On Strike!

Two weeks ago, California was hit by devastating, unprecedented storms. The National Weather Service in San Francisco issued its first ever hurricane force wind warning since records have been kept, and then Los Angeles received more than 60% of an entire year’s rainfall in one day. The question of how to avert the impending climate catastrophe, and what it will take to dramatically change course in order to salvage a livable planet, is absolutely central to building the overall working-class fightback internationally against capitalism. What’s clear is that the capitalist elite have completely failed to even begin to address the crisis, and in fact, have been doubling down with trillions more dollars in corporate handouts for fossil fuels. The planet just had its hottest year on record in 2023 and this past January was the warmest ever recorded. The crucial 1.5-degree-Celsius benchmark that scientists have warned about for decades, the benchmark that the Paris Climate Agreement was meant to prevent, has been breached.  In the face of climate disaster, how do working and young people build a fightback? What will it take to win victories on the scale of what is so urgently needed? We’re joined by Jed, Los Angeles resident and Workers Strike Back activist, to discuss these questions! On Strike is 100% funded by working people. BECOME A MEMBER of Workers Strike Back now to support our work: https://www.workersstrikeback.org/membership  Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/OnStrikeShow  On Strike is a production of Workers Strike Back, hosted by Kshama Sawant and Bia Lacombe.

In this episode, we’re focusing on Biden’s loss of support among Black voters, which has been dramatic in a number of polls. Black voters were crucial in Biden’s 2020 election, but recent polls have shown half of Black voters wanting a different candidate, and growing numbers who either said they wouldn’t vote at all or would support Trump. It’s clear so many working-class people want a genuine alternative to business as usual in the 2024 elections, but what can we do to fight for it? We’re lucky to have with us Ryan Watson, who is a tech worker based in Chicago, a Workers Strike Back activist, a rank-and-file member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and a leading member of the Black Caucus of Socialist Alternative. Ryan is going to help us understand what the South Carolina primary results show about Black voter consciousness, and what Black working and young people can and should do to fight for a better world. On Strike is 100% funded by working people. BECOME A MEMBER of Workers Strike Back now to support our work: https://www.workersstrikeback.org/membership  Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/OnStrikeShow  On Strike is a production of Workers Strike Back, hosted by Kshama Sawant and Bia Lacombe.

We’re going back to the union drive at KCVG in Northern Kentucky, Amazon’s largest air hub in the world. Griffin Ritze is the latest worker to be fired by Amazon as part of their shameful anti-union campaign—he was fired for no other reason than for helping to organize the union. Hear from Griffin about Amazon’s slimy union-busting tactics, how the union is leveraging Amazon’s attacks against them, and how they’re ramping up organizing structures to build the kind of campaign that can win. The KCVG union drive has been receiving increasing attention as workers fight for a $30 an hour starting wage, 180 hours paid time off, union representation at disciplinary meetings, and translation rights for all workers. Amazon is terrified of this democratic, rank-and-file union campaign, and they’ve shown again and again that they’re prepared to use every dirty — and illegal — tactic in the book to try to crush it.  KCVG workers aren’t taking this lying down—they’re using all of Amazon’s union-busting attacks to further build momentum to win union recognition and a strong contract. On Strike is 100% funded by working people. BECOME A MEMBER of Workers Strike Back now to support our work: https://www.workersstrikeback.org/membership  Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/OnStrikeShow  On Strike is a production of Workers Strike Back, hosted by Kshama Sawant and Bia Lacombe.

Nearly two weeks ago, in a near disaster in mid-air, an Alaska Airlines flight of a Boeing 737 MAX 9 was forced to make an emergency landing after a side door ripped off the plane. The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded all Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes for further investigation and inspection. The news has exposed and brought attention to a wider breakdown which implicates not just Boeing executives, but the aviation industry as a whole, including federal regulators. It’s just the latest symptom of a system in complete crisis. Hear from two Boeing workers about the scandals that have shaken the industry and the huge pressures they face from executives to put profits over safety. In this episode, we’ll discuss how workers in the industry are starting to fight back against horrific conditions, and we’ll talk about the fundamental changes that are needed to keep workers and passengers safe. On Strike is 100% funded by working people. BECOME A MEMBER of Workers Strike Back now to support our work: https://www.workersstrikeback.org/membership  Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/OnStrikeShow  On Strike is a production of Workers Strike Back, hosted by Kshama Sawant and Bia Lacombe.

What is the US-China Cold War, and why does it matter for working people? This new Cold War between US imperialism and Chinese imperialism impacts every aspect of the world situation today, from the war in Ukraine to the war on Gaza to climate change.  The horrific violence we’re seeing around the world has led millions of working people to wonder why these disasters are happening and how we can stop them. In order to bring these wars to an end and win the kind of society working people need, we must understand the roots of these conflicts and the interests of the ruling classes who orchestrate them.  In this episode, Bia talks with Tom Crean, a longtime activist with Socialist Alternative in the US and internationally. He is currently writing a book about the end of the era of neoliberal globalization and the beginning of the new age of global disorder, a key feature of which is the new Cold War.  Suggested articles from Socialist Alternative on the new Cold War: https://www.socialistalternative.org/2023/08/29/the-new-cold-war-heats-up/ https://www.socialistalternative.org/2023/10/06/isa-statement-the-new-cold-war-and-ukraine-war/ https://www.socialistalternative.org/2023/11/30/xi-biden-talks-no-thaw-in-cold-war/ Learn more about Socialist Alternative and how to join: https://www.socialistalternative.org  On Strike is 100% funded by working people. BECOME A MEMBER of Workers Strike Back now to support our work: https://www.workersstrikeback.org/membership  Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/OnStrikeShow  On Strike is a production of Workers Strike Back, hosted by Kshama Sawant and Bia Lacombe.

