Working People
Working People: A podcast by, for, and about the working class today (now in partnership with In These Times magazine and The Real News Network). Working People is a podcast about working-class lives in 21st-century America. In every episode, you'll hear interviews with workers from around the country, from all walks of life. We'll talk about their life stories, their jobs, politics, and families, their joys and hopes and frustrations. Overall, Working People aims to share and celebrate the diverse stories of working-class people, to remind ourselves that our stories matter, and to build a sense of shared struggle and solidarity between workers around the country.
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Why the stories working people tell ourselves about ourselves matter (Wheeling, WV Labor Symposium Speech)
09/09/2026
Why the stories working people tell ourselves about ourselves matter (Wheeling, WV Labor Symposium Speech)
Over the 2026 Labor Day weekend, Working People host and TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez spoke at the in Wheeling, West Virginia, organized by the . The theme of this year’s Symposium was “The Art of Labor,” and other speakers included: , textile artist and tapestry maker; , printmaker and shadow puppeteer; and , a multidisciplinary artist and the Creative Director for the . In this episode of Working People, we share the audio recording of Alvarez’s speech, “Why the Stories Working People Tell Ourselves About Ourselves Matter.” . Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Can anyone “make it” in today’s music industry?
09/02/2026
Can anyone “make it” in today’s music industry?
The 20th-century days of vinyl records, tape decks, CDs, Tower Records, and MTV have given way to our 21st-century age of MP3s and music streaming, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, TikTok, and Ticketmaster. While certain people and certain companies in the music industry are making more money than ever, working musicians are finding it increasingly impossible to pay the bills and make a living from their art. In this episode of Working People, we speak with all four members of veteran Chicago rock band The Empty Pockets about the work that goes into being a professional musician, and the realities of working and trying to make a living in the music industry today. Additional links/info: The Empty Pockets , , , , and Josh Solomon, Hypebot, “” Jules Taylor Music , , , , and Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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“Katrina 2.0”: Residents of Gary, Indiana fight to survive without power for 12 days (and counting)
08/24/2026
“Katrina 2.0”: Residents of Gary, Indiana fight to survive without power for 12 days (and counting)
After a deadly “derecho” storm and flash floods slammed the midwest in early August, downing trees and power lines, tens of thousands of residents in and around Gary, Indiana have been surviving without power for 12 days and counting. According to the Associated Press, “Northern Indiana Public Service Co. said 68,000 customers were still without power as of Thursday morning, the majority of them in Lake County beside the Illinois border. The utility said it has restored power to 306,500 others since Aug. 11. But power is not expected to be fully restored until Tuesday [Aug. 25] in some places, including Gary.” In this urgent episode of Working People, we speak with a panel of residents and community leaders about the ongoing blackout in Gary and the conditions that led to this avoidable national tragedy. Panelists include: GlenEva Dunham, president of the Gary Teachers Union, AFT Local 4; Freida Graves, Project Director at the faith-based nonprofit Families Anchored in Total Harmony (FAITH) CDC; and Reverend John Jackson, Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ. Additional links/info: FAITH CDC and Gary Advocates for Responsible Development (GARD) Tilly Robinson, Indianapolis Star, “” Javonte Anderson, Capital B Gary, “” Belly of the Beast, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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No such thing as ‘unskilled work’: Barbara Ehrenreich’s ‘Nickel and Dimed’ 25 years later
08/19/2026
No such thing as ‘unskilled work’: Barbara Ehrenreich’s ‘Nickel and Dimed’ 25 years later
In her 2001 masterwork Nickel and Dimed, the late Barbara Ehrenreich went undercover to report on the daily realities working people in America face trying to get by on minimum-wage. After working as a housekeeper, a nursing aide, a home cleaner, a server, and more, Ehrenreich wrote that “The first thing I discovered is that no job, no matter how lowly, is truly ‘unskilled.’” It is difficult to overstate the impact that Ehrenreich’s book and body of work have had on US culture and working-class politics over the last 25 years, and the enduring relevance of her work today. In this special episode of Working People, we commemorate the anniversary of Nickel and Dimed and celebrate the life and legacy of Ehrenreich by speaking with a panel of guests who are carrying on that legacy today. Panelists include: , coauthor of three books with Barbara Ehrenreich, former editor in chief of , and a former director of the Magazine Center at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley; , editorial director of the Economic Hardship Reporting Project and author of seven books, most recently ; and , author of and a fellow with the Economic Hardship Reporting Project. Additional links/info: Barbara Ehrenreich, Metropolitan Books, Alissa Quart, Deirdre English, Ai-jen Poo, Ann Larson, & Bill Fletcher, The Nation, “” Economic Hardship Reporting Project , , and Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Layoffs, long waits, obscene prices: Vermont healthcare workers and patients face historic crisis
08/13/2026
Layoffs, long waits, obscene prices: Vermont healthcare workers and patients face historic crisis
Frontline healthcare workers and the patients they serve are facing a major crisis at the University of Vermont Health network—the state’s leading healthcare provider. “In June, UVM Health eliminated over 140 positions across its network, a third of which were union positions,” Matt More reports at The Rake Vermont. “The cuts, which the hospital estimated will save $9.5 million, comes as the network faces a $300 million budget shortfall… Later that month, UVM Health handed down a speed-up order to its Medical Group, which includes outpatient clinics and more than 1,000 physicians, which practitioners say will result in briefer appointments with patients.” How did Vermont’s flagship health network end up in this crisis? How is it affecting healthcare workers and their patients? And what can be done to fix it? In this episode of Working People, we speak with Melissa Lavallee, secretary of UVMMC Support Staff United and VP of healthcare for AFT-Vermont; and Teagan Cook, lead outpatient chemotherapy scheduler at her hospital and a chief steward in UVMMC Support Staff United. Additional links/info: UVMMC Support Staff United , , and AFT-Vermont , , and Matt Moore, The Rake Vermont, “” Town Meeting TV, “” Olivia Gieger, VT Digger, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Oil giant BP locks out workers at its last unionized refinery in US
08/10/2026
Oil giant BP locks out workers at its last unionized refinery in US
For the last five months, oil giant British Petroleum (BP) has locked 800 workers out of their jobs at a crude oil refinery in Whiting, Indiana. The facility, located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, is BP’s last unionized oil refinery in the United States. BP says it is pursuing “modernized job structures, training, and upskilling,” but workers and their union—United Steelworkers Local 7-1—say that the company has not bargained in good faith, that its contract proposals pose blatant existential threats to workers’ jobs, pay, and collective bargaining rights, and that the company is illegally trying to crush the union out of existence with the lockout. In this episode of Working People, we speak with three locked out workers at the BP oil refinery in Whiting: Eric Schultz, president of USW Local 7-1; Leno Miller, assistant griever for USW Local 7-1; Tim Powell, a 19-year member of USW Local 7-1, and a volunteer for the lockout assistance committee. Additional links/info: USW Local 7-1 and Sarah Lazare, Workday Magazine / The American Prospect, “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Railroad jobs have “gotten worse” since Biden and Congress blocked workers from striking
08/05/2026
Railroad jobs have “gotten worse” since Biden and Congress blocked workers from striking
In 2022, the United States nearly experienced its first national railroad strike in decades, until then-President Joe Biden, along with Democrats and Republicans in Congress, stepped in to block a strike before it could begin. Rail labor unions were forced to accept contracts that did not substantively address long-brewing crises in the freight rail industry that have had disastrous consequences for frontline workers, trackside communities like East Palestine, Ohio, the passenger rail system, and the US supply chain writ large. In this episode of Working People, we speak with returning guest “Jay,” a veteran train dispatcher who’s been in the industry for 22 years, about what has changed—and what hasn’t—for rank-and-file railroad workers on the job over the last four years. Additional links/info: Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Mike L, TRNN, “” Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Corporate profiteers destroyed journalism. Worker-owned media can save it.
07/30/2026
Corporate profiteers destroyed journalism. Worker-owned media can save it.
When workers at the historic Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newspaper hit the picket line in October of 2022, they had no idea that they would be on strike for over three years—or that the strike would end with new owners taking over the paper and most strikers losing their jobs. But now, a new chapter is being written in their epic story. This week, workers and community supporters launched the Pittsburgh Progress, “a cooperative news organization, owned and democratically run by its workers and members… dedicated to looking out for, and telling the stories of, the working-class people who form the heart and soul of our diverse communities.” In this episode of Working People, we discuss the birth of the Pittsburgh Progress, and what it means for working people in and beyond Pittsburgh, with Steve Mellon and Natalie Duleba, both former strikers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and both founding worker-members of the newly launched Pittsburgh Progress. Additional links/info: Pittsburgh Progress , , , and Steve Mellon, Pittsburgh Progress, “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Data centers are not a “red state” or “blue state” problem; they’re a working-class problem
07/15/2026
Data centers are not a “red state” or “blue state” problem; they’re a working-class problem
In so-called “red states” and “blue states” around the US, from rural areas to urban centers, the explosion of new data center projects is impacting residents in poor, working-class, and middle-class communities alike. In this episode of Working People, we speak with a diverse panel of residents fighting new and proposed data center projects in Texas and Maryland about what it means for you and your community when one of these loud, polluting, energy- and water-guzzling behemoths comes to your town—and how to fight back. Panelists include: , a registered nurse anesthetist who lives right next to the site of a Marathon bitcoin mine in Granbury, Texas; Karen Pearson, a licensed professional counselor and a resident of Granbury who also lives right next to the Marathon bitcoin mine; Dr. Shannon Wolf, Precinct Chair in Hood County, who lives three miles from the Marathon bitcoin mine; Craig Jackson, a resident of Granbury who lives 300 feet from the site of a new proposed data center, and who is also a plaintiff in a current lawsuit residents have filed against the city of Granbury; , a grassroots organizer and resident of Charles County, Maryland, who lives near the site of a proposed data center; , an eco-poet, author, founder of Sacred Parks & Waterways, and a resident of Baltimore, Maryland, who lives right next to the site of Johns Hopkins University’s future Data Science and Artificial Intelligence complex. Additional links/info: Protect Hood County and page Sacred Parks & Waterways and Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Christine Condon, Maryland Matters, “” Emmanuel Rivas Valenzuela, KERA News, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Train crashes destroyed their towns. Will yours be next?
