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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Cornell's Crackdown on Palestine Solidarity Protests Could Force Grad Student-Worker to Leave US (w/ Jawuanna McAllister & Jenna Marvin)
10/03/2024
Cornell's Crackdown on Palestine Solidarity Protests Could Force Grad Student-Worker to Leave US (w/ Jawuanna McAllister & Jenna Marvin)
The student encampment movement last school year turned institutions of higher education into flashpoints of struggle over Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, US support for it, and the right to speak out against it. This year, college and university campuses have become laboratories of repression where different administrative efforts to silence Palestine solidarity and antiwar demonstrators are being deployed. And that is playing out right now at Cornell University. As Aaron Fernando writes at The Nation, “Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York, has taken disciplinary action against an international student that will likely force him to leave the country, and could have a chilling effect on other international students participating in political protests. Momodou Taal is a PhD candidate in Africana studies and a graduate student worker, attending Cornell under the F-1 visa program. In the last academic year, Taal joined student-led actions demanding that Cornell divest from industries complicit in Israel’s attacks on civilians in Gaza.” The Cornell grad worker union, Cornell Graduate Students United-UE, released a statement condemning the university’s disciplinary actions against Taal, and is demanding the administration bargain with the union “over the effects of the discipline administered to Taal.” “CGSU-UE condemns Taal’s suspension, which represents a disturbing pattern of discriminatory discipline against marginalized graduate workers. The union is still fighting for just cause protections in discipline and discharge, due process for academic evaluations, strong academic freedom, and nondiscrimination protections inclusive of political affiliation and action, religious practice, and caste.” In this urgent episode, Max speaks about Cornell’s actions against Taal with two members of the CGSU-UE bargaining committee: Jenna Marvin, a third-year PhD student in the History of Art & Visual Studies at Cornell; and Jawuanna McAllister, a sixth-year PhD candidate in Molecular Biology and Genetics at Cornell. Additional links/info below… Cornell Graduate Students United-UE and Petition: “” Aaron Fernando, The Nation, “” Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, “” Permanent links below… and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music… Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song Studio Production: Max Alvarez Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Microsoft AI Data Center Comes for Drought-Battered Mexican Town’s Water (w/ Diana Baptista)
10/03/2024
Microsoft AI Data Center Comes for Drought-Battered Mexican Town’s Water (w/ Diana Baptista)
As the climate crisis intensifies, billions of poor and working people around the world are suffering from lack of regular (or any) access to clean water, but the dawn of “AI” is about to make the problem much worse. In their recent report for Context, “Forget jobs—AI is coming for your water,” Diana Baptista and Fintan McDonnell write, “Artificial intelligence lives on power and water, fed to it in vast quantities by data centres around the world. And those centres are increasingly located in the global south.” In Colón, a municipality in Central Mexico that is home to Microsoft’s first hyperscale data center campus in the country, working people are already bearing the environmental costs of man-made climate change, and they will be the ones to bear the costs of AI and Big Tech. “The town of 67,000 is suffering extreme drought. Its two dams have nearly dried up, farmers are struggling with dead crops, and families are relying on trucked and bottled water to fulfill their daily needs.” In the latest installment of our ongoing series, Sacrificed, Max speaks with Diana Baptista, a data journalist at the Thomson Reuters Foundation based in Mexico City, about Mexico’s ongoing water crisis and about the human and environmental costs of AI and cloud computing. Additional links/info below… Diana’s Context and Fintan McDonnell & Diana Baptista, Context, “” Fintan McDonnell & Diana Baptista, Context, “” David Berreby, Yale Environment 360, “” Tamara Pearson, The Real News Network, “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / The Real News Network, “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / The Real News Network, “” Permanent links below… and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music… Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song Studio Production: Max Alvarez Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Alec Plant
09/23/2024
Alec Plant
Two years ago, workers from several different Trader Joe’s grocery stores joined the wave of unionization efforts spreading across the country. Workers in Hadley, Massachusetts, made history in 2022 by not only becoming the first Trader Joe’s store to vote to unionize but also by opting to form an independent union, Trader Joe’s United (TJU). However, like with Starbucks, Amazon, Medieval Times, and other companies where workers have been exercising their right to organize in recent years, rampant union busting has been part of the Trader Joe’s story from the beginning. What’s worse, as Alex Press writes in Jacobin, rather than be compelled to follow the law and play by the rules, the supposedly progressive grocery chain has joined Elon Musk’s SpaceX in attacking the very constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board. What is the current state of the union drive at Trader Joe’s? What issues are employees (“crew members”) still dealing with on the job, and what can supporters do to help? In this episode, Max speaks with Alec Plant, a worker organizer at the Lincoln and Grace Trader Joe’s in Chicago and a member of Trader Joe’s United. Additional links/info below… Trader Joe’s United , page, and Lauren Kaori Gurley, The Washington Post, “” Alex Press, Jacobin, “” Dave Jameison, HuffPost, “” Talia Soglin, Chicago Tribune, “” Steven Greenhouse, The New Republic, “” Steven Greenhouse, The Guardian, “” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / The Real News Network, "” Permanent links below… and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music… Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song Studio Production: Max Alvarez Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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When Work Inspires Art: Labor Poet George Fish
09/19/2024
When Work Inspires Art: Labor Poet George Fish
While Max was inside the Labor Notes conference this past April, attending panels and sharing space with intelligent, hard working organizers, Mel was wandering the conference grounds outside, meeting folks and talking about the joy of being a member of the working class as they sat in the grass and ate their lunches and talked with friends, old and new. There’s something to be said about the people you meet when you’re sharing cigarettes outside a conference center–one such person was today’s guest, adorned in UFCW buttons and sharing his poetry with Mel while they smoked together on a bench near the conference. On this week’s episode of Working People, Mel sat down with labor poet and union grocer George Fish, a wonderful man full of stories about his life and work, his experiences growing up and ultimately leaving the Catholic Church, his politics–honed through decades of life experience–and his relationship to his writing and poetry. Additional links/info below… To hear more about our time at LN 2024 - check out our Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song
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Seven unions demand end to US military aid to Israel (w/ George Waksmunski & Brandon Mancilla)
08/28/2024
Seven unions demand end to US military aid to Israel (w/ George Waksmunski & Brandon Mancilla)
The death toll in Gaza continues to climb, with conservative estimates putting the numbers of dead around 40,000, but a recent report in the British medical journal The Lancet estimates the actual death toll could be 186,000 or even higher—that’s roughly 8% of Gaza’s population. And with each passing day, the humanitarian crises unfolding in Gaza and the West Bank gets orders of magnitude worse. Seeing the dire situation in Palestine, seven major US labor unions collectively drafted, signed, and sent a letter to President Biden demanding that US military aid to Israel stop immediately. The letter reads, in part: "Large numbers of Palestinian civilians, many of them children, continue to be killed, reportedly often with US-manufactured bombs. Rising tensions in the region threaten to ensnare even more innocent civilians in a wider war. And the humanitarian crisis deepens by the day, with famine, mass displacement, and destruction of basic infrastructure including schools and hospitals. We have spoken directly to leaders of Palestinian trade unions who told us heart-wrenching stories of the conditions faced by working people in Gaza." In this episode, Max and Mel speak with George Waksmunski, president of the United Electrical, Radio, & Machine Workers of America (UE), Eastern Region, and Brandon Mancilla, Region 9A Director for the United Auto Workers, about why their unions signed onto this call for an end to US aid to Israel and what organized labor can do to end the genocide in Gaza. Additional links/info below… UAW , page, page, and UE , page, page, and Michael Sainato, The Guardian, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Mel Buer, The Real News Network, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Permanent links below… and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music… Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song Studio Production: Max Alvarez Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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300 Episodes of 'Working People'! Announcements, reflections, & what comes next...
