 00:41:22
Show Notes: 00:52:15
Book Love: 00:57:17
Pod Love: 00:58:02
Emails + Shoutouts: 00:58:45
Outro: 01:10:42
Resources
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
The New York Times: Starbucks workers at a Buffalo store unionize in a big symbolic win for labor
Kellogg Company: Investor Relations
The Nation: Striking Kellogg’s Workers Need the PRO Act
U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics: Work Stoppages
OECD: Trade Union Dataset
U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics: Union Members — 2020
Economic History Association: Labor Unions in the United States
Unionization rates by industry in the United States, 1880-2000
More Perfect Union: Kellogg's Factory Working Conditions
Media Matters: Joe Rogan Wrapped: A year of COVID-19 misinformation, right-wing myths, and anti-trans rhetoric
Book Love
Philip Dray: There Is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America
Nelson Lichtenstein: State of the Union: A Century of American Labor
Kurt Andersen: Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America
Joseph Stiglitz: People, Power and Profits
Robert Shiller: Narrative Economics
Pod Love
Economic Update with Professor Richard Wolff: S11 E47
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Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is written and hosted by Eugene Debs and distributed by the Pinkertons.
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