07/06/2026
Train crashes destroyed their towns. Will yours be next?
10 years before the catastrophic train derailment and chemical disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, one of the deadliest rail disasters in North American history took place in the Canadian town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. On July 6, 2013, an unattended freight train that had been parked on the tracks overnight began to roll downhill and gather alarming speed as it careened towards the city center of Lac-Mégantic. The train, which was operated by Montreal, Maine, and Atlantic Railway and carrying over 2 million gallons of crude oil, derailed around 1:15 AM. The resulting explosions and fire killed 47 people and destroyed over 40 buildings, obliterating a large portion of the downtown area and prompting mass evacuations. In this special episode of Working People, we speak with a panel of survivors of the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster in Canada and the East Palestine rail disaster in the USA. Panelists include: Robert Bellefleur, a resident of Lac-Mégantic and spokesperson for the Lac-Mégantic Citizens' Coalition for Railroad Safety; Gilbert Carette, a resident of Lac-Mégantic and a member of the Lac-Mégantic Citizens' Coalition for Railroad Safety; Gilles Fluet, a resident of Lac-Mégantic who narrowly escaped the 2013 train crash and witnessed the derailment firsthand; Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny, award-winning writer, videographer, social and environmental justice activist, and author of Mégantic: A Deadly Mix of Oil, Rail, and Avarice; Jami Wallace, a displaced resident of East Palestine, Ohio, and founder of the Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition; Christina Siceloff, a Creek Ranger and resident of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, affected by the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical disaster. If you or members of your community are interested in attending or participating in TRNN’s 2026 No More Sacrifice Zones conference, please contact us by emailing contact[at]therealnews[dot]com. Additional links/info: Lac-Mégantic Citizens' Coalition for Railroad Safety and page Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition (CICC) page Railroad Workers United , page, and Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny, Talonbooks, Dimitri Lascaris, TRNN, “” Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Credits: Pre-Production: Maximillian Alvarez, Dr. Nicole Fabricant, Fritz Edler Studio Production: Maximillian Alvarez French-English Interpretation: Anne Lagacé Dowson Voice Acting: Ethan Cox, Daniel Lemieux Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor, Alina Nehlich Music: Jules Taylor
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Toxic Avengers: America’s poisoned and abandoned communities must stand together or die
07/01/2026
Toxic Avengers: America’s poisoned and abandoned communities must stand together or die
From the explosion of AI data centers to the increasing number of toxic spills, explosions, and industrial disasters happening across the country, corporations and the government are turning the USA into one giant “sacrifice zone.” In “red” states and “blue” states, in rural areas and urban areas, poor and working people are suffering the toxic effects of a crisis that has resulted from decades of deregulation, corporate-capture of government, and the protection of private profits over the lives and health of the public. No one is coming to save us, and nothing is going to change unless residents of different sacrifice zones and poisoned communities, workers and unions on the frontlines of the industries poisoning us, environmental justice groups, community and faith organizations, scientists, journalists, and all others who have a stake in this fight start coming together, working together, and fighting back together. In this special panel discussion, recorded at the 2026 Railroad Workers United convention in Chicago, Illinois, we speak with a panel of guests who are part of a new coalition that is doing just that. Panelists include: Jeff Kurtz, a retired locomotive engineer, union officer, and Railroad Workers United member who also served as a state representative in the Iowa House of Representatives; Jami Wallace, a displaced resident of East Palestine, Ohio, and founder of the Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition (CICC); Dr. Nicole Fabricant, a professor of anthropology at Towson University and scholar-activist who has been working with chemically impacted communities in South Baltimore, Maryland, for 15 years; Scott Smith, independent testing expert and founder of the Blue Shirt Justice League; and Lesley Pacey, Senior Environmental Officer at the Government Accountability Project. Additional links/info: Railroad Workers United , page, and Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition (CICC) page Blue Shirt Justice League and page Government Accountability Project , page, , page, and Coal-Free Curtis Bay page and South Baltimore Community Land Trust , , page, and Nicole Fabricant, University of California Press, Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Maximilian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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UAW becomes first major union to divest from Israel
06/26/2026
UAW becomes first major union to divest from Israel
At the 39th Constitutional Convention of the United Auto Workers (UAW) in Detroit, Michigan, union delegates debated and affirmed the aggressive direction the UAW has taken under current President Shawn Fain, supporting pushes to increase shop-floor militancy, support new organizing efforts, and take stronger stances on the political crises working people face today. Among the major developments to come out of the UAW Constitutional Convention was a historic vote to divest the union from Israel bonds, which provide financial support to Israel’s government as it continues to wage a US-backed campaign of genocidal violence and ethnic cleansing against Palestinians. In this episode, we break down this historic vote and what it means for union members with a panel of rank-and-file workers and members of Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD), a left-wing caucus within the UAW. Panelists include: Andrew Bergman, a worker at General Motors in Detroit, Michigan, a member of UAW Local 22, and co-chair of UAWD; Navruz Baum, a paralegal in New York, a member of UAW Local 2325, and a member of the UAWD Steering Committee; Margie Thornton, an attorney in Colorado, a member of UAW Local 2320, and a member of the UAWD Steering Committee; and Mike Davis, an auto parts worker in Ohio, a member of UAW Local 2021, and a member of UAWD Additional links/info: Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD) , , and Navruz Baum, Daily Struggle, “” Dan DiMaggio & Jane Slaughter, Labor Notes, “” Shireen Akram-Boshar, Truthout, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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FBI raids homes of Michigan students and workers for Palestine activism
06/24/2026
FBI raids homes of Michigan students and workers for Palestine activism
On June 10, early in the morning, FBI agents raided the homes of individuals involved in Palestine solidarity activism at the University of Michigan. As Yarden Katz and Stephen M. Ward report at Mondoweiss, “with help from local and state police departments, including the University of Michigan Police, the raids unfolded simultaneously in Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin…The case is now known as the Michigan Eight. The Justice Department indicted the eight defendants—five of whom are current or former students at the University of Michigan, and one of whom was a University employee—on multiple counts of severe charges, including “Conspiracy to Transmit Threats in Interstate and Foreign Commerce.” The defendants, all in their twenties, now potentially face decades in prison.” In this installment of our ongoing series “Police State University,” we speak with Kevin Zheng, a member-organizer and secretary of the Graduate Employees' Organization at the University of Michigan, and Grace Viscito, a restaurant worker and former graduate student at the University of Michigan. Additional links/info: Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) , , , and Yarden Katz & Stephen M. Ward, Mondoweiss, “” , The Michigan Daily, “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / The Real News Network, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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LIVE SHOW w/ Kim Kelly, Alex Press, and Hamilton Nolan
06/18/2026
LIVE SHOW w/ Kim Kelly, Alex Press, and Hamilton Nolan
The world as we know it is facing unprecedented crises today that are all converging at once, from “end-times fascism” and full-blown oligarchy to “artificial intelligence,” endless wars, and genocide. The formal institutions of American democracy and organized labor have shown that they cannot stop the ruling-class onslaught on working people’s lives, livelihoods, and futures, so it’s up to rank-and-file workers everywhere to stand up and fight back. In this special Working People live show, hosted by In These Times magazine in Chicago, Illinois, we speak with veteran labor reporters Kim Kelly, Alex Press, and Hamilton Nolan about the crises breaking our world today—and how to stop them. Additional links/info: ! Kim Kelly , page, , page, and Alex Press , page, and Hamilton Nolan , , page, page Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Who's afraid of Chris Smalls?
06/08/2026
Who's afraid of Chris Smalls?
