Work Stoppage

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month. 2023 has already been a monumental year for labor, with over 300,000 workers striking in just the first 7 months. Now, in just six weeks, we could see tens of thousands of UAW autoworkers on strike at any one or all of the Big 3 US automaking companies, Ford, GM, and Stellantis.  This is another critical contract fight for the entire labor movement as the upsurge in union support continues to grow. So we decided that doing this story justice would take a whole episode. We sat down to talk about the history of the UAW, the concessions given up during the 2008 bailout, and what workers are fighting for in this new master agreement. Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX  Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter,  John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

We know everyone wants to talk about the biggest labor news this week but first: Union Pizza! Workers at Barboncino Pizzeria in Brooklyn became the first union pizza shop in NYC this week. Also we have a quick update on the ILWU Canada strike, with workers voting on a new TA after rejecting an earlier one. In a sad story, Yellow Freight's bosses have so mismanaged the company that it is shutting down, costing 30,000 jobs. Also this week, Rutgers is trying to get medical students to scab against striking nurses. A new report this week shows Amazon continuously refuses to make accommodations for disabled workers. Then of course the big news this week is the tentative agreement reached between the Teamsters and management at UPS. We go over some of the contracts historic wins, and discuss areas workers have identified where it could be improved. We talk about the impact this contract could have in spurring others to unionize, and how it affects the drive by the Teamsters to organize workers at Amazon. Finally, we close out celebrating one of the largest new bargaining units of the year, with 5000 TV commercial workers joining IATSE. Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX  Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter,  John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month. We're diving back into labor history with a return to our short series on the history of general strikes in the US. On this episode, we round out the strikes of 1934 by discussing the Toledo Auto-Lite and Minneapolis general strikes. The pitched battles fought by workers across the country terrified the ruling class into accepting some of the most pivotal labor reforms in US history. Fighting scabs, company thugs, police, and even the National Guard, workers with nothing to lose in the midst of the Great Depression struck back against their exploiters and won victories that echoed for decades. Organizing such massive endeavors is never easy or quick, but there are so many lessons we can take from our comrades of the past to help improve our efforts today. Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX  Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter,  John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

After a few quick headlines, we start this week's labor news checking in on updates from the massive nationwide actors and writers strike. Next we discuss how hotels are using gig apps to hire scab labor and blacklist workers. Yellow Freight nearly caused a nationwide strike by failing to pay $50 million they owe the Teamsters' pension fund. Several recreational cannabis companies in California have been caught signing labor peace agreements with a fake union. This week saw new union drives at Staples, Cartoon Network, and Grindr, along with the successful union election at a climbing gym in Brooklyn. Finally, we discuss the most recent updates in the fight for a fair contract at UPS, with just one week to go. Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX  Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter,  John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

With just a week until 350,000 Teamster workers could strike at UPS, we want to share with as many listeners as possible our great interview with several rank and file UPS workers. So we are unlocking it for everyone to hear! If you like these sort of episodes, please support us at patreon.com/workstoppage. Original Description: The biggest labor story of the year has been the ongoing negotiations between UPS and the Teamsters and the possibility of 350,000 workers launching the biggest strike in the US in decades. So we're thrilled this week to be joined by three rank and file UPS workers from Teamsters Local 41 in Kansas City to talk about it. Stewards Scott, Shaine, and Ben cover the conditions facing full time package car drivers, 22.4 "hybrid" drivers, and part time workers and the fight to improve them. We discuss the tactics used to build the unity that prompted 97% of UPS Teamsters to authorize a strike, how listeners can support their local Teamsters before and during a strike, and how we can build on that solidarity to revitalize the labor movement for the future. Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX  Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter,  John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month. For our eighth and final episode (for now) in our series on the basics of Cybernetics and how it relates to the labor movement, we finally explore the details of Stafford Beer's Viable Systems Model (VSM). John walks us through the various subsystems of Beer's model for analyzing organizations, and we discuss examples of how the model would apply to an individual human being, a labor union, and even an entire nation. We discuss the various key features of organization this form of analysis reveals, like the importance of devolving at least some management functions to the lowest level parts of the system, or in the case of a union, democratically empowering each and every member.  Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX  Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter,  John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

This was another major week in labor as the biggest strike of the year so far kicked off with 160,000+ actors joining the writers on picket lines across the country. Also this week, a new reform caucus was announced in the ALU, calling for leadership elections. Starbucks workers launched their nationwide organizing bus tour, hitting cities across the country and shutting down stores tom demand Starbucks return to the bargaining table.  The Teamsters have expanded the concept of "flying squadrons" by launching roving pickets across the country demanding recognition of their union drivers. The UAW kicked off the negotiation process with the big three automakers in militant fashion, refusing traditional company niceties. Workers at the Leinenkugel brewery in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin are on strike fighting for a living wage. Finally, we celebrate the union victory of workers at Sega, making Sonic officially a union hedgehog. AFSE Petition: https://form.jotform.com/231775539933064 Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX  Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter,  John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month. The biggest labor story of the year has been the ongoing negotiations between UPS and the Teamsters and the possibility of 350,000 workers launching the biggest strike in the US in decades. So we're thrilled this week to be joined by three rank and file UPS workers from Teamsters Local 41 in Kansas City to talk about it. Stewards Scott, Shaine, and Ben cover the conditions facing full time package car drivers, 22.4 "hybrid" drivers, and part time workers and the fight to improve them. We discuss the tactics used to build the unity that prompted 97% of UPS Teamsters to authorize a strike, how listeners can support their local Teamsters before and during a strike, and how we can build on that solidarity to revitalize the labor movement for the future. Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX  Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter,  John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

We start this week's episode with congratulations to workers at Powerhouse Animation, who became the first unionized animation studio in Texas last week. Next we discuss the pausing of the LA hotel strike....and its resumption. Refresco workers finally won a contract after 3 years of fighting this week, winning big pay raises and other gains. Starbucks has lost in court AGAIN this week, losing cases in Pittsburgh and Ithaca and being forced to rehire workers. We also have some tragic stories of worker deaths this week, one a labor organizer murdered for his work in Bangladesh, the other a 16 year old child forced by our economic system to work in a dangerous saw mill. The University of California has been retaliating against workers following last year's major strike, now escalating to felony charges for writing with chalk. Finally, we have some happier news on some recent victories in organizing by the UFW in New York, and by grad student workers at Stanford. Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX  Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter,  John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month. We're back in the world of Cybernetics for this week's Patron episode. On Part 7 of our series, John explains the admittedly very complex concepts of Autopoiesis and Eudemony, key ideas for understanding Stafford Beer's "Viable Systems Model" which stands are the core of his thought. Breaking down these concepts of how systems like machines and biological organisms reproduce themselves and how structures organize themselves towards a maximal goal also help show the parallels between Cybernetics and the study of human societies, history, and more broadly how human beings organize themselves. On our next episode, we will go into the VSM in detail and explain how Beer used it as the foundation for setting up Project Cybersyn and embarking on an attempt to radically democratize the Chilean economy. Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX  Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter,  John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee