US Labor & Imperialism Pt. 1: the War Against Communism w/ Jeff Schuhrke

21 snips

Dec 16, 2025

Jeff Schuhrke, a labor historian and activist, takes listeners on a riveting journey through the complex relationship between US labor and global anti-communism. He reveals how major labor organizations, like the AFL-CIO, transformed into tools of US foreign policy, participating in coup efforts across Latin America and beyond. Schuhrke explains the deradicalization of labor movements during the Cold War and discusses the consequences of this shift for workers globally, advocating for a return to anti-imperialist internationalism.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Labor Leadership Fueled The Cold War

The AFL-CIO actively drove Cold War policy rather than merely being affected by it.
Union leaders worked to defang militant labor traditions and promote class-collaborationist unionism.

ANECDOTE

From Organizer To Labor Historian

Jeff Schuhrke recounts organizing in the Fight for $15 campaign and joining academe to study labor history.
His fieldwork and union experience led him to investigate AFL-CIO ties to CIA covert operations.

INSIGHT

Craft Unionism Versus Industrial Unionism

The AFL favored 'pure and simple' craft unionism and excluded many workers to avoid radical politics.
The IWW promoted industrial unionism and class struggle, offering a rival, inclusive model.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

In this episode, part 1 of a 2-part miniseries on US labor and imperialism, Jeff Schuhrke joins us for a conversation on how US labor aided and at times even led the US's global fight against communism throughout much of the 20th century.

Jeff Schuhrke is a labor historian, journalist, union activist, and assistant professor at the Harry Van Arsdale Jr School of Labor Studies, SUNY Empire State University. He's the author of Blue-Collar Empire: The Untold Story of US Labor's Global Anticommunist Crusade, and No Neutrals There: US Labor, Zionism, and the Struggle for Palestine.

In this conversation we take a deep dive into Jeff's book Blue-Collar Empire, exploring US labor's role in fighting global communism during the 20th century. The conversation opens with a history of the early US labor movement, anchored by the AFL, the CIO, and the IWW which all presented different approaches and ideological orientations towards labor and capital. We then look at how labor was systematically deradicalized over the course of the first half the 21st century, leading to a mostly anticommunist, class-collaborationist labor movement by the post-WWII era. We then look at how the AFL-CIO and its various arms participated and at times led the global war against communism abroad, participating in sabotage campaigns and in outright regime change operations led by the CIA and the State Department—from France to Guyana to Brazil to Chile to Vietnam to the USSR. Finally, we explore how US labor's anticommunist, pro-imperialist positions throughout the 20th century impacted the US proletariat and the international working class more broadly.

Part 2 of this miniseries will take a deep dive into Jeff's book No Neutrals There, looking at US labor's role in supporting Zionism and the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

Further resources:

Related episodes:

Intermission music: "Only Got One Body" by Shiv and the Carvers

Cover art: Berwyn Mure

Upstream is entirely listener funded. No ads, no promotions, no grants—just Patreon subscriptions and listener donations. We couldn't keep this project going without your support. Subscribe to our Patreon for bi-weekly bonus episodes, access to our entire back catalog of Patreon episodes, and for Upstream stickers and bumper stickers at certain subscription tiers. Through your support you'll be helping us keep Upstream sustainable and helping to keep this whole project going—socialist political education podcasts are not easy to fund so thank you in advance for the crucial support. patreon.com/upstreampodcast

For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Instagram and Bluesky. You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.