Work Stoppage

Every week’s a busy week in the world of Labor, and this one’s no different.  First we follow up with Starbucks Workers’ United (@SBWorkersUnited) and their quest for recognition of their union, as Starbucks management has pulled out all the stops to fight them.  Then we cover several Amazon related stories, from California passing a bill to regulate algorithmic work quotas, to the company’s fake...

The regular gang is back together this week and we start out discussing the cruel irony of the government allowing unemployment benefits to run out for millions of workers on Labor Day. Also this week, major hotel chains like Marriott and Hilton are using the crisis of the pandemic to consolidate their market position and attacked unionized workforces. We also cover the harsh conditions faced by t...

Our rotating cast continues this week as Lina is back but John is out and we have our first recurring guest, Ethan from Invent the Future and Red Game Table, back on the show. We start out covering the NLRB dismissing complaints from striking Warrior Met coal miners about vehicles striking their picket lines for “lack of evidence” despite numerous videos. Then, we cover a couple international stor...

It’s just John and Dan as Lina is off this week, and we start with a dire warning to never trust a man in a cravat after Nathan J Robinson responded to the staff of Current Affairs’ desire to form a co-op by firing everyone. Then, after a brief check-in with the Teamsters in Indiana who have reached an agreement with Pepsi to end their strike, we hit some of the big news this week as a judge in Ca...

On this week’s episode of Work Stoppage we start by checking in on the Teamsters strike at a Pepsi plant in Indiana, where workers have gotten a surprising show of support from the local government of the nearby town of Hammond.  Then we take a look at how a Wisconsin healthcare company is giving bonuses only to non-union workers, and discuss a new app called Unit which claims it can help workers...

If you’re not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month. On the third and final part of our series on the nature of the state, we examine the work of two theorists of the modern capitalist state, Antonio Gramsci and Louis Althusser.  Starting with Gramsci’s understanding of the concept of hegemony, we look at the arms of the state tha...

On the second part of our Overtime series on The Nature of the State, John brings us through some of the core aspects of the Anarchist theory of the state.  Taking a look at the analysis of Kropotkin and Malatesta, we examine how the early Anarchist conception of the state is similar to the Marxist definition, and also where it differs.  With a bit of a looser structure than the first episode of t...

This week’s episode starts by following up with the striking UMWA workers at the Warrior Met coal mine in Alabama who have recently picketed in NYC in front of Blackrock and also held a large solidarity rally drawing union workers from across the country.  We also cover the declaration of one NLRB official that Amazon made a fair election in Bessemer “impossible” and therefore the election should...

We’re back to the regular news format this week and it’s a heavy one. First we follow up with the Frito-Lay workers, who have won some concessions from the company after being on strike for almost 3 weeks. Then we cover a major truck drivers’ strike across Puerto Rico that has resulted in a confrontation between the local government and the colonial “oversight board” installed by the US. We also d...

On this week’s episode of Work Stoppage we were lucky enough to be joined by a guest, Ida Nikou, a PhD student studying labor relations in Iran to discuss the recent strikes among temporary and contract workers in Iran’s oil industry. We learn some of the background on the situation for workers in Iran across various industries, what kinds of unions exist, what level of labor rights (or lack there...

If you’re not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month. On this Overtime episode, the first in a series, John, Lina, and Dan take some time to dig into the fundamentals behind our understandings of the nature of the state: what it is, its historical development, how it functions, and how it can be changed. During this first part of o...

After a bit of a detour talking about Cuba, this week’s episode starts with a follow up on the striking SEIU Local 73 Cook County workers who have ended their strike after securing several key victories.  Then we take a look at the surge in support for rank and file democracy at the latest Teamsters convention and the prospects for a major win for the Teamsters for a Democratic Union slate.  We di...

