Working People

Current and former tech workers with the No Azure for Apartheid coalition continue to disrupt business as usual at Microsoft’s global headquarters in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide, and in protest of Microsoft’s contracts with the Israeli military to provide tech that Israel uses to surveil, kill, and retroactively justify the killing of Palestinians. In this episode of Working People, which is a critical follow-up to our last episode, we speak with a panel of five tech workers and No Azure for Apartheid coalition members who have all been fired by Microsoft in the past year in response to their protest actions: Anna Hattle, Joe Lopez, Hossam Nasr, Nisreen Jaradat, and Riki. Even after losing their jobs, however, these workers have vowed not to stop organizing and protesting until Microsoft meets their demands to “fully and perpetually divests from Israel's economy of occupation, apartheid, and genocide.”   Additional links/info: No Azure for Apartheid Instagram and Linktree Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / The Real News Network, “‘Microsoft is an active partner in the genocide!’: Inside the tech worker revolt for Palestine” Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “Cops violently dismantle Palestine encampment at Microsoft HQ, arrest protestors” Tom Warren, The Verge, “Microsoft locks down a building after protesters get inside president’s office” Microsoft: Brad Smith press conference on Aug. 26, 2025 Harry Davies & Yuval Abraham, The Guardian, “‘A million calls an hour’: Israel relying on Microsoft cloud for expansive surveillance of Palestinians” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

Tech workers at the heart of Microsoft are waging one of the most significant and under-covered labor battles in the US right now. For the last two weeks, members of the No Azure for Apartheid coalition, including current and former tech workers at Microsoft and community allies, have been taking bold, continuing, and escalating actions to disrupt business as usual in solidarity with Palestinians facing genocide and in protest of Microsoft’s contracts with the Israeli military to provide tech that Israel uses to surveil, kill, and retroactively justify the killing of Palestinians. Those actions have included establishing a “liberated zone” encampment and even occupying executives’ offices at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, WA. In this on-the-ground episode of Working People, recorded at Microsoft headquarters on Aug. 19-20, we take you to the front lines of the No Azure for Apartheid struggle.Additional links/info: No Azure for Apartheid Instagram and Linktree Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “Cops violently dismantle Palestine encampment at Microsoft HQ, arrest protestors” Tom Warren, The Verge, “Microsoft employee arrested at headquarters while protesting Israel contracts” Tom Warren, The Verge, “Microsoft locks down a building after protesters get inside president’s office” Harry Davies & Yuval Abraham, The Guardian, “‘A million calls an hour’: Israel relying on Microsoft cloud for expansive surveillance of Palestinians” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song Credits: Studio Production: Maximillian Alvarez Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

Right now, Israel's military is invading and obliterating what remains of Gaza City. After 700 days of genocidal bombing, shooting, forced starvation, and the systematic destruction of schools, hospitals, farms, refugee camps, roads, houses, and the entire infrastructure of civilian life, the Palestinians clinging to life in Gaza City are being exterminated, while others run or limp for their lives with nowhere safe to go. Amid the horrors of Israel’s military onslaught, with starvation and illness spreading, Mohamed Abu Tawila, a former English teacher, and his nephew Abdul Rahman, a would-be college student, have been raising money online and risking their lives and safety to secure and transport clean water to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. In this urgent episode, we speak with Mohamed and Abdul Rahman from Gaza about their daily struggle to live in the midst of genocide.    Additional links/info:  Mohamed’s Instagram account Abdul Rahman’s Instagram account  GoFundMe campaign to support Mohamed’s water delivery operation and his family  GoFundMe campaign to support Abdul Rahman’s family Ruwaida Amer, The Real News Network, “Gaza journalist’s URGENT MESSAGE: ‘We need to eat! We need this war to stop!’” Featured Music:  Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song Credits:  Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor   

Every single one of us who considers ourselves part of the labor movement has some real deep, serious, and urgent soul searching to do this Labor Day. After already falling to historically low levels of union density, public and private-sector unions are facing an extinction-level event under the new Trump administration. That is not hyperbole; that is a fact. So the real question is: What the hell are workers, unions, and the labor movement doing to fight back?  These are the essential questions at the center of both of the interviews we are sharing in this special Labor Day episode, which were recorded at the Netroots conference in New Orleans, LA, in early August. In the first interview, Max speaks with Everett Kelley, national President of the American Federation of Government Employees, about the Trump administration’s elimination of collective bargaining rights for federal unions. In the second interview, his first public interview since he was arrested by federal agents observing an ICE raid in Los Angeles in June, David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union – United Service Workers (West), speaks with Max about the status of his case and about the roles unions must play in the fight against fascism. Speakers:  Everett Kelley is the national President of the American Federation of Government Employees, which is the largest union representing federal and DC government employees. He began his first term of service as national President in February 2020, was elected to another term during the 42nd National Convention in June 2022, and was reelected during the 43rd National Convention in August 2024. Kelley has been a member of AFGE since 1981. He worked at Anniston Army Depot and retired from there after 30 years of service. David Huerta is a longtime labor leader, born and raised in Los Angeles County, CA, who currently serves as president of the Service Employees International Union – United Service Workers (West) (SEIU-USWW). Additional links/info:  American Federation of Government Employees website, Facebook page, and Instagram Hamilton Nolan, How Things Work, “Fragile movements crumble” Michael Sainato, The Guardian, “White House cancels union contracts for hundreds of thousands of federal workers” SEIU, “STATEMENT: SEIU President April Verrett on David Huerta’s release from federal custody” Luis Feliz Leon, In These Times, “Trump has put a target on SEIU, and the labor movement is fighting back” Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “EXCLUSIVE: Union leader beaten & arrested at ICE raid SPEAKS OUT” (Video version of interview with David Huerta) Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “Unions face extinction under Trump. Is labor fighting back?” (Video version of interview with Everett Kelley) Featured Music:  Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song  

