Working People

It’s been nearly two weeks since the catastrophic derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in northeast Ohio thrust the residents of East Palestine and the surrounding area into a non-stop waking nightmare. It will take weeks, months, if not years to appraise the damage of this train derailment on the population, on the rail workers and first responders, and on the environment, but while corporate spokespeople and many in the media try to paint this tragedy as some freak accident, we know better... We know better because we have been listening to railroad workers. In this urgent mini-cast, we discuss the nightmare in East Palestine with Matt Weaver, who has worked on the railroad since 1994, is a member of BMWED-IBT 2624, and was recently chosen to serve as legislative director for his state.  Additional links/info below... Matt's Twitter page Railroad Workers United website, Facebook page, and Twitter page Mel Buer, The Nation, "The Ohio Derailment Catastrophe Is a Case Study in Disaster Capitalism" Watch Matt on The Problem with Jon Stewart: "The Ohio Train Disaster: Corporate Greed & Regulatory Failure" Michael Kaplan, CBS News, "Excess Size Caused Train to Break Down in Days Before It Derailed in Ohio, Employees Say" Mass for Shut Ins podcast, "037 - Workin' on the Railroad with Matt Weaver and Maximillian Alvarez" Working People, "Jay"  Working People, "Countdown to Midnight (w/ Jay & Joe)" Working People, "Where Do Railroad Workers Go from Here? (w/ Jay, Marilee Taylor, John Tormey, & Matt Parker)" Permanent links below... Working People Patreon page Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org) Jules Taylor, "Working People Theme Song

We kick off Season Six of the show with a very special episode that is dedicated to Evan Seyfried, his family, and his loved ones. As listeners know from our previous conversations with Evan’s family members and their supporters in the Justice for Evan coalition, Evan was a loving son, brother, boyfriend, friend, and a dedicated worker. For 19 years, with a virtually spotless record, Evan worked at a local Kroger grocery store in Milford, Ohio, where he eventually became the dairy department manager. From October 2020 to March 2021, however, according to a lawsuit filed by the Seyfried family, Evan suffered a torturous litany of bullying, harassment, and sabotage at the hands of numerous actors, including management-level supervisors Shannon Frazee and Joseph Pigg, which caused Evan to eventually suffer a “transient episodic break” and take his own life.  We have done our best over the past year and a half to help the Seyfrieds get the justice they deserve, to hold Kroger accountable, and to keep Evan's story from fading from public view. But we also want to make sure that people remember Evan for the whole, beautiful person he was, for the joy and light he brought into the world, and for the love he showed to those who knew him. February 11 is Evan's birthday, and we want to take this opportunity to give some of that love back. With Evan’s beloved girlfriend Amy Chamberlin and dear friend of the Seyfried family and cofounder of the Justice for Evan coalition Jana Murphy, we pay tribute to Evan by celebrating his life and the beautiful mark he left on this world.  Additional links/info below... Justice for Evan Facebook page, Twitter page, and Instagram Justice for Evan Billboard Campaign  Justice for Evan: Kroger Associates Stories (Facebook group) Kroger Employees (Facebook group) Working People, "Evan Seyfried (w/ Ken, Linda, & Eric Seyfried)" Working People, "For Evan (w/ Ken Seyfried, Eric Seyfried, Amy Chamberlin, Erica Erskine, Jana Murphy, & Austin LiPuma)" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "'Justice for Evan': Supporters Demand Accountability from Kroger after 19-Year Employee Allegedly Bullied by Management to Suicide" Maximillian Alvarez, Breaking Points, "Max Alvarez: A DEADLY, Silent Epidemic of Workplace Abuse is Growing" Maximillian Alvarez, Breaking Points, "Lawsuit Says Kroger Management Bullied Worker Into Taking His Own Life" Permanent links below... Working People Patreon page Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org) Jules Taylor, "Working People Theme Song

PLEASE SIGN THIS LETTER TO URGE THE TEXAS CAMPAIGN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT TO RECOGNIZE OUR UNION In this urgent and special episode, Jules sits down with Brandon Marks and Chloe Torres for an in-person interview about the struggle Texas Environmental Workers Union members are facing in their workplace. After 5 months of the Texas Campaign for the Environment (TCE) not recognizing their union, members of the Texas Environmental Workers Union unanimously agreed to a one-day strike, happening February 6th, 2023. Union members are requesting that listeners sign on their letter urging the TCE to recognize their union, and consider donating to their strike fund. The Texas Environmental Workers Union is proudly represented by the Communications Workers of America.   Additional links/info below… · Brandon Marks – Twitter, Facebook · Chloe Torres - Facebook · Updog – South Texas Emo/Ska Bandcamp, Twitter · Texas Environmental Workers Union – Twitter, Website · Communications Workers of America - Website · Texas Campaign for the Environment · DONATE TO THE TEXAS ENVIRONMENTAL WORKERS UNION STRIKE FUND · Video for this episode   Permanent Links Below… Working People Patreon page Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org) Jules Taylor, "Working People Theme Song” Updog – “Burned Out”