At a live event hosted at Red Emma’s Cooperative Bookstore and Coffeehouse in Baltimore, Maryland, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez got to sit down for a deep and wide-ranging conversation with Chris Smalls, co-founder and former president of the Amazon Labor Union. Alvarez and Smalls discuss Smalls’ new book, When the Revolution Comes: A Fight for the Future of the Working Class; they recount the incredible story of the formation of the Amazon Labor Union and the unionization of the first Amazon warehouse in the US; and they talk about Smalls’ journey from warehouse worker and labor organizer to becoming an internationally recognized public figure and a human rights activist who has sailed with humanitarian flotilla missions to Gaza and Cuba. Additional links/info: Chris Smalls and Chris Smalls, Penguin Random House, Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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‘They were going after everyone’: Baltimore security officers fired and removed from schedules after lawful strike
05/27/2026
‘They were going after everyone’: Baltimore security officers fired and removed from schedules after lawful strike
Nearly a year after workers voted to authorize a strike, non-union city and commercially contracted security officers in Baltimore, MD, walked off the job on April 9 on an Unfair Labor Practice strike against their employers, Abacus Corporation, Metropolitan Protective Services, and Urban Development Solutions. Now, Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) say that workers have been retaliated against by Metropolitan Protective Services (MPS), alleging that the city contractor “fired and harassed workers following [the] lawful strike.” MPS denies these allegations and claims “that no employees have been terminated due to union involvement.” In this episode of Working People, we speak with Victoria Cox, a former MPS employee who worked to reach the rank of sergeant, and Daril Riley, a former MPS employee who reached the rank of corporal. Both Cox and Riley have had their shifts taken off the schedule—and, essentially, their jobs taken away—and both have been put under investigation by MPS since the strike in April. Additional links/info: Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” SEIU Local 32BJ , , and Katherine Wilson, Baltimore Sun, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor Statement from Derrick Parks, CEO and President of Metropolitan Protective Services (5/26/26): Metropolitan Protective Services, Inc. (MPSI) maintains that no employees have been terminated due to union involvement. We fully support our employees' right to choose whether or not to join a union. The individuals recently removed from the schedule were terminated for failing to maintain the current Maryland guard license required by the Maryland State Police. Regarding Sergeant Cox, she was removed from the schedule at the specific request of the client following multiple advisements regarding violations of client policy and insubordination. Of our 175 employees, only six have been removed from the schedule or terminated, all due to licensing issues or performance concerns. We find these allegations to be without merit and believe they are being used by the union to exert pressure on the company. Furthermore, we have received reports of union representatives harassing employees who chose not to join, including unauthorized site visits and the use of derogatory language. MPSI is currently considering filing a cease and desist order and a harassment lawsuit to protect the rights of our staff. Our priority remains protecting all employees, regardless of their union status.
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Kim Kelly: Coal miners are dying, and Trump betrayed them
05/20/2026
Kim Kelly: Coal miners are dying, and Trump betrayed them
Since the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump and his acolytes, rightwing media, and coal industry barons and lobbyists have obsessively painted the picture of Trump as a friend to coal miners and the so-called “undisputed champion of beautiful clean coal.” But as labor journalist Kim Kelly reports at In These Times, “the simpering ’Trump digs coal’ image the administration seeks to project is vastly at odds with the actions it’s taken to limit miner protections, endanger their health, and exacerbate the black lung crisis consuming Central Appalachia.” In this episode of Working People, we speak with Kelly about the Trump administration’s latest betrayal of coal miners and their families and its underreported attack on the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission and abrupt, unprecedented firing of FMSHRC Commissioner Moshe Z. Marvit. Additional links/info: Kim Kelly , page, , page, and Kim Kelly, In These Times, “” Jordan Barab, Confined Space, “” Kim Kelly, In These Times, “” Kim Kelly, In These Times, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Over 4,000 UAW members on strike at Harvard University
05/12/2026
Over 4,000 UAW members on strike at Harvard University