08/12/2024
300 Episodes of 'Working People'! Announcements, reflections, & what comes next...
In 2024, Working People officially crossed the 300 episode mark! Since we published our first episode back in 2018, the show has grown in ways we never could have imagined, and the world itself has changed in radical, hopeful, terrifying ways, the labor movement has undergone incredible changes, and we’ve done our best to document that change and this moment in history through the conversations we’ve had with workers across industries, from all walks of life, about their lives, jobs, dreams, and struggles. Over the past seven seasons of the show, we've interviewed working people, young, old, and middle-aged, union and non-union, worker-owners at worker cooperatives, workers who were just laid off, workers on strike, workers unionizing, families of workers who were killed by their jobs, Indigenous workers living on reservations, workers whose children were murdered in a school shooting, sex workers, academic workers, manufacturing workers, railroad and airline workers, educators, yoga instructors and professional massage therapists, social workers, baristas, journalists, healthcare workers, service workers, construction workers, coal miners, lumberjacks, Amazon workers. We've spoken with working people in Cuba, Canada, Brazil, Slovenia, Turkey, Myanmar, the UK, France, and more. In this special episode commemorating 300 episodes of Working People, Max and new cohost Mel Buer reflect on how far the show has come and where we’re going next. To all of our listeners and supporters, to those who have been with us since the beginning and to those who found the show at some point over the past 7 seasons, to everyone who has ever listened to the show, shared our episodes, donated to our Patreon, to everyone who ever reached out to remind us that someone was listening and encouraged us to keep going, to everyone who has supported us , THANK YOU. We love you, and we wouldn't be here without you. We hope to keep making you and all our fellow workers proud with this show, and it's an honor to be in this struggle with you. Additional links/info below… Maximillian Alvarez, Current Affairs, "" Working People, "" (the first episode) Mel Buer's and profile and we might play it on the show! Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song
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What it Means to 'Walk the Walk': the NEA Staff Lockout (w/ Rowena Shurn and Ambereen Khan-Baker)
08/08/2024
What it Means to 'Walk the Walk': the NEA Staff Lockout (w/ Rowena Shurn and Ambereen Khan-Baker)
Today we have an urgent and important conversation with members of the NEA Staff Organization, the union of staffers at the National Education Association, who have been locked out of their workplace by NEA management for the past four weeks. The NEA, representing over 3 million members, is the largest union in the country. Staffers working for the NEA have been bargaining for higher wages and fairer treatment by the union, and have instead been locked out of their workplace after a 3-day ULP strike a month ago. We’ve brought on former educator Rowena Shurn and national board-certified teacher , both of whom are NEASO members and Senior Policy Program Analysts at the NEA, to talk about the lockout, what it means for a union to engage in union-busting tactics with their own staff, and how NEASO members are keeping each other’s spirits up on the picket line. Additional links/info below… Permanent links below… and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music… Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song Studio Production: Mel Buer Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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From the East Palestine Derailment Disaster to the Toledo Water Crisis (w/ Mike Balonek & Chris Albright)
08/01/2024
From the East Palestine Derailment Disaster to the Toledo Water Crisis (w/ Mike Balonek & Chris Albright)
From East Palestine, Ohio, to South Baltimore and beyond, we’ve been connecting you with residents living in the toxic wastelands left by private and government-run industry—ordinary working people who have been thrust into extraordinary fights for their lives. In the latest installment of our ongoing Sacrificed series, we go to Toledo, Ohio, a city that, in 2014, lost access to its water supply for three days straight due to a massive, toxic algal bloom caused by runoff from industrial animal farming. We speak with filmmaker Mike Balonek and welcome back Chris Albright, a resident of East Palestine, to discuss the connections between the Norfolk Southern train derailment disaster and the Toledo Water Crisis. We also talk about an upcoming conference in Toledo on Saturday, August 3, hosted by the Justice for East Palestine Residents & Workers coalition: “Is your community a sacrifice zone? A conference on corporate-caused disasters.” The conference will focus on the Toledo Water Crisis, the derailment in East Palestine and the need for better railroad safety, and the radioactive poisoning of residents living near the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Pike County, Ohio. The conference will also feature the world premiere of filmmaker Mike Balonek’s new documentary The Big Problem In The Great Lakes, a film about the Toledo Water Crisis of 2014. Additional links/info below… Toledo conference details: Mike Balonek, WTOL 11, "" Maximillian Alvarez, Cameron Granadino, & Hannah Faris, The Real News Network, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Stephanie Elverd, The Pakersburg News & Sentinel, "" Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song
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Teamsters Members React to Sean O'Brien's RNC Speech (w/ Amber Mathwig, Tony, Chantelle, Rick Smith, Zoey Moretti Niebuhr, Jess Leigh, Kat, & Robert Conklin)
07/22/2024
Teamsters Members React to Sean O'Brien's RNC Speech (w/ Amber Mathwig, Tony, Chantelle, Rick Smith, Zoey Moretti Niebuhr, Jess Leigh, Kat, & Robert Conklin)
On Monday, July 15, on Day 1 of the Republican National Convention, Sean O’Brien, general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, became the first Teamsters president ever to address the RNC. Invited by former president Trump, who is now officially the Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election, O’Brien’s speech was no ordinary RNC filler. And to anyone watching, or anyone paying attention to the political reality in this country, this was no ordinary RNC either. O’brien’s very presence on the RNC stage, and the contents of his speech, which lasted for 17 minutes, have sparked a firestorm of intense reactions and furious debates within the labor movement and the Republican and Democratic parties alike. Everyone is talking about this speech and what it all means for workers, but workers themselves need to be driving that conversation. In this special episode, cohosted by Max and Mel Buer, we bring together a diverse panel of Teamster members from across the country to have a spirited, fair, and productive discussion about O'Brien's speech, the 2024 elections, and the future of the labor movement. Speakers include: Amber Mathwig, a UPS warehouse worker and member of Teamsters Local 638 in Minnesota; Tony, a UPS worker, member of Teamsters Local 174 in Seattle, and a member of Teamsters Mobilize; Chantelle, a part-time UPS worker and member of Teamsters Local 177 in New Jersey; Rick Smith, a 35-year Teamster working in the freight industry and host of The Rick Smith Show; Zoey Moretti Niebuhr, a UPS worker, third-generation Teamster, member of Teamsters Local 391 in North Carolina, and president of Pride at Work—North Carolina; Jess Leigh, a UPS worker, shop steward for Teamsters Local 728 in Atlanta, and a member of the Teamsters LBGTQ Caucus and Teamsters Mobilize; Kat, a part-time UPS worker and shop steward for Teamsters Local 70 in Oakland; and Robert Conklin, a third-generation Teamster and member of Teamsters Local 665 in San Francisco. Additional links/info below… PBS NewsHour, "" Sean O'Brien Ryan Bort, Rolling Stone, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" The Rick Smith Show , page, page, and Teamsters Mobilize , Facebook page, page, and Teamsters LGBTQ Caucus Pride at Work—North Carolina Maximillian Alvarez & Teddy Ostrow, The Real News Network, "" Teddy Ostrow, The Upsurge / The Real News Network, "" Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song