Earlier this month Working People hit a new milestone: We recorded our first live episode in front of an audience! Organized by the Action Builder / Action Network team and hosted by Busboys & Poets in Washington, DC, we got to speak with Michelle Valentin Nieves of the Amazon Labor Union and Harry Marino of the Major League Baseball Players Association about the incredible worker organizing victories for Amazon workers and minor league baseball players, and about lessons we have learned from an intense year of grassroots struggle that we will be carrying into 2023.  Michelle Valentin Nieves is the Executive Secretary and a founding member of the Amazon Labor Union. Harry Marino is an assistant general counsel at the Major League Baseball Players Association. He is formerly the Executive Director of Advocates for Minor Leaguers, the nonprofit organization that joined with the MLBPA to unionize Minor League players. Harry pitched in the Minor League systems of the Baltimore Orioles and Arizona Diamondbacks.  Since launching in 2012, Action Network tools have helped the Women’s March mobilize huge rallies across the globe, helped the DNC raise millions for candidates and organizations, and more. The Action Builder toolset, launched in 2019, helps dozens of unions and progressive organizations empower leaders and build strong organizing campaigns. Additional links/info below... Michelle's Twitter page Harry's Twitter page Amazon Labor Union website, Facebook page, and Twitter page Major League Baseball Players Association website, Facebook page, and Twitter page Action Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page Action Builder website  Advocates for Minor Leaguers website Working People, "Amazon Labor Union" Eric Blanc, Jacobin, "The Workers Behind Amazon’s Historic First Union Explain How They Did It (An Interview with Christian Smalls, Angelika Maldonado, & Michelle Valentin Nieves)" Evan Drellich, The Athletic, "‘Hit the Go Button’: The Six Years that Made Baseball’s Minor League Union" Tipping Pitches, "The Gang Forms a Union (feat. Trevor Hildenberger)" Permanent links below... Working People Patreon page Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org) Jules Taylor, "Working People Theme Song

The planet we share, the only home we’ve ever known, has its limits. Its resources, its ability to sustain all life, are not infinite—and every day we are bearing witness to the disastrous consequences of mortgaging our collective future on the false belief that they are. The path we are on now is untenable, something’s going to give. Whether it comes from us or for us, change is coming nonetheless. As an ecologically and civilizationally sustainable alternative to an unsustainable global system driven by the economic necessity of infinite growth, "degrowth" can mean many things and could take many practical forms. But “degrowth” is perhaps less useful as a prescribed solution, a blueprint for the future, than as a frame for thinking and acting differently in the present. “What does degrowth look like in practice? How are different people, in different parts of the world, already embodying and enacting degrowth in their daily lives?” These questions have no single answer, but posing the questions in the first place, and searching for the numerous potential answers, is an essential process that can help us better diagnose what is off balance in our world and what it would take to heal. For the past year, Max has had the honor of participating in a fellowship program for The Maintainers, "a global research network interested in the concepts of maintenance, infrastructure, repair, and the myriad forms of labor and expertise that sustain our human-built world." In Part II of our special two-part episode produced in collaboration with The Maintainers, we meet some of the other members of The Maintainers team as well as the 2022 Maintainers Movement Fellows, and we take a deep dive into their cornerstone group project, "Embodying Degrowth."  Featuring: Andy Russell, Co-Founder and Co-Director of The Maintainers; Lauren Dapena Fraiz, Project Manager for The Maintainers; Liliana Coelho, Community Outreach and Events Coordinator at The Maintainers; Rheanna Chen, 2022 Maintainers Movement Fellow; Tona Rodriguez-Nikl, 2022 Maintainers Movement Fellow; Sam Bennett, 2022 Maintainers Movement Fellow; Leila D. Behjat, 2022 Maintainers Movement Fellow; Maximillian Alvarez, 2022 Maintainers Movement Fellow.   Additional links/info below... The Maintainers website and Twitter page Dec. 15: Embodying Degrowth: An Event with The Maintainers Movement Fellows Working People, "What Could a Worker-Focused Just Transition Look Like? (w/ Megan Milliken Biven, James Hiatt, & Clarke)" The Maintainers: Andy Russell  The Maintainers: Lauren Dapena Fraiz  The Maintainers: Liliana Coehlo   The Maintainers: Rheanna Chen  The Maintainers: Tona Rodriguez-Nikl  The Maintainers: Sam Bennett  The Maintainers: Leila D. Behjat  The Maintainers: Maximillian Alvarez  Permanent links below... Working People Patreon page Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org) Jules Taylor, "Working People Theme Song

As humanity barrels towards climate catastrophe, the need to envision and build more ecologically sustainable societies and economies becomes more pressing with each passing day. However, our collective imagination is often so limited that it becomes impossible to envision societies and economies that aren't organized around the quest for profit and infinite growth. So, what could a "degrowth" economy look like? To some, "degrowth" is a dirty word signaling a future of austerity that would translate to tremendous losses in jobs and economic stability for working people as societies race to cut back economic production to ward off the worst effects of climate change. To others, “degrowth” might mean the reduction of operations in the most environmentally destructive industries like oil and gas while targeting job growth in other areas like building green infrastructure, environmental cleanup efforts, sustainable farming, and so on. But, as is so often the case, you rarely get to hear what working people on the ground have to say about these issues.  For the past year, Max has had the honor of participating in a fellowship program for The Maintainers, "a global research network interested in the concepts of maintenance, infrastructure, repair, and the myriad forms of labor and expertise that sustain our human-built world." Over the next two episodes, we're going to introduce you all to some of the work that Max and The Maintainers team have been doing for the fellowship. In today’s episode, you’re going to hear one of the interviews Max conducted as part of the cornerstone group project for the 2022 cohort of Maintainers Movement Fellows.  In a special panel discussion about what a worker-centered transition to a more ecologically sustainable economy could look like, Max speaks with: Megan Milliken Biven, a former federal government employee and founder of True Transition, an organization that focuses on speaking directly to oil and gas workers throughout the United States about their working conditions, their training and compensation needs, their hopes for tomorrow's industries, and is working to help create the kind of good-paying jobs and get workers the kind of training they need to transition to a sustainable energy future; James Hiatt, who was an oil refinery worker, lab analyst, and operator for a number of years and now works with the Louisiana Bucket Brigade to promote alternative forms of economic development in Louisiana beyond the grip of the fossil fuel industry; and Clarke, a longtime commercial diver who’s done contract work primarily for oil and gas companies in the Gulf of Mexico for over 15 years, but is now transitioning to other forms of commercial diving work. Additional links/info below... The Maintainers website and Twitter page Dec. 15: Embodying Degrowth: An Event with The Maintainers Movement Fellows  Megan's Twitter page James's Twitter page True Transition website  Louisiana Bucket Brigade website and Twitter page Defend Southwest Louisiana website  Maximillian Alvarez & Leo Lindner, The Real News Network, "I Survived the Rig Explosion that Caused the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. This Is What I Saw" Working People, "Clarke" Megan Milliken Biven, Current Affairs, "Dredging Up the Past" Matthew T. Huber, University of Minnesota Press, Lifeblood: Oil, Freedom, and the Forces of Capital  Darren Dochuk, Basic Books, Anointed with Oil: How Christianity and Crude Made Modern America  Permanent links below... Working People Patreon page Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org) Jules Taylor, "Working People Theme Song

After a 3-year saga of stalled contract negotiations between the country’s freight rail carriers and the 12 unions representing over 100,000 railroad workers, "pro-union" President Biden and Congress last week "averted" a national rail shutdown by overriding the democratic will of rail workers and forcing a contract down their throats. So, what happens now? We convene a special all-railroader panel to break down the events of the last week and to discuss where railroad workers and the labor movement go from here.  Panelists include: Jay, a qualified conductor who was licensed to operate locomotives at 19 years old, and who became a qualified train dispatcher before he was 23; Marilee Taylor, who worked on the railroads for over 30 years and retired earlier this year from her post as an engineer for BNSF Railway, but is still an active member of Railroad Workers United; John Tormey, a writer and BWMED-IBT member who works as a track laborer for the commuter rail in Massachusetts; and Matt Parker, a full-time locomotive engineer who’s worked on the railroads for 19 years and also serves part-time as Chairman on the Nevada State Legislative Board of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.  Additional links/info below... Railroad Workers United website, Facebook page, and Twitter page John's Twitter page Matt's Twitter page Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Emily Cochrane, The New York Times, "Biden Signs Legislation to Avert Nationwide Rail Strike" Maximillian Alvarez, Breaking Points, "EXCLUSIVE: Rail Worker SLAMS Biden's "Tyrannical" Move Blocking Strike" Citations Needed, "News Brief: Biden, Congressional Dems Partner with GOP, Media to Discipline Rail Labor" Bad Faith, "Joe Biden ABANDONS Rail Workers" Useful Idiots, "‘Union Joe’ Biden Sells Out Rail Workers" John Tormey, The Baffler, "Known Assailants"  Working People, "Jay"  Working People, "Countdown to Midnight (w/ Jay & Joe)" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "Wall Street is Holding the Supply Chain Hostage to Stop a Railroad Workers' Strike"  Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "Solidarity with Railroad Workers" Mel Buer, The Real News Network, "Corporate Billionaires Are Wrecking the Supply Chain. Just Look at the Railroads" Permanent links below... Working People Patreon page Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org) Jules Taylor, "Working People Theme Song

This time last year, 10,000 workers and UAW members at John Deere waged a massive strike that became a national news story. This year, workers at another industrial manufacturer are spending Thanksgiving carrying on a strike that has lasted for seven months, but has received significantly less national attention. As Mel Buer reports, "CNH Industrial, a multinational corporation, is an agricultural machinery and construction equipment manufacturer with 13 locations across the United States producing its Case and New Holland brands of equipment. Workers at the Burlington and Racine locations are unionized with the United Auto Workers (UAW)—UAW Local 807 and Local 180, respectively—and have been embroiled in contentious contract negotiations with the company since earlier this year. Their previous six-year contract with Case New Holland officially expired on April 30. After weeks of stalled negotiations failed to produce an acceptable contract, over 1,000 workers in Burlington and Racine walked off the job on May 2." As the holidays approach and the weather gets colder, we need to remember the brave workers holding the line and fighting for a better life for themselves and their families. In this mini-cast, we speak with Marcques Derby of UAW Local 807, who has worked at CNH Industrial for 11 years.  Additional links/info below... Marcques's Twitter page GoFundMe: Help The Striking UAW Local 807 CNH Workers  UAW Local 807 Christmas Gift Drive's Community Registry  Flyer for Solidarity Day for UAW 180 (Racine, WI) Mel Buer, The Real News Network, "Case New Holland Workers’ Strike Enters Fifth Month as Negotiations Stall" The Rick Smith Show, "The Working-Class Heroes Tour: CNH Industrial Strike - Racine, WI - 10/31/22" Permanent links below... Working People Patreon page Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org) Jules Taylor, "Working People Theme Song

Last month, the world watched with bated breath as Brazilians voted in two rounds of high-stakes elections that pitted far-right president Jair Bolsonaro against former president, leftist hero, and leader of the Workers Party Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. After being elected president in 2018, Bolsonaro and his far-right movement have unleashed a darkness upon Brazil that has had wide-ranging implications for the country, the hemisphere, and the world. From burning the Amazon and overseeing a disastrous response to the COVID pandemic to stoking fascistic violence, conspiracy theories, and a fervor for religious war among his supporters, Bolsonaro and Bolsonarism have been a political wrecking ball slamming against a world already teetering on the edge of disaster. And that is why so many around Brazil and around the world celebrated when Lula defeated Bolsonaro at the end of October.  What role did workers and working-class voters play in this critical election? What does Lula’s victory mean for working people and for the labor movement in Brazil? How have the lives of working-class people, and the shape of working-class politics, changed in Brazil in recent years and decades? And what can we all do to build international solidarity with our fellow workers in Brazil and beyond? We talk about all of this and more with Fabio Bosco, a retired subway operator in São Paulo, a trade unionist, and an organizer with the labor federation CSP-CONLUTAS.  Additional links/info below... CSP-Conlutas website, Facebook page, and Twitter page Michael Fox, The Real News Network/NACLA, Brazil on Fire podcast series  Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "Indigenous-Led Alliance Moves to Stop Bolsonaro's 'Ecocidal' Destruction of the Amazon" Michael Fox, In These Times, "Brazil’s Labor Unions Prepare for War with Far-Right President Jair Bolsanaro" Robert Maisey, Trades Union Congress, "Bolsonaro Is Waging War on Labour Rights in Brazil" Permanent links below... Working People Patreon page Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org) Jules Taylor, "Working People Theme Song

Call center workers employed by Maximus went on strike at four locations—in Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Virginia—this Tuesday, November 1. Maximus is a federal contractor, and during the open enrollment period workers there handle a non-stop stream of high-stakes calls from people trying to navigate the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and Medicaid systems, but they have been pushed to their limit. As stated in a Twitter thread posted by Call Center Workers United, "We’ve been saying for years: during ACA open enrollment, we’re dealing with constant back-to-back calls. Some frustrated callers become abusive and subject us to racist and sexist slurs. We’re paid wages so low it’s nearly impossible to support a family. We’ve had enough. We’re striking for THREE SIMPLE DEMANDS: 1) $25/hr starting wage, 2) Time to breathe between calls, 3) Meaningful protection from abusive callers." In this urgent mini-cast, we talk to Tiffany Murray, a worker at the Maximus call center in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, about the conditions that have pushed her and her coworkers to hit the picket line, and about what others around the country can do to help.  Additional links/info below... Call Center Workers United Twitter page Support the Call Center Workers Solidarity Fund  Mary Yang, NPR, "Call Center Workers Strike over Pay and Working Conditions" Permanent links below... Working People Patreon page Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org) Jules Taylor, "Working People Theme Song