Railroad workers are sounding the alarm about the potentially catastrophic consequences of the proposed mega-merger of two of the nation’s Class 1 freight rail companies. “Union Pacific said it would buy smaller rival Norfolk Southern in an $85-billion deal to create the country’s first coast-to-coast freight rail operator,” Reuters reported in July. “If approved, the deal would be the largest-ever buyout in the sector.” If this giant merger goes through, what will it mean for railroad workers, customers, and for the general public? In this episode of Working People, we speak with a panel of six veteran railroaders and members of Railroad Workers United to get a workers’ eye view of the proposed mega-merger and what it will mean for rail labor, the US supply chain, and for the public writ large.   Speakers: Ron Kaminkow is a member of Railroad Workers United, currently serving as a trustee, and he is also a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), Division 51 in Reno, Nevada. Kaminkow recently retired from Amtrak; prior to working in passenger rail, he worked on the freight rail system for Norfolk Southern and Conrail. Jeff Kurtz was a railroad engineer and union member for 40 years and is a member of Railroad Workers United. He served as a union officer most of his career, including eight years as president of BLET Local 391 and chairman of the BLET Iowa State Legislative Board, where he oversaw safety and legislative matters for the union in the state for four railroads for 10 years. He retired in 2014 and served as state representative for one term in the Iowa House after winning the 2018 election in his House district. Derek Masters is a member of Railroad Workers United and works as a conductor for a major Class 1 railroad, primarily in the Northeast. He is a member of SMART Transportation Division (SMART-TD). Matt Parker is a member of Railroad Workers United who works as a rank-and-file locomotive engineer, based in Nevada, with over 20 years of experience. Matt Weaver is a founding member of Railroad Workers United and has been a member of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees (Teamsters) for 30 years. He serves as the BMWED legislative director for the state of Ohio. Nick Wurst currently serves as general secretary of Railroad Workers United who works as a freight conductor and locomotive engineer, based in Massachusetts. Wurst started working for the railroad in 2019 as an intermodal worker and member of the Transportation Communication Union (TCU/IAM) and is currently  a member of SMART-TD. Additional links/info: Railroad Workers United website, Facebook page, and X page Railroad Workers United press release: “Railroad worker group opposes Class One rail mergers” Michael Sainato, The Guardian, “Greater risk of toxic derailments if $85bn railroad merger is approved, warn unions” Sabrina Valle, Shivansh Tiwary, & David French, Reuters, “Union Pacific to reshape US freight rail with $85 billion deal for Norfolk” CNBC, “Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena & Norfolk Southern CEO Mark George on merger: Deal is 'great for America'” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

After seeing friends and neighbors in their community of Pasadena, CA, being terrorized, assaulted, and abducted by masked federal agents, Daniela Navin and Jeannette De la Riva joined together with other neighbors in their area to form Grupo Auto Defensa and fight back. From chasing ICE cars out of town with bullhorns to setting up security brigades so terrified residents can walk outside and go to the grocery store, from providing know-your-rights information to reclaiming public space, protecting each other, and rebelliously refusing to live in fear, the members of Grupo Auto Defensa are defending their community when no one else will. In this crossover episode of Working People, recorded with Professor David Palumbo-Liu and the Speaking Out of Place podcast, TRNN editor-in-chief Maximillian Alvarez joins Daniela Navin and Jeannette De la Riva to discuss the origins of Grupo Auto Defensa and the power of grassroots resistance in the face of the Trump administration’s authoritarian assault on immigrant communities and the rule of law. Guests: Daniela Navin is a resident of Pasadena, CA, and a founding member of Grupo Auto Defensa. Jeannette De la Riva is a lifelong resident of Pasadena, CA, and a founding member of Grupo Auto Defensa. Additional links/info: Grupo Auto Defensa Instagram Speaking Out of Place website and Instagram The Real News Network, “‘ICE out of Dena!’: CA community FIGHTS BACK against ICE terror” Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “He’s worked in the US for 30 years—then masked ICE agents beat and kidnapped him in broad daylight” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