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Dispatch from Labor Notes & Railroad Workers United Conferences (Chicago, 2024)
07/08/2024
Dispatch from Labor Notes & Railroad Workers United Conferences (Chicago, 2024)
Two months ago, from April 17-21, workers and labor organizers of all stripes convened in Chicago for the bi-annual Labor Notes conference, which overlapped with the Railroad Workers United convention. As the registration website rightly noted, “Labor Notes Conferences are the biggest gatherings of grassroots labor activists, union reformers, and all-around troublemakers out there." This is not a buttoned up convention of union officials; this is a real grassroots gathering of people on the frontlines of struggle, talking openly, honestly, and strategically about their struggles, victories, and defeats, about what we can all learn from one another as fellow workers and fighters, and about how we can all contribute to growing the labor movement as fellow members of that movement. In this on-the-ground episode, cohosted by Max and Mel Buer, we speak with attendees at the RWU convention, Labor Notes, and participants in the Labor for Palestine protest that took place outside of Labor Notes on April 19. Speakers include: Johnny Walker, a railroad worker and member of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers—Transportation Division (SMART-TD) Local 610 in Baltimore; Matt Weaver, who has worked on the railroad since 1994, is a member of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees (BMWED-IBT) Local 2624, where he also serves as legislative director for his state; Marcie Pedraza, an electrician at Ford Chicago Assembly Plant and member of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 551; Jacob Morrison, a member of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), president of the North Alabama Labor Council, and cohost of The Valley Labor Report; Leticia Zavala, legendary farm labor organizer working with farm workers in Mexico and the United States, and a member of El Futuro Es Nuestro (It’s Our Future), a farmworker caucus within the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC, AFL-CIO); Colin Smalley, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 777 in Chicago; Berenice Navarrete-Perez, vice president of the Association of Legislative Employees (ALE); Annie Shields, former journalist and union organizer with the NewsGuild of New York; and Axel Persson, a locomotive engineer in France and general secretary of the Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) Railway Workers Union in Trappes. Additional links/info below… Labor Notes , page, and page Railroad Workers United , page, and page El Futuro Es Nuestro – It's Our Future and page Labor for Palestine The Valley Labor Report channel, page, page, and Duncan Freeman, The Chief Leader: "" Axel Persson, ML Today, "" Martha Grevatt, Workers World, "" Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song
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"Safe Staffing Now!": Baltimore Nurses at Largest Catholic Health Network in US Fight On for First Contract (w/ Nicki Horvat)
07/02/2024
"Safe Staffing Now!": Baltimore Nurses at Largest Catholic Health Network in US Fight On for First Contract (w/ Nicki Horvat)
On the morning of Thursday, June 20, unionized nurses at Ascension St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore held a rally outside the hospital to raise awareness of their efforts to secure a first contract and to show management that they’re not backing down from their core demands for safe staffing and an operational model that puts patients and patient care first. "St. Agnes nurses are calling on Ascension to accept their proposals to improve safe staffing and, subsequently, nurse retention," a press release from National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU) stated. "Nearly 20 percent of nurses at St. Agnes began employment at the hospital after January 1 of this year. Meanwhile, just over a third of nurses have more than four years of experience at the hospital... The Catholic hospital system is one of the largest in the country with 140 hospitals in 19 states and also one of the wealthiest, with cash reserves, an investment company, and a private equity operation worth billions of dollars—and, because of its nonprofit status, is exempt from paying federal taxes." In this on-the-ground episode, we take you to the NNOC/NNU picket line and speak with Nicki Horvat, an RN in the Neonatal Intensive Care unit at Ascension St. Agnes and member of the bargaining team, about what she and her coworkers are fighting for. Additional links/info below… National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United , page, page, and NNOC/NNU Press Release: "" Angela Roberts, The Baltimore Sun, "" Gino Canella, The Real News Network, "" Gino Canella, The Real News Network, "" Robert Glatter, Peter Papadakos, & Yash Shah, Time Magazine, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song
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In Brazil, the Climate Crisis Is Already Turning Working People into Climate Refugees (w/ Michael Fox)
06/24/2024
In Brazil, the Climate Crisis Is Already Turning Working People into Climate Refugees (w/ Michael Fox)
“Southern Brazil is facing its worst climate tragedy ever," Latin-America-based journalist Mike Fox wrote from Brazil for the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) in early May. "Unprecedented floods have impacted 1.4 million people and forced more than 160,000 people from their homes... The images are shocking. Downtown Porto Alegre, the capital of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, is underwater... On May 2, a dam collapsed, unleashing an over 6-foot-high wave and worsening flooding in the area... Although the tragedy is a natural disaster, experts have pointed out that the lack of preparedness on the part of state and local officials may have contributed to the devastation. According to one report, Porto Alegre slashed funds for flooding prevention over the last three years and didn’t spend a cent on it in 2023.” In this episode, we talk with Mike about his reporting trip to Southern Brazil, the devastation he witnessed firsthand, and the conversations he had with poor and working-class people who have borne the worst impacts of the floods and who continue to bear the greatest costs of man-made climate chaos. Additional links/info below… Michael Fox, The Real News Network/NACLA, Michael Fox page Michael Fox, NACLA, "" Michael Fox, Al Jazeera, "" Michael Fox, Truthout, "" Bianca Graulau, The Real News Network, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song
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"CSX has got to go!" Industrially Polluted South Baltimore Residents March to "Evict" Rail Giant from Their Community
06/17/2024
"CSX has got to go!" Industrially Polluted South Baltimore Residents March to "Evict" Rail Giant from Their Community
On June 10, in the working-class community of Curtis Bay in South Baltimore, over 50 residents, activists, and supporters from around the city marched through the streets of Curtis Bay to hold CSX Transportation accountable for polluting their community, homes, and bodies with toxic coal dust. Even after an expansive scientific study co-sponsored by the Community of Curtis Bay Association, the South Baltimore Community Land Trust, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland, and the Maryland Department of Environment confirmed the presence of coal dust in the air of the South Baltimore community of Curtis Bay, CSX has denied culpability and called the study “materially flawed.” Residents say they’re fed up with the company refusing to take responsibility for the coal dust, and with the city government for ignoring their cries for help for years, and they’re not going to stay quiet. “We got to stand together for Curtis Bay, for South Baltimore,” one resident and youth leader, Carlos Sanchez, told the crowd. “We have to remove CSX for the health of our communities.” With other locals watching from their porches, sidewalks, and storefronts, the crowd marched from the Curtis Bay Rec Center all the way up to the gates of the CSX terminal. There, they signed and delivered a giant “Eviction Notice” to CSX, a company that recorded over $10 billion in gross profits last year. In this on-the-ground edition of Working People, Maximillian Alvarez speaks with Curtis Bay residents on the day of the march and takes you to the heart of the action. Speakers in this episode (in order of appearance) include: Shashawnda Campbell of Baltimore Community Land Trust; David Jones, a resident who has lived in Curtis Bay for over 35 years; Angie Shaneyfelt, a resident who has lived in Curtis Bay for 17 years; Angela Smothers, a lifelong resident of Mt. Winans in South Baltimore; Carlos Sanchez, a youth leader born and raised in Lakeland, South Baltimore; Roma Gutierrez, a lifelong resident of Brooklyn, South Baltimore, and an environmental organizer and youth leader with South Baltimore Community Land Trust; an unnamed representative of Malaya Movement Baltimore; and Maria Urbina, a South Baltimore resident. Additional links/info below… Coal-Free Curtis Bay page and South Baltimore Community Land Trust , page, page, and Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Aman Azhar, InsideClimate News, “” Nicole Fabricant, University of California Press, Nicole Fabricant, The Real News Network, “” Michael Middleton & Dr. Sacoby Wilson, Maryland Matters, “” Chloe Ahmann, Baltimore Sun, “” Christine Condon & Dillon Mullan, Baltimore Sun, “” Maryland Department of Environment, "" Adam Willis, The Baltimore Banner, "" Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song
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Liz Oliva Fernández
06/11/2024
Liz Oliva Fernández
For the past six years on this show, we've talked to working people from across the United States, from virtually every walk of life, about their lives, jobs, dreams, and struggles. But today, we’re going to talk about what it’s like to live and work in a country that has been designated a political enemy of US empire, a country that sits only 90 miles away from the US, a country that American politicians have resolved to strangle into oblivion for the past 60 years. In this episode, we speak with Liz Oliva Fernández from Cuba. Liz is an award-winning Cuban journalist with Belly of the Beast, an independent outlet covering Cuba and US-Cuba relations, and she is the presenter of two new documentaries, Hardliner on the Hudson and Uphill on the Hill. In addition to exposing the sinister interests behind, and the devastating real-world impacts of, the Cold War Cuban policy of Joe Biden’s administration, pushed by powerful hardliners like Senator Bob Menendez, former Chair of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the films also document Liz's experience as a Black journalist from the Global South coming to the US to confront the predominantly white politicians and interests waging economic war on her country. We talk about Liz's new films, and we talk about growing up in Cuba, becoming a journalist, and life for woking people in Cuba under the US-imposed blockade and designation of Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism . Additional links/info below… Belly of the Beast , page, , and channel Belly of the Beast, Belly of the Beast, Andrew Buncombe, The Guardian, “" Ju-Hyun Park, The Real News Network, "" Permanent links below… Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music… Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song
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A Veteran Longshoreman's View of the Baltimore Bridge Disaster (w/ John Blom & Marc Steiner)
05/23/2024
A Veteran Longshoreman's View of the Baltimore Bridge Disaster (w/ John Blom & Marc Steiner)
Nearly two months have passed since the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, and the city is still reeling from the disaster. The bridge collapse immediately rendered the Port of Baltimore inoperable, threatening hundreds of thousands of jobs, and billions in wages, business revenue, and state taxes. While channels into the port have begun to open back up slowly, workers on the waterfront have been deeply affected, and the road to recovery will be long. As questions linger about the root causes of the Key Bridge collapse and what sort of future Baltimore can salvage for itself, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez and Marc Steiner, host of The Marc Steiner Show, team up to speak with John Blom, a veteran longshoreman who worked in the Port of Baltimore for over 30 years, to get a workers’ history of the port and its meaning to the city it nurtured. Additional links/info below… Kari Lydersen, In These Times, ““ Dominick Phillippe-August, WMAR, “” Dan Belson, Baltimore Sun, “” Michael Sainato, The Guardian, “” Permanent links below… Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music… Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song
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"South Baltimore is a sacrifice zone" (w/ David Jones, Angela Smothers, Carlos Sanchez, & Tiffany Thompson)
05/09/2024
"South Baltimore is a sacrifice zone" (w/ David Jones, Angela Smothers, Carlos Sanchez, & Tiffany Thompson)
