Work Stoppage

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/

Support Striking ILWU Local 6 Workers: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-local-6-workers-in-their-fight-for-fair-wages We start this week's episode with follow-ups at the University of Maine, Boston hotels, Trader Joe's in Manhattan, Starbucks in Ithaca, and Wonderful Nurseries in California. We follow up on the second week of the strike by over 30,000 Machinists at Boeing as the company digs in for a long strike. The UAW announced a strike vote this week to hold Stellantis accountable for its many broken contract provisions. The Teamsters have rapidly expanded their organizing of Teamster drivers. A new report quantifies the massive amount of wage theft taking place at Waffle House. Finally, 800 Teamsters strike at a Borgwarner auto parts plant in New York. 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 Judy Gearhart to talk about her podcast Labor Link. On her show she interviews workers and worker advocates in many highly exploited industries in Southeast and Southern Asia. From garment workers in Bangladesh to migrant fishers in Thailand appalling working conditions and forms of modern slavery are highly present, and she talks to people trying to make a difference. Find her show at: http://www.laborlinkpodcast.org 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/

Legal Fund of Michigan Students for Palestine: https://chuffed.org/project/um-palestine-legalfund Lina's back and there's so much news! We discuss repression of worker organizing at the SPLC, the Noguchi Museum, and Air Canada in our headlines segment, as well as following up on the strike by 17,000 CWA workers at AT&T. As the school year begins, we discuss a roundup of stories covering the crackdown on free speech on college campuses in an attempt to silence the anti-genocide movement. Also this week, In These Times spoke with UAW workers and residents of Belvidere, IL about the impact of Stellantis dragging its feet on its contract promises. A clash has developed between the UAW and the New Jersey AFL-CIO after the state labor federation backed a legal ruling allowing casinos to continue poisoning their workers with cigarette smoke. In another tale of disgusting union busting, Stone Brewing, following its acquisition by Sapporo, has been trying to stamp out an organizing drive by workers in Richmond. Finally, we discuss the massive strike by Boeing workers across Washington State, with 32,000 hitting the picket lines this week. 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 with updates on The Bird Union, Unite Here hotel workers, the UAW, and AT&T workers on strike across the South. Following our headlines, we discuss the recent firing of rail engineer, and popular commentator, Gareth Dennis, in response to (true) statements he made about safety concerns. Thousands of rideshare drivers and supporters rallied in NYC this week to demand the city stop Uber and Lyft from locking them out of the app to evade fair wage laws. Protests erupted across Australia in response to the government's recent takeover of one of the country's more militant unions on accusation of collusion with organized crime. 32,000 Boeing Machinists have won a tentative deal with the company after a credible strike threat. Finally, we discussion the longhaul strike by Boston University grad student workers. 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/

It's Labor Day, and that can only mean workers standing up for our rights on the job. We begin this week with the launch of this weekend's national hotel strike by workers in Unite Here. After some quick stories on workers fighting for Palestine, the massive surge in unionization in academia, and more warehouse organizing by the Teamsters, we get into our main stories. We follow up with the UAW strike at Cornell, as workers have won a historic new contract. Workers at the Audubon Society have announced they will strike next week as their highly paid CEO continues a petty, illegal union busting campaign. Fred Meyer workers also struck this weekend, simultaneously showing how important stopping the Kroger-Albertsons merger is. Negotiations for a new contract for the East Coast dockworkers in the ILA have ground to a halt, potentially portending the first east coast port shutdown in nearly 50 years. We also discuss this week's 99.99% strike authorization vote by flight attendants at United and a new report showing just how deep the exploitation in the industry is. Finally, we celebrate the union election win of 4000 "temporary" workers at Firestone's massive rubber plantation in Liberia. 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/