The Real News Network is honored to be one of the 2025 recipients of the prestigious Izzy Award for our on-the-ground documentary report, “Trainwreck in ‘Trump Country’: Partisan politics hasn’t helped East Palestine, OH.” “While corporate media covered the catastrophe in East Palestine, Ohio, with aerial views of ruined train cars and plumes of smoke likening the horrific crash to a disaster film,” The Park Center for Independent Media (PCIM) states in their award announcement, “Steve Mellon of the Pittsburgh Union Progress and Maximillian Alvarez of The Real News Network were on the ground telling the stories of people in the communities devastated by the deadly toxins released into their neighborhoods long after major media outlets left them behind.” With permission from the PCIM, we are sharing the audio recording of the award acceptance speeches delivered by Alvarez and Mellon in Ithaca, NY, on April 30, 2025. Speakers: Eleanor Goldfield is an independent filmmaker and creator of the documentary Hard Road of Hope, which details the history and contemporary struggles of West Virginians living and dying in coal country. Currently, Goldfield is the co-host and associate producer of the Project Censored Show, and co-host of the podcast Common Censored along with Lee Camp. Maximillian Alvarez is the editor-in-chief and co-executive director of The Real News Network. Steve Mellon is a photojournalist and writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he is currently on strike and working as co-editor of the Pittsburgh Union Progress. Additional links/info: Maximillian Alvarez, Steve Mellon, & Mike Balonek, The Real News Network, “Trainwreck in ‘Trump Country’: Partisan politics hasn’t helped East Palestine, OH” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song Credits: Production: Park Center for Independent Media; Park Productions at Ithaca College Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

On Sunday, July 20, 2025, Working People host and TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez delivered the keynote speech at the national convention of the National Organization of Legal Services Workers (NOLSW), UAW Local 2320. “I am here to report back to you from the front lines of struggle, without hesitation or hyperbole, that we are at risk of losing everything,” Alvarez told the crowd of union members. “And so I am here not to extol the virtues of your union or the value of unions in general, but to ask you bluntly: What good is a union in Hell? How much can an organization of the dawned do in a future no one wants to live in? What good does a collective bargaining agreement serve when the world as we know it is dying?” Additional links/info:  NOLSW-UAW Local 2320 website, X page, Facebook page, and Instagram Featured Music:  Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song Credits:  Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor 

After getting a job as a barista at the Elmwood Starbucks in Buffalo, New York, Jaz Brisack became a founding member of Starbucks Workers United and helped organize the first unionized Starbucks in the US in December of 2021. In their new book, Get on the Job and Organize, Brisack details the hardwon lessons they and their coworkers have learned from building one of the most significant and paradigm-shifting worker organizing campaigns in modern history. In this extended episode of Working People, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian speaks with Brisack about their book, the facts and fictions characterizing today’s “new labor movement,” and why union organizing is essential for saving democracy and the world.Guests: Jaz Brisack is a union organizer and cofounder of the Inside Organizer School, which trains workers to unionize. After spending one year at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, Jaz got a job as a barista at the Elmwood Starbucks in Buffalo, New York, becoming a founding member of Starbucks Workers United and helping organize the first unionized Starbucks in the United States in December of 2021. As the organizing director for Workers United Upstate New York & Vermont, they also worked with organizing committees at companies ranging from Ben & Jerry’s to Tesla. Additional links/info: Jaz Brisack, One Signal Publishers, Get on the Job and Organize: Standing Up for a Better Workplace and a Better World Jaz Brisack, Teen Vogue, “Starbucks Workers United grew out of Jaz Brisack’s undercover organizing. Here’s how” Starbucks Workers United website, Facebook page, X page, and Instagram Inside Organizer School website Featured Music: Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

Dozens of peaceful protesters, including disabled people in wheelchairs, were arrested last Wednesday in Washington, DC, while protesting President Trump’s massive spending and tax bill, which will dramatically slash taxes, restructure the student loan and debt system, and make devastating cuts to vital, popular programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). With Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote, Senate Republicans voted Tuesday to advance Donald Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, which will now go back to the House of Representatives for final approval. In this urgent episode of Working People, we speak with Lorraine Chavez and Chrstine Rodriguez, who were among the dozens arrested for their peaceful act of civil disobedience on June 25, about what’s in this bill, what it will mean for working people, and how working people are fighting back.  Editor’s Note (7/1/25): Before the US Senate voted to advance President Trump’s spending and tax bill, the provision to bar states from issuing new regulations on artificial intelligence for 10 years was removed from the legislation. Guests:  Lorraine Chavez is an educator, researcher, and community leader based in Chicago. She is also a student debtor and traveled to the Washington DC protest with the Debt Collective.  Chrstine Rodriguez is a legal assistant and student debtor from Pasadena, California, who also traveled to the Washington DC protest with the Debt Collective. Additional links/info:  The Debt Collective website, X page, Facebook page, and Instagram Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams, “Medicaid defenders in wheelchairs arrested ahead of Senate vote on 'betrayal of a bill'” Chris Stein, The Guardian, “What’s in Trump’s big, beautiful bill? Tax cuts, deportations and more” Chris Stein, The Guardian, “Senate Republicans pass Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ bill, clearing major hurdle” Featured Music:  Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song Credits:  Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor