Labor Force Podcast

Working people are struggling to afford groceries, housing, healthcare, and basic necessities while billionaires and corporations continue accumulating extraordinary wealth. Sound familiar? Charles Dickens explored this kind of class inequality in A Tale of Two Cities. More than 150 years later, the parallels are difficult to ignore. In this episode, we examine the economic frustration behind the...

AI and robotics are transforming the workplace, but who's benefiting from the revolution? From Microsoft's workforce reductions and Amazon's expanding army of robots, to automation entering grocery stores, and Elon Musk's vision of a future without traditional jobs, the future of work is changing rapidly. In this episode, we examine how AI threatens jobs, changes working conditions, and allows cor...

The 2026 midterms delivered a massive political blow to Donald Trump and the Republican Party. But what does this election mean for working people? On this episode, we break down the Democratic blue wave, the growing power of democratic socialism, and the economic anger driving voters away from Trump. From the cost-of-living crisis and political corruption to Zohran Mamdani's working-class message...

In this episode, we honor labor legend Dolores Huerta, expose exploitation throughout the food industry, examine California's historic SEIU Local 1000 strike, and celebrate the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders winning union recognition. Then we turn to the struggle: the VA's attack on federal workers' union contracts and labor battles in Northwest Indiana. As corporations automate and the government un...

Big Oil is raking in profits while working Americans struggle with soaring gas prices, inflation, and the rising cost of living. On this episode, we examine Trump's oil investments during the Iran war, why fuel prices could remain painfully high, falling consumer confidence, growing economic inequality, and the political fallout from broken affordability promises. We'll also examine why budgeting...

The U.S. job market is sending warning signs. Black unemployment is rising, a Princeton Ph. D. has applied for more than 2,300 jobs, AI is rejecting applicants without human interaction, and millions of skilled-trades jobs are expected to open in the coming years. So why are so many workers struggling to find employment? On this episode, we examine the growing disconnect between economic headlines...

Trump promised lower prices. Instead, working Americans are facing rising inflation, unaffordable necessities, and mounting household debt. New reports reveal millions struggling to afford food, housing, healthcare, and transportation while more households fall behind on credit cards, car loans, and mortgages. On this episode, we examine the growing affordability crisis, JD Vance’s defense of the...

AI is reshaping the workplace, threatening jobs, expanding worker surveillance, and raising new questions about inequality. On this episode, we examine how automation could affect millions of jobs, why employers are monitoring remote workers, how AI can reproduce gender bias, and why tech workers are increasingly turning toward unions. Subscribe to the Labor Force Podcast for working-class perspec...

Workers are fighting back—and winning. From historic union contracts and nurses recovering stolen wages to faculty wage increases and Amazon delivery drivers organizing for direct employment, this episode examines the growing fight for worker power. Then we look at the struggles: Maine nurses fighting to protect their union, 465 Orange County workers threatening to strike (and now on strike), tech...

The economy has a public relations problem—or is capitalism failing working people? From rising living costs and declining consumer confidence to Trump’s economic claims, the risks of the AI investment boom, and warnings of another financial crisis, we examine why the economy looks strong on paper but feels increasingly difficult for ordinary Americans. We also explore how inflation deepens inequa...

The U.S. job market is getting harder for workers. Weak job growth, rising unemployment, brutal job searches, AI-driven hiring, and “entry-level” jobs demanding years of experience are exposing an economy increasingly built around employers — not workers. The problem isn't that Americans don't want to work. It's that employers want workers who are already trained, experienced, productive — and che...

Workers are fighting back—and they’re proving that solidarity still matters. AutoZone workers make history by unionizing with the UAW. Teamsters refuse to cross a Coca-Cola picket line. Starbucks continues battling its unionized workers in court and at the bargaining table. Meanwhile, nurses are warning that chronic understaffing and AI-driven scheduling are putting both workers and patients at ri...

The economy may look fine on paper — but for millions of working people, it doesn’t feel that way. Consumer confidence is falling as Americans struggle with high prices, expensive gas, housing costs and economic insecurity. Meanwhile, wealth continues to pile up in the financial and digital economy. This segment examines oil prices, economic instability, debt, and rising food-pantry use in New Yor...

AI isn't just threatening jobs — it's changing who gets the chance to build a career in the first place. Across the economy, entry-level hiring is weakening as companies use AI to perform the "grunt work" traditionally assigned to young workers. Computer science graduates are struggling to find jobs, Toyota is investing in hundreds of thousands of factory robots, and Amazon is expanding the use of...

Labor is pushing back into American politics—but is electoral politics enough to rebuild working-class power? With more union candidates running for Congress, deeper labor organizing taking shape, and the fight to organize Amazon continuing, this segment asks a bigger question: Can workers turn political energy into lasting collective power? #LaborForcePodcast #Labor #Unions #WorkerPower #WorkingC...

Mortgage rates are back above 7%. Rent is becoming unaffordable even for middle-income families. Poverty among older Americans is rising. Consumer spending is slowing. And in New York, billions of dollars in federal funding for healthcare and SNAP are at risk. Meanwhile, we're still being told that the economy is entering a “golden age.” This is the contradiction at the heart of American capitalis...

Diesel prices are hitting record highs — and workers are paying the price. In this segment, we look at how rising diesel costs are driving up food prices, transportation costs, heating bills and inflation, while farmers, truckers and small businesses get squeezed. We also examine the Federal Reserve, interest rates, supply-chain disruptions and the declining labor share of income — and why workers...

The labor market is full of contradictions. Employers say they can't find enough workers, yet millions of people are struggling to find jobs. Young workers without college degrees are finding opportunities in some industries while traditional white-collar career paths are becoming less secure. AI is beginning to reshape wages and work, older workers face age barriers, and more Americans are wonder...

Workers are organizing across the economy — from Amazon delivery drivers and Michigan factory workers to Maine nurses, museum employees in Rochester, and UPS Teamsters. But everywhere workers try to build collective power, employers are fighting back. This segment looks at what these organizing fights have in common. From the Bradford White strike to the organizing campaign at the George Eastman M...

Inflation may be slowing, but that doesn’t mean prices are going back down. In this segment, we look at what years of inflation have actually done to the cost of living—and why workers are still feeling the squeeze.  We break down the latest inflation and producer-price data, record diesel prices, rising heating costs, and the continuing affordability crisis. The question isn’t simply whether infl...

AI is transforming the workplace—but who gets the benefits? In this segment, we look at the push for a 32-hour workweek, the growing fight over AI in the workplace, and how unions are demanding a voice in how new technology is deployed.  We also examine the Democratic Socialists of America’s “Workers Deserve More” program and the bigger question behind it: how do working people actually win shorte...

The economy may look strong on the surface, but underneath are growing warning signs: $40 trillion in government debt, rising borrowing costs, massive AI investment, and financial instability. Who actually pays when the system breaks? Workers don't get bailouts—they get higher bills, lost jobs, and more debt. This is the economy beneath the headlines.  #LaborForcePodcast #Economy #Workers #Debt #C...

The economy is growing, productivity is rising, and corporate profits are flowing—but workers are receiving a smaller share of the wealth they create. This segment examines the rise of the “disposable workforce,” declining worker bargaining power, and the growing disconnect between productivity, wages, and economic security. We also look at AI and automation, the future of unions and collective ba...

Happy Labor Day 🎙️✊ For one day each year, America celebrates “the American worker.” But what happens when those workers decide they want something more than a cookout? This Labor Day, the numbers tell a fascinating story: Americans overwhelmingly support labor unions—and tens of millions of nonunion workers say they would join one if they could. In this special Labor Day episode, we look at the...

The August jobs report looks pretty damn good, so why does the American labor market still feel so broken? In this segment, we dig beneath the headline numbers and look at the contradictions defining work in 2026. The economy can add jobs while workers remain financially squeezed. Employers can complain about labor shortages while millions of people struggle to get hired. And technology can suppos...