Dan is back from vacation and this week’s episode starts with a follow up on the striking Cook County Health workers and nurses, where the nurses won major concessions from the county but the other healthcare workers remain on strike. Next we cover some of the evolving tactics the UMWA workers have been using during their ongoing strike at Warrior Met coal, as well as recent revelations that Amazo...

On last week’s episode we discussed the recent strike by workers organizing with Doughnut Workers United at Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland during the recent heat wave. This week we were lucky enough to be able to interview one of the workers illegally fired in retaliation for that strike. We discuss the general conditions at Voodoo Doughnuts, the tactics used by management to combat the union drive,...

This week we are joined by @laborkyle as a guest! We start with a follow-up from the Colorado Labor Board on how employers aren't allowed to just put "not hiring in Colorado" on their listings to avoid labor law. We then cover the retaliatory firing of workers for a workplace safety strike at Voodoo Doughnuts, ways in which Trader Joe's is attacking worker rights again, and how Amazon's work condi...

This week’s episode starts with a follow up on the Cedar Point Nursery Supreme Court case we covered in our interview with Sam Knight, where the Court has now made it functionally illegal to do workplace organizing of agricultural workers in California.  Then we cover 2700 Chicago area nurses and other hospital staff going on strike for better wages and to stop plans to double their healthcare cos...

On this week’s episode of Work Stoppage we start out following up on the BlockTheBoat campaign, which has faced police violence after moving up the west coast to Seattle.  Then we discuss the recent Supreme Court ruling defending Nestlé and Cargill’s use of child slavery in Africa, and workers at the AFL-CIO’s offices filing a labor complaint against the Federation for its plan to force them back...

We have a special interview episode this week as we are joined by two former employees of "No Evil" Foods, who tell us what it was like to face a fierce union busting campaign from a company supposedly founded on progressive values.  The anti-union campaign waged by Evil Foods against its employees, followed by the firing of the entire production staff, is one of the starkest recent reminders than...

We open this week’s episode with a follow up on the Warrior Met coal miners’ strike, where striking workers have faced repeated car attacks while picketing. We also catch up on the striking ATI steelworkers, who are pushing back on company attacks on their healthcare.  Then we cover the Biden Administration’s recent betrayal of a campaign promise to extend OSHA protections to cover covid, and a fi...

If you’re not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month. On this Overtime episode, Dan examines the long, sordid history of collaboration between the leadership of the AFL-CIO and the CIA. Working to enforce the interests of US Empire and the ruling class that controls it, the leadership of the AFL-CIO used the specter of “communist d...

This week we start out checking in on the striking Volvo Truck workers in Virginia, who have rejected a corporate-friendly tentative agreement for the second time. We then cover the demise of New York’s proposed bill to create toothless state unions for gig workers after strong opposition from Los Deliveristas Unidos and other unions.  Next, we discuss the success of the AROC/ILWU #BlocktheBoat ca...

We start this week’s episode with workers from the ILWU refusing to allow an Israeli-operated ship to dock in Oakland in solidarity with labor unions in Palestine.  Then we discuss massive demonstrations across Brazil led by trade unions calling for an end to the fascist Bolsonaro regime, and a series of sit down strikes in Indian auto plants protesting unsafe working conditions during the current...

This week’s episode is a heavy one as we cover some of the harshest consequences of the pandemic faced by workers. We start on a happy note, following up on nursing home workers winning their demands and avoiding a strike in Connecticut after the governor had threatened to use the National Guard as scabs. We then move to New York for two stories on gig workers, one covering draft legislation which...

John is back and this week’s episode starts with an update on the status of the ongoing uprising in Colombia, followed by a general strike in occupied Palestine and workers actions around the world standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people.  We follow up with striking workers at a Virginia Volvo Truck plant who overwhelmingly voted to reject a proposed business friendly contract, cover a...

If you’re not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting www.patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month. On this solo episode, Dan reads several sections from Detroit: I Do Mind Dying, a history of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers, and discusses what we can learn from a criminally under-analyzed movement. The League represented an advanced attempt to unify the class st...