After 14 months of fruitless contract negotiations with the Harvard University administration, over 4,000 workers represented by the Harvard Graduate Students Union (HGSU-UAW Local 5118) walked off the job on an indefinite strike on April 21. According to the union, “Graduate student workers will suspend teaching and research labor until Harvard’s bargaining team takes substantive action in addressing the union’s key issues: pay that keeps pace with the rising cost of living, recourse for harassment and discrimination, support for non-citizen students, protections for academic freedom, and ‘fair share fees’ to equitably distribute the expenses of union representation, among others.” In this episode of Working People, we speak with three striking graduate student workers about the issues at the center of this strike, and about what it’s like to live, work, and strike at the country’s richest university amid political attacks from the federal government, scandals connecting high-ranking Harvard officials to Jeffrey Epstein, and a nationwide cost-of-living crisis. Panelists include: Sara Speller, a fifth-year PhD student in the Music Department at Harvard and president of the Harvard Graduate Students Union; Zoë Feder, a seventh-year PhD student in the program in Biological & Biomedical Sciences at Harvard Medical School and a research assistant in the Microbiology Department; and Jacob Wolf, a third-year PhD student and Teaching Fellow in the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Additional links/info: Harvard Graduate Students Union (HGSU-UAW Local 5118) , page, page, , and Harvard Graduate Students Union Lydialyle Gibson, Harvard Magazine, “” Noah A. Ferris, The Harvard Crimson, “” Hugo C. Chiasson & Elise A. Spenner, The Harvard Crimson, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Meet the new Pittsburgh Post-Gazette bosses, same as the old bosses
05/07/2026
Meet the new Pittsburgh Post-Gazette bosses, same as the old bosses
After members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh won their strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in late 2025, which had lasted for over 3 years, they were notified in January that the paper’s wealthy owners, the Block family and Block Communications Inc., were shutting down operations. Then, in a stunning turn of events, the Post-Gazette was purchased in April by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, which also owns The Banner in Baltimore, MD. While Post-Gazette workers were cautiously optimistic about the news, the union learned last week that the Venetoulis Institute is cutting at least 40 percent of its staff, including 80 percent of the union workers who participated in the recently ended strike. In this episode of Working People, we speak with a panel of union members and former Post-Gazette employees about what will happen to them and their coworkers, to the Post-Gazette itself, and to journalism in the Steel City. Panelists include: Andrew Goldstein, a now-former Post-Gazette education reporter and still-acting president of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh; Helen Fallon, a longtime copyeditor for the Post-Gazette and professor emerita at Point Park University in Pittsburgh; and Erin Hebert, a now-former copyeditor and designer for the Post-Gazette and First Vice President of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh. Additional links/info: Pittsburgh Alliance for People-Empowered Reporting (PAPER) Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh , page, and Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh: “” Riddhi Setty, Columbia Journalism Review, “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Alec Baldwin backs union drive at Starbucks
05/01/2026
Alec Baldwin backs union drive at Starbucks
After decades of decline, the organized labor movement in the US has seen a resurgence in rank-and-file militancy over the last decade, with increased strike actions and union drives in industries across the economy. And in the story of this recent revival of labor in America, the movement led by predominantly young baristas to unionize coffee giant Starbucks has played a pivotal role. The new documentary Baristas vs. Billionaires takes viewers on a journey through the last five years of the epic, ongoing struggle to unionize Starbucks, told by some of the workers and organizers at the center of that struggle. TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez speaks with director of Baristas vs. Billionaires and Academy Award nominee Mark Mori, and with legendary actor and Academy award nominee Alec Baldwin, who is a producer on the film. Additional links/info: Baristas vs. Billionaires Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Studio Production / Post-Production: David Hebden Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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May 1: A Nationwide ‘Economic Blackout’ Against Billionaires and Authoritarianism
04/29/2026
May 1: A Nationwide ‘Economic Blackout’ Against Billionaires and Authoritarianism
Inspired by January’s mass strike against ICE terror in Minnesota, a vast coalition of labor unions, democratic organizations, and community groups are organizing a nationwide economic blackout on Friday, May 1, International Workers Day. “May Day Strong events are being planned across the US,” Michael Sainato reports at The Guardian, “with organizers calling for ‘no school, no work, no shopping,’ in protest of government policies they say put billionaires’ needs above those of workers.” In this episode of Working People, we speak with a panel of guests who are all involved in organizing May Day events this week from Philadelphia to Chicago to Iowa. Panelists include: Jana Korn, who currently serves as the chief of staff for the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, and also serves on the board of Philadelphia Jobs with Justice; Jeff Kurtz, a retired locomotive engineer and union officer who also served as a state representative in the Iowa House of Representatives; and John Emiliano, a healthcare worker and organizer in Chicago with the Tahanan Center and Tanggol Migrante, a grassroots Filipino migrant defense network. Additional links/info: May Day Strong coalition Workers Over Billionaires 2026 - Philadelphia Workers Over Billionaires 2026 - Chicago Lee County (Iowa) Labor Chapter and Tahanan Filipino Center Tanggol Migrante Latino Union of Chicago Michael Sainato, The Guardian, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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‘The rain was black’: A plant explosion set off a toxic bomb in this Louisiana town
04/15/2026
‘The rain was black’: A plant explosion set off a toxic bomb in this Louisiana town
