2462 - Tesla Takedown Protests; Whole Foods Union Fight w/ Mase Veney, Joel Lava

It's Wednesday! Sam welcomes Joel Lava from Tesla Takedown and Mase Veney, an organizer from the Philly Whole Foods Union. First, Sam runs through updates on the Trump Administration’s Signal scandal over their accidental leaking of war plans, the Supreme Court’s affirmation of Biden’s ghost gun regulations, Pennsylvania’s special election, the HHS’s anti-vaxxer-headed study on autism, trickling details about the legal status of certain Venezuelans renditioned to El Salvador, Trump/Musk’s plan to lay off thousands from the Treasury, the Senate GOP’s budget, JD Vance’s visit to Greenland, SpaceX’s secret Chinese backers, and Trump’s nomination for Social Security head, before diving into some of the biggest updates to the Trump team’s Signal scandal with the full release of messages after Tusli Gabbard’s claim that there was “no classified” information in the chat. Joel Lava then joins, diving right into the idea behind the wildly successful “Tesla Takedown” protests in attempting to undercut the overwhelming political power by hitting at its root: his massive wealth tied up in Tesla stocks. After expanding on the greater anti-Trump roots of this, Lava and Sam unpack the protests' goals and how far the stock would have to fall to really screw over Elon’s business ventures, wrapping up with how you can join a protest near you – or even start your own! Mase Veney then dives into his personal history working at Whole Foods in Philadelphia, the initial bonding between coworkers over their shared experiences of mistreatment and the company’s exploitation of the power imbalance, and the rapid evolution of the organizing process once he and his coworkers realized the overwhelming support the idea of unionization already had, quickly moving to work with United Food & Commercial Workers International to capitalize on their institutional knowledge of organizing within the grocery industry. After expanding on the important role UFCW played in helping them win the union vote with a strong majority, Veney and Sam shift into the Trump era, as they unpack how the company’s refusal to recognize the union is bolstered by a neutered NLRB and a hostile Trump Administration, before wrapping up the interview by emphasizing the continuing campaign to keep the all coworkers invested in the fight, and how those of us outside can support the effort!

And in the Fun Half: Sam watches MIke Walz try to sidestep questions about his Signal scandal from an incredulous Laura Ingraham, Senator Elizabeth Warren evicerates Trump’s Social Security nominee and their relationship to DOGE, and Donald Trump shouts out the real one Chuck Schumer. Lis from California shares his perspective as a DACA recipient, and Kowalski from Nebraska unpacks Trump's terrible tariffs. Sam also watches Tim Pool and Co. go insane at the morally consistent belief in due process for all, and jumps off some criticism from the Pod Save guys as he espouses the need to unite pro-democracy and economic populist messaging. Tammy from Montreal explores a major win for Canada’s indigenous communities, Nathan from Illinois talks organized religion and authoritarianism, and the MR Team dissects early results out of PA’s special election, plus, your calls and IMs!

AFL-CIO article about the Philly Whole Foods Union https://aflcio.org/2025/1/29/service-solidarity-spotlight-whole-foods-workers-make-history-union-election

Philly Workers on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phillywholefoodsworkers

Telsa Takedown on Channel 5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzU1Aar_Ifw

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