Work Stoppage

One of the biggest labor stories of 2023 has been the historic Stand Up Strike by the UAW, with the union taking on all of the Big 3 US automakers at the same time for the first time ever. After six weeks on strike, with nearly 50,000 autoworkers on the picket lines, this week the union reached agreements with all three companies. These agreements, though they remain tentative until the rank and f...

Support Starbucks Workers: https://starbucksworkersunited.controlshift.app/calendars/red-cup-rebellion We're back with another week of labor struggle. We start with a brief discussion of the incredibly racist labor policies of the British Navy. Next we discuss the supposedly amazing work conditions at Nintendo of America which CEO Doug Bowser claims are so good employees don't want a union. Two mo...

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month. We're back to our regular bonus schedule this week with another episode on labor cinema. This week we have two historical dramas from the 1970s, Joe Hill and The Molly Maguires. First we discuss the 1971 Swedish biopic of the legendary IWW organizer and songwriter. Joe Hill foll...

This week we have to start with some difficult news. While we do talk about Starbucks Workers United's statement in support of Palestinian liberation it is in response to Starbucks' attack on the workers for their stance. We also talk about Israel revoking work permits to people who live in Gaza and the abuses that they perpetrate on the Palestinian people while they are made literally illegal whi...

This week we felt it was important to discuss the ongoing attacks against Palestine and how the US labor movement can stand up against complicity with ethnic cleansing. We discuss unions who have already spoken out against the war crimes our government is supporting, and what workers in Palestine have asked workers around the world to do to support them.  We also discuss why it is important for pe...

We are forced by recent events to start this week's episode with a call for all the forces of labor to stand in solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine. The fight against apartheid and colonialism is a crucial part of the class struggle and workers in the Imperial Core, especially the US, have a particular responsibility to resist the complicity of our government. Getting into the labor...

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month. We've talked about some of the more well known general strikes in US history: the interwar strikes in Seattle, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Toledo. But even before them, in the 19th century, there was one general strike that predated them all. In New Orleans in 1892, tens of...

We start this week's episode celebrating the power move by Drew Barrymore's writing staff turning down an offer to return after being stabbed in the back during the strike. Next we discuss VFX workers at Disney voting unanimous to join IATSE. One of our biggest stories this week is the largest healthcare strike in US history, as 75,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente struck for 3 days in 5 states. We...

Strike Support Toolkit: https://uaw.org/standwithus/dealershipcanvass/  Another huge week in labor as the militancy of workers has become contagious across the country. We start out discussing the move to shutter Moog Music in North Carolina following a union drive. Then, we cover the new anti-trust complaint filed against Amazon by the FTC. Also this week, Gavin Newsom vetoed a very popular bill...

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month. After wrapping up our series on the history of allegations of mafia involvement in the International Longshoremen's Association, we'd be remiss not to discuss likely the single biggest cultural touchstone related to the issue, the film On The Waterfront. Elia Kazan's 1954 crime...

UAW Strike Support FAQ: https://labornotes.org/2023/09/when-auto-workers-stand-heres-how-stand-them Lina is away this week, so we're joined by longtime friend of the show Ethan to help us discuss all the week's big labor news. The strike by UAW workers at the Big 3 has seized the public consciousness in its first week as workers around the country have been inspired by the thousands of auto worker...

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month. Episode 7 - Where Do We Go From Here? Wrapping up our series on the history of allegations of mafia involvement with the ILA, we reach the 21st century. Today, the workforce on the docks is a shadow of earlier years. Decimated by automation, the union continued to be hounded by...

UAW Strike Support FAQ: https://labornotes.org/2023/09/when-auto-workers-stand-heres-how-stand-them It's a monumental week for labor, but before we can get to the strike everyone is excited about, we've got a ton of stories to cover. First we discuss Starbucks Workers United's latest day of action. Next we discuss the successful union elections by VFX workers at Marvel and writers at MTV's Ridicul...

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month. Episode 6 - Things Fall Apart Following the deal to allow unrestricted automation of longshore work in exchange for higher salaries and benefits, the ILA entered a period of a long decline. As containerization ate away at the number of jobs on the docks, the union was also encir...

It's deadline time for the negotiations between the Big 3 automakers and the UAW this week, our main story breaks down where things stand, what the companies have offered, and debunks some of the common anti-worker arguments rolled out against the UAW's demands. But before all that, we follow up with Grindr, where half of the company's staff have been forced out in retaliation for organizing. At R...

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month. Episode 5 - Automation and Attrition Emerging from the 1950s having survived government crackdowns, receivership, and attempted raids by the AFL, the ILA was immediately confronted with a new existential threat: automation. The introduction of containerized cargo posed a greater...

Happy Labor Day to all our listeners! We kick off this week's show discussing the end of strikes at Wabtec and Leinenkugel, where workers have ratified new contracts after hard fought battles. We also have an update on the negotations between the UAW and the Big 3 automakers with less than 2 weeks until a potential strike. New Jersey Transit engineers voted unanimously to authorize a strike, but a...

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month. Episode 4 - 1953 Following World War 2, longshoremen in the Port of New York refused to accept the traditional company friendly deals that ILA President Joe Ryan arranged during the war. A wildcat strike movement shook the ILA, and alongside an investigation into his corruption,...

We start this week following up on several major stories, first and foremost the ratification of the hard fought new contract at UPS. We also discuss the victory of grad student workers at the University of Michigan after a nearly five month struggle. There was major news out of the NLRB this week, we break down the Cemex decision and what the new restrictions on election union busting could mean...

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month. Episode 3 - Operation Underworld Joe Ryan's two and a half decades of leadership of the International Longshoremen's Association could be most charitably described as "stable." His focus on labor peace at nearly any cost and his cozy relationship with the shipping companies, gan...

REI Pledge: www.ourrei.com/pledge As with any week in the labor movement, this week we've got a mixture of good news and less good news. We start on the happier end, with students at Cornell forcing Starbucks off campus after its retaliation against workers. The first massage studio in Florida has unionized, following success by the UFCW in Colorado. Workers at Jacksonville State University are fo...

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month. Episode 2 - Shape Up or Ship Out To start our examination of the history of the International Longshoremen's Association, we go back to the birth of labor organizing on the docks in the late 19th century. We discuss the awful labor conditions faced by workers, forced to beg, ple...

After saluting the continued organizing prowess of the workers of Hadley, MA, we start this week's show discussing the NLRB shooting down eBay's appeal of the union victory at TCGPlayer. Next we check in on strikes at Wabtec and the University of Michigan, both of which have seen management escalate attacks on workers. Google is back for a second week in a row, this time for firing most of the Goo...

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month. Episode 1 - Communism vs. Corruption One of the peculiarities of the US labor movement is the existence of two different unions for longshore workers, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) on the West Coast, and the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA)...

Burgerville Workers Support Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/defend-burgerville-workers-from-retaliation-fund  We start this week's episode with a couple stories about Grindr and Google weaponizing Return to the Office policies against their workers who have been working remotely. We also follow up with the TCGPlayer union, as eBay has refused to recognize their election win. Workers at Burgervill...