On Aug. 22, 2025, the small-town lives of residents living near the Smitty’s Supply facility in Roseland, LA, changed forever when an explosion occurred at the automotive lubricant plant. The explosion and ensuing fire, which burned for days, triggered evacuations across the area, blanketing homes and businesses with smoke, soot, and oily residue, while spilling petroleum products from the plant into area waterways, including several adjacent ponds and the Tangipahoa River. While the Environmental Protection Agency claims that the area is safe, according to the agency’s own chemical monitoring, residents say they’ve been left behind and kept in the dark as they develop negative health symptoms and their homes remain covered in toxic substances. In this episode, we speak with Arlene Bankston, a farmer and resident of Roseland, and Allie Ponvelle, who lives one town over in Amite, about the slow-moving nightmare they’ve been living in ever since the massive explosion and chemical fire at Smitty’s Supply. Additional links/info: Alene Bankston’s Allie Ponvelle’s Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition (CICC) Wesley Muller, Louisiana Illuminator, “” Whitney Miller, WWL Louisiana, “” ”Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Baltimore security guards strike for respect, healthcare, and a union
04/08/2026
Baltimore security guards strike for respect, healthcare, and a union
Nearly a year after workers voted to authorize a strike, non-union city and commercially contracted security officers in Baltimore, MD, will walk off the job on April 9 in an Unfair Labor Practice strike against their employer, Abacus Corporation. In their yearslong effort to unionize and secure more job security, better pay, accessible healthcare, and safer working conditions, workers at Abacus have reported rampant union busting and violations of their labor rights. In this episode, we speak with Laura Dixon, a veteran security officer and Abacus employee, and Jaimie Contreras, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union, Local 32BJ. Additional links/info: SEIU Local 32BJ , , and Katherine Wilson, Baltimore Sun, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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US postal workers side with communities over collaboration with ICE: "Don't be a snitch"
04/01/2026
US postal workers side with communities over collaboration with ICE: "Don't be a snitch"
While facing decades-long political efforts to throttle and privatize the United States Postal Service (USPS), and while US Postmaster General David Steiner ominously warns that the USPS will “run out of money” within a year, postal workers continue to deliver the mail and serve communities across the country. But that job has gotten harder, more dangerous, and more complicated in recent years. From increases in targeted violence against letter carriers to the Trump administration’s attacks on mail-in voting, to ICE and Border Patrol agents invading communities on their mail routes, USPS workers are confronting many daily hazards on the job that the public doesn’t see. In this episode, we speak with Connor Mauche, a letter carrier in New York and a shop steward for Branch 3 of the National Association of Letter Carriers, about what it’s like to be a postal worker in America in 2026. Additional links/info: National Association of Letter Carriers - Branch 3 Ann DeStefano Sutherland, (a documentary about the Great Postal Strike of 1970) Derek Dolbeare, Labor Notes, “” Sara Braun, The Guardian, “” Monique Morrissey, Economic Policy Institute, “” Susan Haigh, AP, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Immigrant workers launch largest US meatpacking strike in 40 years
03/25/2026
Immigrant workers launch largest US meatpacking strike in 40 years
3,800 workers and Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 members at the massive JBS beef processing plant in Greeley, CO walked off the job on an unfair labor practice strike on March 16. This is the first strike ever at the Greeley plant—one of the largest in the country—and it’s the biggest meatpacking strike in the US since the 1985-86 strike at the Hormel plant in Austin, MN. As Caitlyn Clark and Lisa Xu report in Labor Notes, “Strikers say JBS has been increasing the speed of the production line while cutting work hours from 40 a week to 35, squeezing out more work for less money… Workers are also demanding that the company stop charging them out-of-pocket costs for personal protective equipment like mesh vests and arm guards—essential because they work with knives, saws, and other sharp, dangerous equipment.” In this episode, we speak with Clark and Xu, who report from the JBS picket line and break down why this strike is so significant and what it will take for workers to win this fight against the largest beef processor in the US. Guests: Caitlyn Clark is a national organizer at , an organization dedicated to rank-and-file member education and empowerment for UFCW members in grocery, meatpacking, and retail. is a staff writer and organizer at . Additional links/info: Caitlyn Clark & Lisa Xu, Labor Notes, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Fourth-generation fisherwoman Diane Wilson goes on hunger strike against Dow Chemical
03/18/2026
Fourth-generation fisherwoman Diane Wilson goes on hunger strike against Dow Chemical