The connection between sports and politics may not be immediately apparent—why should the left pay attention to the world of sports? What potential is there for organizing, for making connections to the need to struggle for working-class demands against the billionaires? To discuss these and other questions, we’re delighted to interview Suzanne Wrack, a British sports journalist and soccer writer at The Guardian. She’s the author of A Woman's Game: The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Women's Football. Suzanne has written and spoken extensively about why she believes sports are important for working people and political activists.  With women’s soccer, Suzanne has helped put a spotlight on the fight for equal and equitable pay and better working conditions, and the battles of women players against sexism, sexual abuse and racism — battles that have helped embolden large numbers of women to understand the power of collective action and solidarity. On Strike is 100% funded by working people. BECOME A MEMBER of Workers Strike Back now to support our work: https://www.workersstrikeback.org/membership  Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/OnStrikeShow  On Strike is a production of Workers Strike Back, hosted by Kshama Sawant and Bia Lacombe.

Part 2 of our two-part special on Kshama Sawant’s 10 years as a socialist on the Seattle City Council! Long before democratic socialists like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were household names, Socialist Alternative and Kshama won an openly socialist campaign for the Seattle City Council in 2013. Kshama was the first socialist elected in Seattle in nearly a century. After a decade in office, having overcome unrelenting big business opposition to win historic gains for working people and four consecutive elections, Kshama is leaving the City Council undefeated. Kshama’s socialist office, alongside movements of working people, have racked up an unprecedented list of victories: the first $15 minimum wage in a major U.S. city (automatically adjusted for inflation, it’s now the highest in the country), the historic Amazon Tax on Seattle’s wealthiest corporations to fund affordable housing, ten major renters’ rights laws, the first ban on caste discrimination anywhere in the world outside South Asia, making Seattle an abortion sanctuary city where providers and patients cannot be prosecuted or extradited, and so many more. How was this possible? What are the lessons we should take forward from this decade of socialist politics in Seattle, to win even greater victories across the country? On Strike is 100% funded by working people. BECOME A MEMBER of Workers Strike Back now to support our work: https://www.workersstrikeback.org/membership On Strike is a production of Workers Strike Back, hosted by Kshama Sawant and Bia Lacombe. #KshamaSawant #socialism #socialist #politics #Democrats #workingclass #AOC #organizing #labormovement #unions

Long before democratic socialists like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were household names, Socialist Alternative and Kshama won an openly socialist campaign for the Seattle City Council in 2013. Kshama was the first socialist elected in Seattle in nearly a century. After a decade in office, having overcome unrelenting big business opposition to win historic gains for working people and four consecutive elections, Kshama is leaving the City Council undefeated. Kshama’s socialist office, alongside movements of working people, have racked up an unprecedented list of victories: the first $15 minimum wage in a major U.S. city (automatically adjusted for inflation, it’s now the highest in the country), the historic Amazon Tax on Seattle’s wealthiest corporations to fund affordable housing, ten major renters’ rights laws, the first ban on caste discrimination anywhere in the world outside South Asia, making Seattle an abortion sanctuary city where providers and patients cannot be prosecuted or extradited, and so many more. How was this possible? What are the lessons we should take forward from this decade of socialist politics in Seattle, to win even greater victories across the country? Check out this first part of our two-episode special to find out! On Strike is 100% funded by working people. BECOME A MEMBER of Workers Strike Back now to support our work: https://www.workersstrikeback.org/membership On Strike is a production of Workers Strike Back, hosted by Kshama Sawant and Bia Lacombe. #KshamaSawant #socialism #socialist #politics #Democrats #workingclass #AOC #organizing #labormovement #unions

For over 11 months, during the global COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in 2020-2021, small farmers and agricultural workers battled the right-wing regime of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in opposition to his anti-farmer/pro-billionaire laws. Through the power of their mass mobilization and their steadfastness, and the solidarity of over 250 million workers who went on a general strike in support, India’s farmers and workers handed the Modi regime a massive defeat and forced him to rescind the laws. In this important interview, P. Sainath and Kshama Sawant discuss the lessons of the farmers’ and workers’ movement in India for working people and small farmers internationally. P. Sainath is a longtime journalist and the author of “Everybody Loves a Good Draught,” a book about the devastating impact of neoliberal, pro-corporate-agribusiness policies on India’s small farmers and agricultural laborers. He has recently published a new book, “The Last Heroes: Foot Soldiers of Indian Freedom,” about the rank-and-file leaders of the Indian Revolution, many of them socialist, who led the way in defeating the British Empire. On Strike is 100% funded by working people. Donate or become a member now to support our work: https://www.workersstrikeback.org/donate  Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/OnStrikeShow On Strike is a production of Workers Strike Back, hosted by Kshama Sawant and Bia Lacombe.

We return to Amazon’s air hub in Kentucky, with the nation’s most important union drive right now. This is a strategic choke point in Amazon’s delivery system, an air hub of over 4,000 workers. Since our first episode on the union drive, Amazon executives have ramped up intimidation and retaliation. Don’t miss this important update on how the workers are fighting back. Kshama Sawant and Bia Lacombe are joined by several workers at the facility talking about their fight against discrimination in the workplace. On Strike is 100% funded by working people. Donate now to support our work: https://www.workersstrikeback.org/donate Or support us on Patreon: patreon.com/OnStrikeShow On Strike is a production of Workers Strike Back, hosted by Kshama Sawant and Bia Lacombe.