“South Baltimore is a sacrifice zone,” Michael Middleton and Dr. Sacoby Wilson wrote in a guest commentary published in Maryland Matters this February. “The six communities that make up South Baltimore—Cherry Hill, Westport, Mt. Winans, Lakeland, Brooklyn, and Curtis Bay—rank in the top 3% of the state for environmental burden using a Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) screening tool. Curtis Bay, the highest in the state, is Maryland’s poster child for environmental injustice. Industrial areas near Curtis Bay house oil tanks, a wastewater treatment plant, chemical plants, landfills, the country’s largest medical waste incinerator, and more. Heavy diesel trucks frequent residential streets. The Wagner’s Point and Fairfield communities that were once Curtis Bay’s neighbors to the east are gone. Those residents accepted buyouts to leave between the 1980s and 2011 after a series of chemical spills and accidents.” In this episode, we continue our “Sacrificed” series by focusing on communities in South Baltimore and a story that quite literally hits close to home, less than half an hour from where Max lives. We speak with a panel of residents of South Baltimore about how they have seen their communities change over the years, what it feels like to be “sacrificed” by industry and their government, how they and their neighbors are fighting for change, fighting for justice, and what others in Baltimore and beyond can do to help. Panelists include: David Jones, who has lived in Curtis Bay for over 35 years; Angela Smothers, a lifelong resident of Mt. Winans; Carlos Sanchez, a youth leader born and raised in Lakeland; and Tiffany Thompson, who was born and raised in Cherry Hill and has lived in Curtis Bay for the past three years. Additional links/info below… Coal-Free Curtis Bay page Nicole Fabricant, University of California Press, Nicole Fabricant, The Real News Network, “” Michael Middleton & Dr. Sacoby Wilson, Maryland Matters, “” Chloe Ahmann, Baltimore Sun, “” Christine Condon & Dillon Mullan, Baltimore Sun, “” Aman Azhar, InsideClimate News, “” Christian Olaniran, Adam Thompson, Caroline Foreback, CBS News, “” Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song
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Vina Colley
04/24/2024
Vina Colley
"Vina Colley was Erin Brockovich before Erin Brockovich," Kevin Williams wrote in a 2020 Belt Magazine article titled, "The Poisonous Legacy of Portsmouth’s Gaseous Diffusion Plant." Williams continues, "Colley has become an unlikely citizen-scientist, spending a lifetime researching and documenting PORTS and its sins... Colley was hired as an electrician at the facility in 1980 and worked there for three years. 'I was exposed to everything. We were cleaning off radioactive equipment that we did not know was radioactive. They never told us,' Colley told me. Then, she said, her hair started falling out, she developed rashes, and 'I got really sick and went to the hospital, not knowing that it was my job causing me all these problems. I had big tumors.' In the four decades since, she’s faced a range of health problems, including chronic bronchitis, tumors, and pulmonary edema." In this episode, we sit down with Colley herself to talk about growing up in Ohio during America's Cold War atomic age, her experience working as an electrician at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, and her decades-long fight to hold the plant and the government accountable for what they've done to her, her coworkers, and her community, and to get them the compensation they deserve. Additional links/info below… Vina's page DOL Energy Advisory Board Information: Comments for the Record, "" Kevin Williams, Belt Magazine, "" Erin Gottsacker, The Ohio Newsroom, "" Scioto Valley Guardian, "" Sen. Sherrod Brown, Press Release: "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song
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Working People Deserve Bread and Roses—and Musicals (w/ Gene Bruskin)
04/22/2024
Working People Deserve Bread and Roses—and Musicals (w/ Gene Bruskin)
Gene Bruskin was born to a Jewish working-class family in South Philadelphia and has been a life-long social justice activist, union organizer, poet, and playwright. Since retiring from the labor movement, Gene wrote his first play in 2016, a musical comedy for and about work and workers called Pray For the Dead: A Musical Tale of Morgues, Moguls and Mutiny. In this mini-cast we talk to Bruskin about his life in the the labor movement, the role of art and imagination in revolutionary politics, and about Bruskin's new musical, The Return of John Brown, which is premiering this month in Baltimore, Washington, DC, and the John Brown Raid Headquarters in Maryland. "In a staged reading of this new musical, John Brown, who in 1859 became the first person in the nation executed for treason, climbs out of his grave where he was hanged, into the present, only to be rearrested and threatened with another hanging." Additional links/info below… (musical,) website Cosmopod, "" Christina L. Perez, Labor Notes, "" Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song
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Justice for East Palestine Residents & Workers Conference in East Palestine
04/18/2024
Justice for East Palestine Residents & Workers Conference in East Palestine
On March 23, 2024, a coalition of around 80 people convened at the East Palestine Country Club at the first gathering called by the newly formed Justice for East Palestine Residents & Workers Coalition. Those in attendance included: East Palestine residents; railroad workers; residents of other “sacrifice zones" in Ohio, Maryland, California, and West Virginia; concerned citizens living near other rail lines; labor activists and labor union representatives; representatives of environmental justice organizations; (striking) journalists; socialists, Trump voters, non-voters, etc.; and more. As journalist Steve Mellon reported, "The , dubbed Justice for East Palestine Residents & Workers, determined they will travel to Washington, D.C., on Oct. 8 to further their demand that the federal government step in and make sure those affected by the derailment are provided with fully funded health care. They plan to involve union members, including those who represent workers at railroad companies, as well as environmentalists and members of other communities damaged by chemical contamination. The coalition also determined to schedule a second conference in Iowa — the cause has been embraced by union organizers there; several traveled by bus to East Palestine to attend Saturday’s event — and to seek a meeting with the president of the AFL-CIO. Organizers want the federation of unions representing more than 12 million workers to support the coalition’s demand.” In this extended episode, you will hear a compilation of speakers from the March 23 conference in East Palestine. Speakers include: Lauri Harmon, East Palestine resident; Chris Albright, East Palestine resident; Jami Rae Wallace, East Palestine resident, president of East Palestine Unity Council; Christina Siceloff, East Palestine resident; Rob Two-Hawks, East Palestine resident; Daren Gamble, East Palestine resident; John Palmer, longtime organizer and officer with the Teamsters, but not speaking on behalf of the Teamsters; Andrew Sandberg, International Association of Machinists (IAM); George Waksmunski, United Electrical Workers (UE); Chris Silvera, Teamsters Local 808 Executive Secretary; Steve Mellon, journalist for the Pittsburgh Union Progress, on strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for 18 months; Vina Colley, Portsmouth-Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety & Security; Steve Zeltzer, WorkWeek; David Pfister, Food & Water Watch; Nicole Fabricant, activist, academic, and author of Fighting to Breathe: Race, Toxicity, and the Rise of Youth Activism in Baltimore; Hilary Flint, Clean Air Action; Penny Logsdon, Lee County, Iowa, Labor Chapter; Jeff Kurtz, Lee County, Iowa, Labor Chapter; Carrie Duncan, Lee County, Iowa, Labor Chapter; Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network; Mike Stout, Musician. Additional links/info below… website Mike Stout, "" music video Steve Zeltzer, YouTube channel Steve Mellon, Pittsburgh Union Progress, "" Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song Jules Taylor, "E.P. Theme for W.P."
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From Baltimore to East Palestine, This Is Unacceptable (w/ The Valley Labor Report & Maximillian Alvarez)
04/03/2024
From Baltimore to East Palestine, This Is Unacceptable (w/ The Valley Labor Report & Maximillian Alvarez)
24 hours after Max returned to Baltimore from East Palestine, Ohio, the shipping vessel Dali slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, collapsing it into the Patapsco River. The catastrophic collision and collapse of the bridge claimed the lives of six immigrant, non-union construction workers who were working the night shift at the time, filling potholes on the bridge. In this interview on The Valley Labor Report, Alabama's only weekly union talk show, hosts Jacob Morrison and Adam Keller speak with Max about The Real News Network's coverage of the bridge collapse, the connections between Baltimore and East Palestine, and about the conspiracists and "anti-woke" grifters who are trying to capitalize on this tragedy for their own gain. Additional links/info below… The Valley Labor Report channel, page, page, and The Valley Labor Report, "" Democracy Now!, "" America's Workforce Radio, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Nation, "" Breaking Points, "" Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song Jules Taylor, "TVLR Theme Song / Florence Reece Remix"
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Labor, Community, & Environmental Organizations Are Mobilizing to Get East Palestine Healthcare (w/ Justice for East Palestine Residents & Workers)
03/19/2024
Labor, Community, & Environmental Organizations Are Mobilizing to Get East Palestine Healthcare (w/ Justice for East Palestine Residents & Workers)
This Saturday, March 23, unionists and labor leaders, environmental justice groups, community organizers, community members from other “sacrifice zones,” and supporters from around the country are coming to East Palestine to join residents as part of the newly formed Justice for East Palestine Residents and Workers coalition. The coalition has come together in recent months and mobilized around the core objective of pressuring President Biden to invoke the Stafford Act and . If Biden does this, organizers say, it will immediately unlock a whole suite of federal resources that residents desperately need and have been demanding for a year, and it will also immediately guarantee every resident emergency healthcare. —a former pipeline worker and LIUNA member who has been disabled by the toxic fallout from the derailment, is now experiencing severe heart failure, can’t work, and has subsequently lost his health benefits—this is a matter of life and death, and . This episode is a compilation of voices from across the growing Justice for East Palestine Residents and Workers coalition. Speeches in the first half are from a panel cohosted by Steve Zeltzer and Penny Logsdon and recorded by the Labor Video Project on Feb. 3, 2024, the one-year anniversary of the derailment; speeches in the second half are from another panel cohosted by Steve Zeltzer and Penny Logsdon and recorded by the Labor Video Project on March 9, 2024. Speakers include: Steve Zeltzer (Labortech); Penny Logsdon (Lee County Labor Chapter); Chris Albright (East Palestine resident, LIUNA member); Jami Wallace (East Palestine Unity Council); Steve Mellon (Pittsburgh Union Progress); Jeff Kurtz (Lee County Labor Chapter); Maximillian Alvarez (The Real News Network); Mike Stout (protest musician); Charlie Wishman (Iowa AFL-CIO); John Palmer (Teamsters, San Antonio); Bob Anspach (BLET-IBT 391); Vina Colley (Portsmouth Pikeston Residents for Environmental Justice). From the Justice for East Palestine Residents and Workers organizing committee: "We will be hosting a National Conference for the people of East Palestine along with supporters in Ohio and throughout the country to build this campaign for healthcare on Saturday, March 23, 2024, where we will bring community members, labor, environmentalist and allies together in our urgent campaign. This Conference will be held from 12-5pm ET at the East Palestine Park. To contact the Justice for East Palestine Residents and Workers organizing committee, reach out to Steve Zeltzer: labormedia[at]gmail[dot]com Penny Logsdon: onecent7921[at]gmail[dot]com In solidarity." Additional links/info below… Steve Mellon, Pittsburgh Union Progress, "" Maximillian Alvarez, Breaking Points, "" Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song
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Brett Cross, Uzi's Dad
03/05/2024
Brett Cross, Uzi's Dad
Brett Cross is a small-town kid who grew up in Western Texas, among the oil fields, near Odessa. He worked in the oil fields, worked his way up to doing pipeline work, eventually moving to green energy work. He even became a foreman, working hard to provide for his family. And Brett was at work when he got the call from his wife Nikki that changed their lives forever. It was May 24, 2022, Nikki was at their sons’ school, Robb Elementary, in Uvalde, Texas. “This is not a fucking joke,” she said, “there’s a shooter at the boys’ school.” We talk to Brett about his life before, about living in a small town, working and making your own fun, we talk about some of the family memories he cherishes most. We remember Brett and Nikki's son Uziyah "Uzi" Garcia, we talk about the day Uzi was taken from them, along with 18 of his classmates and two of his teachers, and we talk about the unimaginable fight for justice and real change that Brett and Nikki have been fighting ever since. C/W: This episode discusses school shootings and the murdering of children. Additional links/info below… Brett's page Sneha Dey, Erin Douglas, Andrew Zhang, Brooke Park, & Jessica Priest, The Texas Tribune / ProPublica, "" Edgar Sandoval, The New York Times, "" Gus Bova, Texas Observer, "" Elissa Jorgensen, American Statesman, "" Danielle Campoamor, Today, "" Kayla Padilla, Texas Public Radio, "" Yvette Benavides, David Martin Davies, & Julián Aguilar, Texas Public Radio, "" Lomi Kriel, Alejandro Serrano, & Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune / ProPublica, "" John Woodrow Cox, Steven Rich, Linda Chong, Lucas Trevor, John Muyskens, & Monica Ulmanu, The Washington Post, "" Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song Jules Taylor, "John L. Handcox Remix" Follow Jules on and
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**'The Upsurge' is Dead. Long Live 'The Upsurge'! (w/ Teddy Ostrow)**
03/01/2024
**'The Upsurge' is Dead. Long Live 'The Upsurge'! (w/ Teddy Ostrow)**
This is an excerpt from our most recent bonus episode featuring Teddy Ostrow. To access the entire conversation, and numerous bonus episodes we have released throughout seven seasons of Working People, please visit our to unlock this content. The Upsurge was an invaluable show that documented two of the most pivotal labor union struggles in recent years as they were happening: the 2023 Teamsters contract fight at UPS, and the UAW's 2023 stand-up strike at the Big Three automakers. Even though The Upsurge has closed shop and Teddy Ostrow, Ruby Walsh, and the gang are moving on to new projects, we sat down with Teddy to take a moment to celebrate what they accomplished and talk about what we've learned from the last year in worker struggle. Additional links/info below… Teddy Ostrow profile Teddy Ostrow, The Real News Network, "" Mel Buer & Teddy Ostrow, The Real News Network, "" Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: ) Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song
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Why Do Railroad Workers Keep Dying on the Job? (w/ Nick Wurst, Matt Weaver, Mark Burrows, & Ross Grooters)
03/01/2024
Why Do Railroad Workers Keep Dying on the Job? (w/ Nick Wurst, Matt Weaver, Mark Burrows, & Ross Grooters)
"Last Wednesday, a fellow rail worker was gravely injured on the job and lost his life," a Feb 6 email from Railroad Workers United reads. "Our brother Chris Wilson, who worked for Norfolk Southern, was critically injured in its Decatur rail yard Wednesday and died Thursday at Huntsville Hospital." Another email from Feb. 9 reads, "On January 15th, a fellow rail worker was killed on the job in Ohio." Then, on Feb 17, another email: "On February 13th, a fellow rail worker was killed on the job in North Carolina. Brother Randall M. Howell, 41, of Allied Federation Lodge 563, died following a road crossing incident in Roanoke Rapids, N.C." Why are railroad workers all over the country dying on the job? And what can be done to stop these needless deaths? We talk with four railroad workers and members of Railroad Workers United (RWU). Panelists include: Nick Wurst, a freight conductor in Massachusetts, legislative rep for his union local, and currently serving on the RWU international steering committee; Matt Weaver, a member of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division-International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED-IBT) for nearly 30 years, legislative director for his union in Ohio, and a founding member of RWU: Mark Burrows, a retired locomotive engineer with 37 years in the industry, and the editor of "The Highball," RWU's quarterly newsletter: and Ross Grooters, RWU co-chair, member of Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), also serving on the BLET-IBT Iowa state legislative board, with over 20 years in the industry. Additional links/info below… Railroad Workers United , page, and page Ross's page Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Mike L, The Real News Network, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Maximillian Alvarez, Breaking Points, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Working People, "" Kari Lydersen, In These Times, "" Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song Jules Taylor, "John L. Handcox Remix" Jules Taylor,
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"Shut It Down!": On the Ground at Johns Hopkins Grad Union's Practice Picket
02/21/2024
"Shut It Down!": On the Ground at Johns Hopkins Grad Union's Practice Picket
One year ago, graduate student-workers at Johns Hopkins University overwhelmingly voted to unionize under the banner of Teachers and Researchers United (TRU-UE), which is affiliated with United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers. While workers had much to celebrate with their historic union election victory, bargaining a first contract with the university administration has been another story. On February 20, fed up with what workers say have been disrespectful and insufficient offers from the university administration, TRU-UE members held practice pickets on campus to show the administration what's in store if more progress is not made at the bargaining table soon. In this on-the-ground episode, we take you straight to the picket line to hear from worker-organizers about what they're fighting for and what they're asking supporters to do to help. Additional links/info below… Teachers and Researchers United (TRU-UE) , page, page, and Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Ryan Quinn, Inside Higher Ed, "" Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song Jules Taylor, "John L. Handcox Remix"
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Baltimore's Co-Ops Show There's Another Way to Work (at the Baltimore Museum of Industry)
02/14/2024
Baltimore's Co-Ops Show There's Another Way to Work (at the Baltimore Museum of Industry)
Baltimore has become what many consider to be ground zero in the emerging “solidarity economy” and the formation of worker-owned, cooperatively run businesses. There’s something important going on here, and there’s a lot that we can all learn from our fellow workers who are in the cooperative space—people who are living, breathing proof that there’s another way to run a business, that there's another way to run our economy, and that there are other ways we can treat work and workers. At a recent event hosted by the Baltimore Museum of Industry titled "Work Matters: Building a Worker-Owned Co-op," Max moderated a panel including workers and representatives from Common Ground Bakery Café, Taharka Bros Ice Cream, A Few Cool Hardware Stores, and the Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy (BRED). He talked to them about how they came to work at these different co-ops, how their businesses transitioned to more cooperative models, and they dig into the nitty gritty of what working at a co-op looks like, what it takes for workers to democratically run a business, and the real challenges, limitations, and rewards that come with this kind of work. Panelists include: Vince Green (Taharka Bros Ice Cream); David Evans (A Few Cool Hardware Stores); Craig Smith (A Few Cool Hardware Stores); Sierra Allen (Common Ground Bakery Café); Christa Daring (BRED). Additional links/info below… Baltimore Museum of Industry , page, and Jaisal Noor, The Real News Network, "" Jaisal Noor, The Real News Network, "" Working People, "" Lisa Elaine Held, The Washington Post, "" Rebekah Kirkman, The Real News Network, "" Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song Jules Taylor, "Working People Live Show" Theme Song Jules Taylor, "John L. Handcox I Live On Remix" Follow Jules Taylor on and
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Homegrown Sandwich Shop Workers Hit 100 Days on Strike (w/ Sydney Lankford & Perry)
02/07/2024
Homegrown Sandwich Shop Workers Hit 100 Days on Strike (w/ Sydney Lankford & Perry)
Workers at Homegrown Sustainable Sandwiches in the Seattle area voted overwhelmingly to unionize with UNITE HERE LOCAL 8 in late 2022, and they have been fighting for a first contract ever since. In fact, workers from two Homegrown stores have been on strike since late last fall in protest of the unfair termination of union leader Sydney Lankford, who was fired after speaking up at a union delegation. By the time you hear this, workers at the Redmond Homegrown location will have been on strike for over 100 days. We talk with Sydney Lankford and Perry, two members of the Homegrown workers union who are currently on strike. Additional links/info below… Homegrown workers union , , and page Homegrown Sustainable Sandwiches PETITION: STRIKE FUND: Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) Renata Geraldo, Seattle Times, "" KIRO 7, "" Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song Jules Taylor, "Homegrown outro music"
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East Palestine—1 Year After the Derailment
01/31/2024
East Palestine—1 Year After the Derailment
Feb. 3, 2024, marks the one-year anniversary of the Norfolk Southern train derailment that changed life forever for the residents of East Palestine, Ohio, and the surrounding area. The derailment of 38 rail cars and the subsequent “controlled release” and burnoff of toxic vinyl chloride was one of the most catastrophic industrial accidents in our country’s history—and a catastrophe of equal or greater proportion could happen again tomorrow, because we have done little to substantively address the issues that caused it. While the media and most of the country have forgotten about them, for the people still living in and around East Palestine, life will never be what it was on Feb 2, 2023. "At the one year mark," warns Christa, a resident who has lived in the area her whole life, "I want everybody across the country and across the world to know that this could happen to you... We were an invisible town, an invisible region, and we liked it that way. None of us ever wanted to be on the news... We were very happy being invisible, and then they poisoned our town, and it has changed everything forever." To commemorate the anniversary of the East Palestine disaster, we begin Season 7 of Working People with this special compilation episode featuring firsthand testimonies of five East Palestine residents: Christa, Chris Albright, Jessica Albright, Stella Gamble, and Daren Gamble. Additional links/info below… Jami Wallace, The Inquirer, "" Last Week Tonight, "" Emily Baumgaertner, The New York Times, "" Working People, "" Savage Joy Marie Mann, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Maximillian Alvarez, "" Savage Joy Marie Mann, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "" Maximillian Alvarez, Breaking Points, "" Mike L., The Real News Network, "" Al Jazeera English, "" Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song Dark and Synthy music for this episode also by Jules Taylor
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After Waging the Largest Healthcare Worker Strike in US History, Kaiser Workers Win Big (w/ Meg Niemi & Audrey Cardenas)
12/23/2023
After Waging the Largest Healthcare Worker Strike in US History, Kaiser Workers Win Big (w/ Meg Niemi & Audrey Cardenas)
From October 4-6 of this year, the US experienced the largest healthcare worker strike in our history, when over 75,000 workers with the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions went on a three-day strike against the healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente. Then, on October 13, after warning that more strikes could be coming if a deal wasn’t reached at the bargaining table, healthcare workers scored a major victory and reached a tentative agreement with Kaiser, which the union membership, accounting for over 85,000 Kaiser Permanente workers across the country, voted to ratify in early November. As the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions stated in a press release upon the contract ratification, “In a historic victory for frontline healthcare workers, more than 85,000 Kaiser Permanente workers have overwhelmingly voted to ratify a new contract that will bolster patient safety, make critical investments in the healthcare workforce, and set a higher standard for the healthcare industry nationwide. Approved by a margin of 98.5%, the four-year contract is in effect from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2027, at hundreds of Kaiser facilities across California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.” In this mini-cast, we speak with Meg Niemi, President of SEIU Local 49, and Audrey Cardenas, a benefits support specialist at a Kaiser dental office in Oregon, about how Kaiser healthcare workers took on the bosses and won this new contract, and what that is going to mean for workers and patients alike moving forward. Additional links/info below… SEIU Local 49 , page, and page SEIU United Healthcare Workers West , page, and page Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions and page Meg's page SEIU-UHW Press Release: "" Michael Sainato, The Guardian, "" Reuters, "" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, " (from 2021)" Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song
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Brazil's Radical Plan to Fight Slave-Like Working Conditions (w/ Marcos, John, & Vitor Filgueiras)
12/11/2023
Brazil's Radical Plan to Fight Slave-Like Working Conditions (w/ Marcos, John, & Vitor Filgueiras)
Brazil's Radical Plan to Fight Slave-Like Working Conditions (w/ Marcos, John, & Vitor Filgueiras) In this special international episode, we get the chance to talk to folks in Brazil about the farmworkers who are being trapped in slave-like conditions, and about a truly radical new government program that is trying to break the cycle of enslavement and exploitation. As Vitor Filgueiras, Professor of Economics at the Federal University of Bahia, writes, “Between 1995 and mid-2020, more than 55,000 workers were removed from conditions analogous to slavery by the Brazilian State, without any indication that there has been a reduction in this type of criminal exploitation of labour in the country. On the contrary, many workers are repeated victims of extreme exploitation.” As we discuss with Filgueiras himself in the second half of this episode, there have been numerous past efforts to liberate farmworkers from these slave-like conditions, but if workers don’t have other means or opportunities to economically sustain themselves, they are at high risk of falling right back into this exploitative system to make ends meet. And that is why the project “Vida Pós Resgate” (Life After Rescue) was created in 2017 through a partnership between the Federal University of Bahia’s Faculty of Economics and the Federal Labor Prosecution Office for the 23rd Region. The program is designed to take the fines that employers are forced to pay for violating workers rights and use that money to buy land, tools, seed, and other necessities for rescued farmworkers to develop self-sufficient farms that they own and operate themselves. While the program is still in its early stages, if it is successful, it could have wide-ranging implications for working people in Brazil and beyond. In the first half of this episode, with Vitor Filgueiras translating, we speak with Marcos and John, two farmworkers who were rescued from slave-like conditions and are now among the Life After Rescue program’s first participants. In the second half, we speak with Filgueiras about where this policy came from, what it will take to make it work, and about the fight to return the land and the means of production to the people. Special thanks to Mike Fox for editing assistance. Additional links/info below… Vitor's profile Vitor Filgueiras, Delta 8.7, ""Reuters, ""Dom Phillips, The Guardian, ""Matt Sandy, Al Jazeera, "" Working People channel Permanent links below... Working People page and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network , page, and page In These Times , page, and page The Real News Network , channel, feeds, page, and page Featured Music... Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song
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