Diane Wilson is a fourth-generation fisherwoman and a lifelong resident of Seadrift, Texas. Wilson has become a global folk hero over the course of her epic, decades-long journey from shrimp boat captain and mother of five to social and ecological justice warrior who took on a multibillion dollar corporation polluting the bays along her beloved Texas Gulf Coast. But the fight to save her home from industrial pollution is far from over. On March 2, Wilson began a hunger strike outside the Dow Chemical Company / Union Carbide plant in Seadrift. “I have a tent and am camping out 24 hours, 7 days a week,” Wilson wrote in a letter to Dow CEO Jim Fitterling, “to impress upon Dow/Union Carbide our intense dislike and frustration of decades of plastic pollution being discharged into our bays and waterways.” In this urgent episode, we speak with Wilson as her hunger strike enters its third week. Guest: Diane Wilson is a fourth-generation shrimper, boat captain, mother of five, author, and an environmental, peace, and social justice advocate. During the last 30 years, she has launched legislative campaigns, demonstrations, hunger strikes, sunk boats, and even climbed chemical towers in her fight to protect her Gulf Coast bay. She is a co-founder of CODEPINK, the women’s anti-war group based in Washington, DC, and co-founder of the Texas Jail Project, which advocates for inmates’ rights in Texas county jails. Since 2012, Wilson has been executive director and waterkeeper of San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper (SABEW) on the Texas Gulf Coast. Wilson is the author of numerous books, including: ; and . Additional links/info: Diane Wilson Diane Wilson, “” San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper (SAWBE) , , , and Plastic Pollution Coalition, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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“ICE got me”: The urgent fight to free Ludovic Mbock
03/12/2026
“ICE got me”: The urgent fight to free Ludovic Mbock
38-year-old regional video gaming champion Ludovic Mbock, who came to the US legally from Cameroon, was snatched by ICE while applying for his yearly work permit—as he’s done for 20 years. He has since been detained for three weeks and moved to facilities in Louisiana and Georgia, and his freedom depends on a critical bond hearing this week. In this urgent episode of Working People, we speak with Diane Sohna, Ludovic’s sister, and Nikhil Delahaye, a close friend of Ludovic’s and a fellow gamer. Additional links/info: Ludovic Mbock GoFundMe: Antonio Planas & Rondez Green, The Baltimore Banner, “” Heidi Kemps, GameSpot, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Sean O’Brien sold workers and unions out to Trump—these Teamsters are running to oust him
03/04/2026
Sean O’Brien sold workers and unions out to Trump—these Teamsters are running to oust him
As general president of the union, Sean O’Brien has operated with a “Teamsters vs. Everybody” mentality, especially when it comes to dealing with President Trump and embracing the MAGA right. But now, 14 months into the second Trump administration, the labor movement and the entire working class—Teamsters members included—is under attack. In this episode of Working People, we speak with veteran Teamsters Richard Hooker Jr. and John Palmer, who are running to oust O’Brien from leadership in the upcoming union election. Guests: Richard Hooker Jr. has dedicated 26 years to the Teamsters, spending 20 of those years at UPS and the last six in leadership roles. He is the Secretary-Treasurer and Principal Officer of Teamsters Local 623 in Philadelphia, and he is now running on the Fearless Slate to unseat Sean O’Brien as a candidate for general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. John Palmer has 38 years of experience in the Teamsters and is currently serving as a vice president at large of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He is running on the Fearless Slate as a candidate to be the union’s general secretary-treasurer. Additional links/info: Teamsters Fearless Slate Hank Kennedy, Current Affairs, “” Michael Sainato, The Guardian, “” Joe Allen, CounterPunch, “” Peter Eavis, The New York Times, “” Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, “” Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Tech workers protest Microsoft’s ties to ICE terror and Israel's war crimes
02/26/2026
Tech workers protest Microsoft’s ties to ICE terror and Israel's war crimes
In just six months, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) more than tripled the amount of data stored on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform,The Guardian reports, “at the same time that its arsenal of surveillance technology ballooned.” This week, tech workers with the No Azure for Apartheid (NOAA) campaign staged a protest and informational picket at Microsoft’s global headquarters in Redmond, WA, demanding that Microsoft cancel all contracts that provide technological support for Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and ICE’s campaign of terror in the US. We speak with Ibtihal, a former software engineer at Microsoft and an organizer with the NOAA campaign. Additional links/info: No Azure for Apartheid and Harry Davies & Yuval Abraham, The Guardian, “” Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, “” Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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They won their strike fair and square. Now their rich bosses are closing up shop.
02/18/2026
They won their strike fair and square. Now their rich bosses are closing up shop.
On Nov. 24, 2025, in a major and hardwon victory, Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh members finally returned to work at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette after more than three years on strike. Then, on Jan. 7, 2026, workers were notified that Block Communications Inc.—the company that owns the Post-Gazette as well as the Toledo Blade, the Buckeye Sports Network, and a number of TV stations in Ohio and Kentucky—said that it will be ceasing operations at the Post-Gazette on May 3 of this year. We speak with Steve Mellon, a veteran photographer and writer who was on strike for over three years at the Post-Gazette, about how workers are processing this devastating news, and about their push to launch a new news source by and for working people. Additional links/info: Pittsburgh Alliance for People-Empowered Reporting (PAPER) Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh , page, and Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “” Kris B. Mamula, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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