This podcast discusses labor stories like the Supreme Court's ruling on worker rights, a massive strike in Nigeria for higher minimum wage, and India's labor issues during a heatwave. It also covers controversies involving Elon Musk, dystopian AI use in call centers, and the formation of a new union at Fairfax County Public Schools.

While looking for recordings of Elizabeth G. Flynn I found this in the Walter P. Ruther Online Library at Wayne State University. The audio player was broken on the website, but I figured out a way to downloaded the source audio anyway. It was also very low quality so I put a little effort into remastering it so everyone can enjoy it. Solidarity. -Lina Source: https://reuther.wayne.edu/node/12892 Original Description: A conversation with Elizabeth Gurley Flynn in which she discusses her upbringing and entry into the political scene as the “girl orator,” her organizing efforts and labor defense work on behalf of the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.), and the evolution of her political beliefs. Of particular interest is a description of her arrest under the Smith Act and her years spent in prison at the Women’s Reformatory in Alderson, West Virginia. Keywords: Industrial Workers of the World, Communism, Socialism, Lawrence Strike, Joe Hill, Herbert Hoover, Bill Haywood, Joe Hill, McCarren Internal Security Act, Smith Act, Palmer Raids, Tom Mooney, Sacco and Vanzetti Trial

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month. By the time she was in her mid thirties, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn had been on a non-stop, nationwide tour of the class struggle in the United States, joining every fight she could. That work made her one of the most beloved organizers in US history, but also took a toll on her health. Joining the Communist Party in the late 30s following years of convalescence on the West Coast, Flynn spent much of her later years in leadership and mentoring the new generation of fighters for the working class. But her experience in workers legal defense became critical, as the Party faced a massive assault following World War 2, sending Flynn to prison at age 65. Throughout her life, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn never wavered for one moment in her total devotion to the working class and the struggle against oppression. She stands as an inspiration to everyone who fights for a better world, and her life story is full of rich lessons for organizers today. Series Sources: The Rebel Girl by Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Elizabeth Gurley Flynn: Modern American Revolutionary by Lara Vapnek Women and the American Labor Movement by Philip Foner https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/women-in-labor-history/ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Gurley_Flynn https://www.cpusa.org/article/cpusa-statement-on-the-removal-of-elizabeth-gurley-flynns-historical-marker-in-new-hampshire/ https://libcom.org/article/1909-missoula-free-speech-fight  https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/industrialworker/iub/v1n39-nov-23-1907-iub.pdf Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX  Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter,  John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Starting our labor news this week we discuss big union election news by healthcare workers in California, construction workers in Quebec, and Starbucks workers all over the country. In our first main story, we discuss attempts to quash organizing around Palestine by conservative leadership in a major AFSCME local in NYC. Next we cover this week's update in the historic UC stand up strike for Palestine, as the University administration continued to try to crush the strike in court. For our big story this week we discuss the surprise announcement of the ALU affiliating with the Teamsters to add national muscle to the fight against the e-commerce giant. Finally, we discuss the ongoing strike by the IBEW workers of Local 46 in Seattle, fighting the greed of general contractors and also for respect on the job. Also, as we discuss at the end of the show, we're trying something new! Submit your stories about bad bosses, organizing wins, and other workplace tales to our new Google Voice number! 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 are going deep into the vault of the many Overtime series we have done to bring ALL of the listeners something that feels applicable to the times we face right now. Some of our views on these important topics have been slightly reexamined since 2021 when this episode came out, but overall it still covers this history well. To get all 4 episodes in this series, become a patron. We appreciate the support. Join us down the rabbit hole on this first part of a series of patrons-only Overtime episodes where we discuss an overview of the history of the US repressive state apparatus, and how it has been used to crush working class movements.  In this episode we discuss the history of violent state suppression of strikes, and how the federal government worked hand in hand with private armed forces like the Pinkerton’s to infiltrate and crush early labor unions.  We talk about how repression of the movement changed with the legalization of collective bargaining and the ejection of communists from the major unions during the Red Scare.  We also get into some of the early covert programs developed to fight left-wing movements and Black liberation groups, COINTELPRO and Operation Mockingbird.  Future episodes will go over programs like Operation Gladio, Operation Condor, the CIA’s involvement in the drug trade, Operation Cyclone, and more in the long sordid history of US covert warfare.  All with the ultimate goal of understanding the violent tactics used by the US against working class movements around the world, so we can understand how that affects our movement today.

We start this week with a brief update on national negotiating with Starbucks Workers United and the continued growth of the union. We also follow up with the Boeing firefighters of IAFF I-66 who ratified a new contract this week, ending a nearly month long lockout. The Department of Labor finally announced some higher than usual penalties for child labor at Hyundai. The historic stand up strike for Palestine at UC continued to grow this week, adding thousands more strikers at three more campuses. We also check in on rideshare driver organizing in the UK, where hundreds protested by blocking traffic. Finally, we discuss a report in Labor Notes on how workers at Stellantis are fighting back against the company's attempts to undermine last year's contract wins. Also, as we discuss at the end of the show, we're trying something new! Submit your stories about bad bosses, organizing wins, and other workplace tales to our new Google Voice number! 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/

Topics include worker surveillance at Amazon, labor disputes at Boeing, union strikes in various industries, academic workers striking for Palestine, NCAA settlement for player compensation, legal aid workers winning contract demands, and character actors at Disneyland union win. Join the discord and follow on Instagram and Twitter for more updates on worker power for peace.

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 first Red Scare following the US entry into World War 1 threw the US left into intense turmoil. Though Elizabeth Gurley Flynn had left the IWW over organizational and strategic differences, she was swept up in the Palmer Raids alongside many of her comrades. She would devote much of the rest of her life to the legal defense of workers imprisoned for opposing war or fighting for their rights on the job. She fought for years to release thousands of political prisoners locked up for opposing the draft and criticizing US entry into the war. Through this work, Flynn also came into contact with one of the most historic cases of political persecution of this period, the legal lynching of Sacco and Vanzetti. Throughout the 1920s, though no longer a part of the IWW, Flynn remained a fixture of the US labor struggle, continuing to criss cross the country in defense of workers rights. Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX  Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter,  John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

We've got another packed episode after a ton of news in the labor movement this week. First, workers in Quebec have successfully formed the first recognized union at an Amazon warehouse in Canada. Next we discuss efforts by agribusiness giant Wonderful Nurseries to overturn California labor law to fight the UFW. We've got a lot of news about the UAW this week. First, the historic political strike by UAW Local 4811 workers at the University of California in defense of the right to protest. Then, of course, we have to discuss the union election at Mercedes, which didn't go the union's way this time, but represents massive progress. Finally, we close out with some good news as workers making electric buses, also in Alabama, won a historic new contract with record raises, and discuss a recent interview with Sara Nelson on her push to bring full union democracy to the AFA. 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/

The whole gang's back together for the first time in a month! This week, we saw faculty at both NYU and UNC-Chapel Hill, among other schools, launch grading strikes to demand amnesty for protestors brutally arrested during encampment sweeps. Also this week, train drivers in the UK launched yet another series of rolling strikes as the train operators continue to believe they can get away with not paying drivers. In another major act of corporate hubris, Boeing has locked out their in house firefighters after demanding they accept a top rate that only arrives after 19 years on the job. The UAW election at Mercedes is this week and the company is running scared, pulling out all the stops to try and halt another landslide victory. We also check in on the rampant union busting at Apple stores around the country, as they catch a lot less heat than Starbucks for using many of the same tactics. Finally, we congratulate the fight attendants of Breeze Airways for their union election win to join the AFA! 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/