00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,610
All right, guys.
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So this is kinda gonna kinda be the
Harold and Patrick show because I have
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been otherwise occupied this week.
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00:00:08,120 --> 00:00:11,560
So first of all, thank you both
for stepping up and covering all
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00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:16,370
of the selection and editing,
work for this week's weekly.
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00:00:16,370 --> 00:00:20,430
So I get to be kind of like a listener
this week and find out, like, what
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00:00:20,500 --> 00:00:22,360
the heck is this week's show about?
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00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:24,090
What are, what are the
shows that are in it?
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00:00:24,310 --> 00:00:26,130
What did you guys decide to edit?
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00:00:26,390 --> 00:00:29,910
I don't even actually know what you
chose for our Shows You Should Know,
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00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:32,660
so maybe, I, I should just maybe
go out and go have a coffee and
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00:00:32,870 --> 00:00:34,280
you guys could take it from here.
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00:00:34,410 --> 00:00:37,350
Actually, Chris, with the week
you've had, you probably should.
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00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:39,230
You should take a nap or something.
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Look, if you wanted to try and fix the
NLRB system, putting in a requirement
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00:00:47,870 --> 00:00:50,460
to agree to a contract within a
shorter time period is one of the
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00:00:50,460 --> 00:00:51,800
most important things you could do.
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Yes.
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I think the question is,
is that what we wanna do?
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first contract for the first
time became the second largest
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demand of workers on strike
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Nobody wants to strike.
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It's not fun to strike.
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It's not cool to strike.
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Like, we don't want to strike if
we don't have to, but we will.
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You know, I, I grew up with him just
coming from the mountaintop all the time.
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"We must unite spaceship
Earth. We're all one or none."
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We get bogged down a lotta
the times in kinda the sheer
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numbers of production, you know?
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The one, uh, B-24 bomber an hour.
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And- Right … forget about
all the people, you know,
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necessary to build that material.
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there's kind of a popular imagination,
right, in the media that was pushed of,
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like, the quaint coffee shop with the,
the artsy barista, and it's a neighborhood
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thing You don't really think about it.
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Many people didn't how it is, which is
the fast food chain with incredible demand
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00:01:51,212 --> 00:01:51,842
Here's what I know.
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00:01:51,842 --> 00:01:56,272
We got Work Stoppage, we got Reinventing
Solidarity, we got Labor Radio on
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00:01:56,302 --> 00:02:00,832
KBOO, we got Grocery Nerds, I'm really
developing an appreciation for the
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00:02:00,832 --> 00:02:04,552
manufacturing report, and we're gonna
wrap up with Working Class History,
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00:02:04,552 --> 00:02:07,472
Patrick, do you wanna start us off
talking about, uh, Work Stoppage?
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00:02:07,627 --> 00:02:12,977
On this week's episode they're looking
at the Faster Labor Contracts Act,
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00:02:13,247 --> 00:02:20,557
which is a piece of legislation that the
Teamsters have strongly weighed in behind-
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Mm-hmm
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00:02:21,277 --> 00:02:29,747
which would force employers to bargain
with newly organized workers within 10
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days of a successful vote to form a union.
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So in the conversation you're
gonna hear, they are explaining
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00:02:36,077 --> 00:02:43,197
the details of it and, and debating
weighing up, uh, how important or
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relevant this should be to labor.
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Yeah.
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The Faster Labor Contracts Act
is a big deal in that it actually
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00:02:51,627 --> 00:02:54,747
passed the Republican-controlled
House of Representatives, and
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00:02:54,747 --> 00:02:58,837
you got some Republicans crossing
the aisle in order to pass it.
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00:02:59,437 --> 00:03:05,177
But there are some concerns in
some segments of labor about
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some of the pieces of this bill.
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So yes, it's good that it's
going to force a first contract.
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Everybody who's ever watched an
organizing campaign knows winning
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the union is not the only battle.
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Then you have to negotiate a
first contract, and the companies
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can delay and delay and delay.
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That's what this act aims to streamline.
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But there are some, let's say,
questionable parts to it, and I'm
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sure they're gonna go into that.
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Your favorite labor podcast.
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The show is called Work
Stoppage, and my name is Jon Dan
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And I'm Lena
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yeah.
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Well, for our first major story, we wanna
basically check in on what the Teamsters
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have been doing to fight back against
Amazon, and it's a whole lotta shit.
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Uh, the Teamsters are an
awfully big union, and they're
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extremely active right now.
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And it's worth doing because Amazon is
far too comfortable in their monopoly
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position in US economics, and their
workers, with the help of the Teamsters,
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have decided to do something about it.
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So, so just two weeks ago, dozens of CDL
drivers at Amazon's MCI 9 facility marched
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00:04:13,219 --> 00:04:16,519
on the bosses to demand recognition
for their union, Teamsters Local 41,
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and they're fighting to join their CDL
driver Teamster siblings at the SDF 9
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facility in waging the hard struggle
against Amazon as well as Teamsters
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across the company's many sectors.
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00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:31,109
And the Teamsters have also been trying
to get legislation through America's
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00:04:31,189 --> 00:04:34,889
bicameral system, notice I don't
say democratic- … and have already
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00:04:34,889 --> 00:04:36,899
succeeded in hurdling one of the camels.
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00:04:37,229 --> 00:04:41,179
The Faster Labor Contracts Act- … has
just passed the House of Representatives,
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00:04:41,339 --> 00:04:44,889
and if passed by the other camel,
the Senate, has the potential to be
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00:04:44,889 --> 00:04:48,269
one of the most important pieces of
labor legislation in our lifetimes.
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00:04:48,539 --> 00:04:48,789
Uh, the- Well, I-
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00:04:49,675 --> 00:04:53,495
I, I'm not sure bicameral refers
to camels- It means two camels.
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00:04:53,655 --> 00:04:57,725
… but I think if, I think if we want to
refer to Congress as a dromedary, then,
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00:04:57,735 --> 00:05:01,225
you know, it is a little insulting to
the dromedary, but I, let's go with it.
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00:05:01,255 --> 00:05:04,705
Yeah, abso- well, look, you know, um,
for too long we've let them decide
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00:05:04,705 --> 00:05:06,175
that they're elephants and donkeys.
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00:05:06,175 --> 00:05:08,875
We get to pick what animal you
are, and this week you're a camel.
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00:05:09,295 --> 00:05:14,895
Uh, so the FLCA would amend the AL- NLRA
to require employers to bargain with newly
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00:05:14,895 --> 00:05:19,105
organized workers within 10 days of a
successful vote to form or join a union.
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00:05:19,395 --> 00:05:23,195
It also proposes that if no agreement
is reached within 90 days, mediation and
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00:05:23,205 --> 00:05:27,045
arbitration will be imposed against the
employers to ensure that first contracts
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00:05:27,045 --> 00:05:28,865
get fairly resolved in a timely manner.
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00:05:29,035 --> 00:05:32,995
Now, the way that that part is done
is going to make a big difference into
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how much this actually helps workers.
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00:05:34,965 --> 00:05:38,585
But it seems like if it's backed by
the Teamsters, there's going to be
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00:05:38,585 --> 00:05:41,075
a lot of thought and consideration
put forward towards that.
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00:05:41,075 --> 00:05:43,735
So this, you know, you know how
we are on this show, we're like,
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"It might help, it might not."
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Legal battles are kind of wishy-washy,
but- Well- … depending on how
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it's implemented, it could have a
lot of potential to help people.
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00:05:53,191 --> 00:06:01,111
Look, the, the, if you wanted to f-
try and fix the NLRB system, putting
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00:06:01,111 --> 00:06:04,421
in a requirement to agree to a contract
within a shorter time period is one of
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00:06:04,421 --> 00:06:05,831
the most important things you could do.
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Yes.
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00:06:06,301 --> 00:06:08,661
I think the question is,
is that what we wanna do?
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But the bigger thing here is the problem
is the mediation arbitration part,
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00:06:12,841 --> 00:06:17,061
because fundamentally what this is
ultimately doing is, is you are applying
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the Railway Labor Act to everybody.
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Mm-hmm.
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And talk to the guys in freight rail, who
are some of the people who are, like, the
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most re- like least replaceable- Mm-hmm
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um, workers out there, so
they have a lot of leverage.
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00:06:30,161 --> 00:06:33,491
And how has this forced mediation
and arbitration worked for them?
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00:06:33,701 --> 00:06:37,731
It's okay on wages, but on ever seeing
their family, on ever being able to go
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to the doctor, you know, they, like,
almost waged, they wanted to wage a
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00:06:41,381 --> 00:06:43,321
nationwide freight strike to try- Mm-hmm
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00:06:43,321 --> 00:06:45,751
and get that, and had to be
stopped by the president.
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So, like, I… If, if, if this
was actually gonna pass the
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Senate and get signed by Trump,
which that's not gonna happen.
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Like, if that was gonna happen, like,
I, I, I, I also agree with you that,
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you know, like, look, even with the
problems of arbitration, in some
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00:07:01,921 --> 00:07:06,021
sectors where the unions are extremely
weak, this would be an improvement.
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00:07:06,041 --> 00:07:09,181
But, like, if you, it's like you have
to reach a contract within, you know,
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00:07:09,201 --> 00:07:13,381
90 days or whatever, even if it's a
weak contract from arbitration and the
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people can't strike, these are unions
that will struggle to assemble a si-
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a strike fund in the first place.
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00:07:18,421 --> 00:07:22,931
And so, like, I think, like, for instance,
the example of, like, the sectoral
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bargaining sort of that exists now in
California for fast food workers, where
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00:07:26,951 --> 00:07:31,041
it doesn't really empower the workers to
strike more than they, they could before,
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00:07:31,201 --> 00:07:35,141
but it has gotten some wins, like some
actual, like, concrete improvements.
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So, like, is it really increasing
worker power in society?
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00:07:40,681 --> 00:07:41,791
Not really.
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00:07:42,221 --> 00:07:46,901
But my, it, like, so, like, that would
be my caution here, is that, like, if
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it was just the requirement you have
to reach a contract in this amount
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00:07:51,361 --> 00:07:55,521
of time, you could say unambiguously
good, but the devil is in the
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details with that forced- Completely
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arbitration.
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Completely.
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Yeah.
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I also think that if this is supposedly
the, gonna be one of the best legislations
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00:08:03,801 --> 00:08:08,881
passed in however long, it really
gives light to how terrible our, our
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00:08:08,891 --> 00:08:10,851
labor system is, considering, like-
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00:08:10,991 --> 00:08:14,091
You know, it does, but I mean, I don't,
I just don't see it getting p- I just
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00:08:14,091 --> 00:08:16,151
don't, I mean, I just don't think the
Senate's even gonna bring it to a vote.
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00:08:16,501 --> 00:08:17,541
No, they don't care.
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00:08:17,541 --> 00:08:17,681
Yeah.
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Yeah, exactly.
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I mean, we'll see.
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Maybe I'm wrong.
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Hope- hopefully I'm wrong.
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I don't know.
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To, to pass your legis- to pass
your legislation, you may ask me
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00:08:25,363 --> 00:08:29,403
and this other camel two questions,
but one of us only tells the
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00:08:29,403 --> 00:08:29,633
truth- … and one of us only lies.
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But with that, I, I think
that that's where we have to
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leave it for this episode.
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Wanna thank everybody for listening.
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And you know, as always, labor
peace is not in our interest,
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00:08:39,473 --> 00:08:41,023
and solidarity forever.
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00:08:41,449 --> 00:08:44,499
Hey, this is Lena from
the Work Stoppage podcast.
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We're a proud part of the Labor
Radio Podcast Network, more than 200
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00:08:48,719 --> 00:08:52,849
labor radio and podcast shows across
the country and around the world.
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00:08:53,159 --> 00:08:56,359
The Labor Radio Podcast
Network, where the people speak.
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00:08:56,689 --> 00:08:59,619
Find us at laborradionetwork.org
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00:09:00,019 --> 00:09:01,029
Okay.
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00:09:01,029 --> 00:09:05,279
That brings us to Reinventing Solidarity.
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00:09:05,289 --> 00:09:07,689
Harold, I think you edited that one.
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00:09:07,829 --> 00:09:12,809
Oh, I did, and I have to tell
you, Chris, it was painful.
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00:09:13,479 --> 00:09:21,039
This was so hard to edit because every
minute of this show was super interesting.
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I mean, all of the clips that we put
in the weekly are just a taste, and
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00:09:25,619 --> 00:09:29,789
we hope that the listeners will go and
listen to the full show, but this is
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00:09:29,799 --> 00:09:34,189
one in particular I really hope people
will go listen to this whole thing.
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00:09:35,109 --> 00:09:40,759
So on this week's Reinventing
Solidarity, they have on the team
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behind the Labor Strike Tracker site.
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00:09:44,869 --> 00:09:48,689
that's got a map that shows you
where all the strikes are that are
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00:09:48,689 --> 00:09:53,239
going in the U.S., and they produce
a report at the end of the year
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00:09:53,239 --> 00:09:56,249
that show trends in labor actions.
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00:09:56,919 --> 00:10:03,229
They have on three of the people behind
the s- uh, the Labor Action Tracker, and
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00:10:03,229 --> 00:10:10,859
they go really deep into some trends from
2025 that they found through the tracker.
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We couldn't fit in all of these trends,
but like I say, it's really worth going
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00:10:16,079 --> 00:10:21,599
to listen to the full episode to find
out more about things like, say, strikes
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00:10:21,599 --> 00:10:26,889
by people who aren't in a union yet or
political strikes, that kind of thing.
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00:10:29,896 --> 00:10:34,406
Welcome to Reinventing Solidarity, a
podcast of the journal New Labor Forum
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00:10:34,456 --> 00:10:37,876
and the School of Labor and Urban Studies
at the City University of New York.
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00:10:38,676 --> 00:10:42,836
My name is Chris Maisano, podcast
host and editor of New Labor Forum.
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00:10:44,937 --> 00:10:48,597
How do we know where, when, and for
how long strikes and other labor
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00:10:48,597 --> 00:10:50,247
actions happen in the United States?
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00:10:51,027 --> 00:10:54,627
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
tracks work stoppages, but since the
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00:10:54,627 --> 00:10:59,237
early 1980s, they only report the biggest
actions involving at least 1,000 workers.
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00:10:59,877 --> 00:11:04,267
Fortunately, labor activists and scholars
have an alternative: the Labor Action
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00:11:04,267 --> 00:11:08,697
Tracker, a joint project of the Cornell
University School of Industrial and Labor
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00:11:08,697 --> 00:11:13,127
Relations and the University of Illinois
School of Labor and Employment Relations.
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00:11:13,827 --> 00:11:18,107
Since 2021, the Labor Action Tracker
has been the only comprehensive
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00:11:18,107 --> 00:11:21,607
database of strikes and other work
stoppages in the United States.
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00:11:22,447 --> 00:11:26,627
The team behind it produces a very
addictive interactive map showing the
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00:11:26,627 --> 00:11:31,397
size and location of work stoppages,
as well as an excellent annual report
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00:11:31,427 --> 00:11:33,127
summarizing the previous year's data.
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00:11:33,907 --> 00:11:38,227
Three of the key researchers behind the
Labor Action Tracker, Johnny Callis of
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00:11:38,227 --> 00:11:43,277
the University of Illinois, Deepa Kailasam
Iyer of Cornell University, and Luke
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00:11:43,277 --> 00:11:47,587
O'Brien, also of Cornell, join us on
this episode of Reinventing Solidarity.
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00:11:48,367 --> 00:11:52,287
If you have never used the interactive
map, I can't recommend it highly enough.
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00:11:52,887 --> 00:11:58,027
You can find it at
striketracker.ilr.cornell.edu.
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00:12:00,384 --> 00:12:03,474
So tell us about the
origins of this project.
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00:12:03,574 --> 00:12:07,234
What was the motivation behind it, and
what did you hope to achieve with it?
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00:12:07,784 --> 00:12:08,064
Yeah.
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00:12:08,064 --> 00:12:12,784
So we, um, we created the Labor
Action Tracker in late 2020 with
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00:12:12,784 --> 00:12:14,814
really two main goals in mind.
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00:12:15,244 --> 00:12:20,294
One is to create a sort of accurate
and comprehensive database of strike
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00:12:20,294 --> 00:12:24,304
activity because of pretty severe
limitations with official data sources.
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00:12:24,304 --> 00:12:28,154
So the Bureau of Labor Statistics
historically kept really comprehensive
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00:12:28,154 --> 00:12:31,534
strike data until funding cuts,
unsurprisingly by the Reagan
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00:12:31,534 --> 00:12:33,254
administration in the early 1980s.
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00:12:33,304 --> 00:12:36,754
So the official data really capture
a small amount of strike activity,
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00:12:36,754 --> 00:12:41,084
so we wanted to create a tool that
would capture strikes of all sizes
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00:12:41,084 --> 00:12:43,764
by both union and non-union workers.
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00:12:44,064 --> 00:12:47,834
At the same time, we created this
project during a period of not just a
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00:12:47,834 --> 00:12:51,084
lot of labor unrest, a lot of sort of
social movement unrest as well, right?
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00:12:51,304 --> 00:12:53,814
Obviously, during the height of sort
of the Black Lives Matter movement,
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um, in the summer of 2020, response
to the murder of George Floyd, um, and
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00:12:58,234 --> 00:13:01,324
there was a lot of sort of spillover
between the workplace and the community.
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00:13:01,534 --> 00:13:05,324
I mean, we very much wanted to amplify
and still do the voices of striking
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00:13:05,324 --> 00:13:08,874
workers on the picket lines, especially
in those smaller actions that might not
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00:13:08,874 --> 00:13:10,954
be tracked by official data sources.
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So
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so what were your key findings regarding
labor action, labor protests, labor
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00:13:15,909 --> 00:13:18,069
strikes in twenty twenty-five in the US?
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00:13:18,492 --> 00:13:22,692
One really big one was an increase in
strikes in the healthcare industry.
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00:13:23,292 --> 00:13:29,562
Previously, it would be kind of third
or fourth in our listing of industries.
234
00:13:29,852 --> 00:13:32,942
This past year, it shot
up a lot to number two.
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00:13:33,082 --> 00:13:37,762
Accommodation and food services, which
has historically been our, the largest
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00:13:37,762 --> 00:13:42,672
industry on strike, at least by number
of strikes, remained in the first spot.
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00:13:42,842 --> 00:13:47,252
But healthcare did, I believe,
take over on strike days and
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number of workers on strike.
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00:13:49,142 --> 00:13:52,412
So that, that was a very big
change from previous years.
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00:13:52,472 --> 00:13:56,172
We also saw an increase in
first contract as a demand.
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00:13:56,242 --> 00:14:02,182
Pay is always the number one demand that
we see in all the years that the project
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00:14:02,182 --> 00:14:03,932
has been going since twenty twenty-one.
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00:14:03,972 --> 00:14:08,792
But first contract for the first
time became the second largest
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00:14:08,792 --> 00:14:10,642
demand of workers on strike.
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00:14:11,062 --> 00:14:15,602
And lastly, and we touch on this a little
bit in the article, but the Western
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region's dominance in strikes, strike
days and number of workers continued
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and even increased this past year to
being over seventy-five percent of all
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strikes, and about sixty percent of that,
I, I believe was in California alone.
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00:14:33,564 --> 00:14:39,294
Do you have any ideas or speculations
as to why healthcare as an industry
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00:14:39,314 --> 00:14:43,844
jumped up in your rankings or in,
in terms of the frequency of strikes
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00:14:43,844 --> 00:14:45,604
and other sorts of labor actions?
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00:14:45,659 --> 00:14:46,769
That's a really great question.
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00:14:46,799 --> 00:14:50,209
I think what you saw in healthcare
was a little bit of what we've seen,
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00:14:50,279 --> 00:14:54,589
especially since the pandemic, a lot
of workers frustrated about low pay and
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00:14:54,589 --> 00:14:56,729
really deteriorating staffing conditions.
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00:14:56,789 --> 00:14:59,929
I think you may have had some
especially large bargaining units
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00:14:59,929 --> 00:15:03,669
like that at Kaiser Permanente that
happened to have contracts expiring.
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00:15:04,199 --> 00:15:07,369
To me, one of the more interesting
changes with healthcare strikes,
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00:15:07,429 --> 00:15:10,603
is that we've seen some more
indefinite healthcare strikes.
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00:15:10,603 --> 00:15:13,583
For a long period of time, we
saw what we call sort of these
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00:15:13,583 --> 00:15:16,783
fixed-duration strikes where workers
will go out for one or two days.
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00:15:16,940 --> 00:15:20,750
we've seen sort of a little bit more of
an increase in these indefinite longer
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00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:24,510
healthcare strikes where healthcare
workers may not actually return to
264
00:15:24,510 --> 00:15:26,180
work until achieving a contract.
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00:15:26,223 --> 00:15:27,883
What's going on in California?
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00:15:27,923 --> 00:15:30,703
Give us a sense of what you think
may be happening out there based
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00:15:30,703 --> 00:15:31,733
on what you can see in the data.
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00:15:32,347 --> 00:15:32,607
Yeah.
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00:15:32,607 --> 00:15:36,647
So there are a couple of things that
stand out with California as a state
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00:15:36,667 --> 00:15:40,847
or region which is highly strike-prone,
one of which is that it's a large
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00:15:40,847 --> 00:15:44,637
state with a very large workforce,
which is young, mobile, and diverse.
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00:15:44,817 --> 00:15:50,097
We also see the concentration of certain
sectors of the economy, like media and
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00:15:50,097 --> 00:15:55,337
entertainment and ports, et cetera, port
being a strategic kind of a sector in
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00:15:55,337 --> 00:15:57,787
the economy with great holding power.
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00:15:57,847 --> 00:16:00,727
We also see large number of,
like, healthcare workers as
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00:16:00,737 --> 00:16:02,567
well as university systems,
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00:16:02,777 --> 00:16:07,387
the other thing being the presence of
militant unions like UAW, Teamsters,
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00:16:07,397 --> 00:16:11,107
SAG-AFTRA, who are not averse
to taking that kind of militant
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00:16:11,117 --> 00:16:13,237
action should it come down to that.
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00:16:13,577 --> 00:16:18,277
California also has a political culture
and climate which is largely left-leaning,
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00:16:18,567 --> 00:16:24,117
which has much less backlash against these
type of militant labor actions overall,
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00:16:24,327 --> 00:16:26,827
and huge public support for unions per se.
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00:16:27,127 --> 00:16:30,857
So not only will you find strikes,
but you'll also find demands like
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00:16:30,857 --> 00:16:35,847
immigration rights and anti-ICE kind
of mobilization much more in California
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00:16:35,847 --> 00:16:37,937
than in other parts of the country.
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00:16:38,113 --> 00:16:41,477
After our listeners read your
report, where else should they go
287
00:16:41,487 --> 00:16:45,177
to learn more about strikes, labor
actions, work stoppages happening
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00:16:45,177 --> 00:16:47,307
in, in the US or around the world?
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00:16:47,657 --> 00:16:51,907
I'll first say around the world
there are a lot of these projects.
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00:16:51,997 --> 00:16:57,207
We collaborated last year with a group of
them on an international strike report.
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00:16:57,237 --> 00:17:00,787
There's trackers in Turkey,
China, the UK, Uruguay.
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00:17:00,817 --> 00:17:03,777
They all put out really interesting stuff.
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00:17:03,777 --> 00:17:06,727
I would, I would recommend
people read that report.
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00:17:06,947 --> 00:17:11,417
And I think we also all really love
Labor Notes for their domestic reporting.
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00:17:11,467 --> 00:17:16,937
I'd also say people can go and follow the
accounts of actual unions, especially the
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00:17:16,937 --> 00:17:21,407
ones who are very active on social media
like Fast Food Workers Union and so on.
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00:17:21,407 --> 00:17:24,927
So they really regularly update
what is going on with the union
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00:17:24,927 --> 00:17:26,357
in different parts of the country.
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00:17:26,377 --> 00:17:29,777
So that's a great way to be in
touch with the labor movement
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00:17:29,807 --> 00:17:31,457
beyond our interactive map.
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00:17:31,567 --> 00:17:34,447
Johnny, Deepa, and Luke, thank you for
joining us on Reinventing Solidarity.
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00:17:34,947 --> 00:17:35,347
Thank you.
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00:17:35,627 --> 00:17:36,247
Thank you.
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00:17:38,284 --> 00:17:41,694
Hi, this is Steve Matthews, the
host from Riverside Rank and File.
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00:17:42,104 --> 00:17:46,614
We're part of a network with more than
200 labor radio shows and podcasts from
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00:17:46,614 --> 00:17:49,134
across the country and around the world.
307
00:17:49,304 --> 00:17:52,284
Find us at laborradionetwork.org.
308
00:17:52,564 --> 00:17:52,994
Thank you
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00:17:53,330 --> 00:17:57,100
this next one, uh,
Harold, you, you edited.
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00:17:57,100 --> 00:17:58,370
what did you pick out for us?
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00:17:58,470 --> 00:17:59,130
Yeah.
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00:17:59,130 --> 00:18:05,950
This is from Labor Radio on KBOU from
Portland, Oregon, my old hometown
313
00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:08,380
before I moved up into Washington State.
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00:18:08,990 --> 00:18:19,310
And they talk to Kevin Reed, who's the
president of SEIU Local 503, Sublocal 89.
315
00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:22,047
It, it's, it's kind of
weird, but- I didn't even
316
00:18:22,047 --> 00:18:23,280
know, I didn't know that was a thing.
317
00:18:23,810 --> 00:18:29,280
Well, so SEIU 503 is, like, the
main SEIU local, but then they break
318
00:18:29,290 --> 00:18:34,420
up into sublocals depending on the
places that they actually work.
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00:18:34,890 --> 00:18:41,690
And Sublocal 89 is in the process
of negotiating f- I think contracts
320
00:18:41,690 --> 00:18:47,100
with five different public, uh,
learning institutions in Oregon.
321
00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:51,620
And here's a shock:
things are not going well.
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00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:56,830
You're gonna hear Kevin talk about,
uh, what they proposed, what the
323
00:18:57,410 --> 00:19:04,400
college, what the colleges proposed,
and what they're doing to get
324
00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:09,130
ready for a strike, which they are
thinking is probably gonna happen.
325
00:19:11,621 --> 00:19:16,281
To you, the nine to fiver,
just making your way home.
326
00:19:16,951 --> 00:19:21,361
To you, the all-night driver
out in your cab alone.
327
00:19:22,091 --> 00:19:26,661
To you waiting for lunch break
as the minutes drag so slow.
328
00:19:27,341 --> 00:19:29,281
Take courage, turn the volume up.
329
00:19:29,941 --> 00:19:31,941
It's Labor Radio
330
00:19:33,550 --> 00:19:36,000
Good evening, and welcome to Labor Radio.
331
00:19:36,270 --> 00:19:40,200
Of the working class, by the working
class, for the working class.
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00:19:40,810 --> 00:19:43,760
I'm Laura Wadlin, here with
my co-host Jamie Partridge.
333
00:19:44,020 --> 00:19:44,660
Hey, Jamie.
334
00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:45,940
Hey, Laura.
335
00:19:47,050 --> 00:19:51,350
Our topic this evening is PSU
classified workers ready to strike.
336
00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:55,480
Our guest is Kevin Reed,
president of Service Employees
337
00:19:55,500 --> 00:19:59,090
International Union 503 Sublocal 89.
338
00:19:59,540 --> 00:20:00,490
Thanks for joining us.
339
00:20:01,098 --> 00:20:01,748
Glad to be here
340
00:20:02,209 --> 00:20:06,829
SEIU 503 Higher Ed has members at
seven universities across the state
341
00:20:07,049 --> 00:20:11,359
and is bargaining simultaneously
for a unified contract with Portland
342
00:20:11,369 --> 00:20:16,699
State, Oregon State, Western Oregon,
University of Oregon, Southern Oregon,
343
00:20:16,929 --> 00:20:18,849
Eastern Oregon, and Oregon Tech.
344
00:20:19,322 --> 00:20:26,635
So what is SEIU's- bargaining platform
and give our listeners a sense of what
345
00:20:26,635 --> 00:20:30,145
are the main sticking points in your
negotiations for a labor agreement
346
00:20:30,665 --> 00:20:31,075
yeah.
347
00:20:31,445 --> 00:20:38,045
The, the union's bargaining platform is,
I think, pretty simple and pretty much
348
00:20:38,045 --> 00:20:46,095
what it always is, is a, a fair contract
that recognized that, um, the majority
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00:20:46,155 --> 00:20:52,145
of working hours that are required
to operate a university are actually
350
00:20:52,155 --> 00:20:54,365
put in by the folks on the ground.
351
00:20:54,915 --> 00:20:58,725
At the bare minimum, we would like to
keep up with the cost of living, we would
352
00:20:58,725 --> 00:21:03,905
like reasonably priced health cares,
and we would like some, uh, language in
353
00:21:03,905 --> 00:21:09,605
place in our contract to strengthen our
union and, and keep it healthy on campus.
354
00:21:09,705 --> 00:21:17,715
Our request was, um, a two-year contract
with cost of living plus 3%, and then a
355
00:21:17,715 --> 00:21:22,085
second year with cost of living plus 4%
the administration put a fair amount
356
00:21:22,085 --> 00:21:27,115
of pressure on us to bring that to the
table quickly, and then they delayed
357
00:21:27,115 --> 00:21:32,875
their own delivery of financials,
which ended up being, um, an offer
358
00:21:32,905 --> 00:21:39,705
of a four-year contract with, uh, a
total wage freeze for all members.
359
00:21:39,915 --> 00:21:44,105
I'm not sure if sticking point
is the right phrase for that.
360
00:21:44,165 --> 00:21:50,408
But, uh, yeah, I mean, hearing
that offer was, uh, It felt like
361
00:21:50,408 --> 00:21:51,588
they wanted us to be scared.
362
00:21:51,798 --> 00:21:58,008
They are, uh, really crying poor, and it
was, it was hard to believe, honestly.
363
00:21:58,108 --> 00:22:04,838
So how are you preparing for a possible
strike, which I imagine would be Just as
364
00:22:04,848 --> 00:22:07,758
school is about to open up in the fall
365
00:22:08,270 --> 00:22:11,260
After the Fourth of July, we're
gonna start doing, um, actually
366
00:22:11,260 --> 00:22:14,580
a weekly, um, purple up day.
367
00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:18,870
Um, SEIU, our colors are
purple, um, purple and yellow.
368
00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:24,190
We'll be having a regularly
scheduled Tuesday, um, sort of march.
369
00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:29,180
We'll call it a walk for now, uh, like a
solidarity walk out in the park blocks.
370
00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:33,450
Um, we'll be encouraging folks to
wear their purple, wear their SEIU,
371
00:22:33,460 --> 00:22:39,420
make sure that their signs and, um,
uh, posters and things are visible at
372
00:22:39,420 --> 00:22:43,390
their, at their desks and cubicles,
and we'll be doing a little walk around
373
00:22:43,390 --> 00:22:48,770
the park blocks, um, probably every
Tuesday around noon or 1:00, something
374
00:22:48,770 --> 00:22:52,420
like that, something at lunchtime that
folks can come and, come and join in.
375
00:22:52,790 --> 00:22:57,290
Outside of that, in terms of, uh,
preparing, it's gonna be just a
376
00:22:57,290 --> 00:23:02,540
lot of conversation, talking to
members and getting folks prepared
377
00:23:02,540 --> 00:23:04,320
and ready for the idea of a strike,
378
00:23:04,533 --> 00:23:12,353
I was the strike committee co-chair for
the PCC strike this past spring, what
379
00:23:12,353 --> 00:23:18,113
was the impact of the PCC strike on, uh,
the classified workers at PSU since the
380
00:23:18,113 --> 00:23:22,323
PCC strike included faculty and academic
professionals and the classified union?
381
00:23:22,583 --> 00:23:26,573
I think it was, uh, encouraging.
382
00:23:26,813 --> 00:23:30,723
I hope that it sends a
message to our administration.
383
00:23:31,313 --> 00:23:37,653
Uh, the last time we got close to a
strike at SEIU, I believe, was in, uh,
384
00:23:37,653 --> 00:23:41,753
1995 or, uh, it's been a long time.
385
00:23:41,843 --> 00:23:47,743
And that was a, uh, a down to the wire,
like midnight the night before they,
386
00:23:48,033 --> 00:23:53,493
they ratified a contract and, uh, and
got across the table and, and ponied
387
00:23:53,503 --> 00:23:55,213
up for, for lack of a better word.
388
00:23:55,663 --> 00:24:02,483
Um, and so it's been a long time since,
uh, the Oregon, uh, public universities
389
00:24:02,503 --> 00:24:07,423
have felt the pain of a strike, which is,
uh, only a reflection of the pain that
390
00:24:07,423 --> 00:24:09,593
they're putting on us in, in bargaining.
391
00:24:09,953 --> 00:24:11,493
Nobody wants to strike.
392
00:24:11,813 --> 00:24:13,213
It's not fun to strike.
393
00:24:13,253 --> 00:24:14,563
It's not cool to strike.
394
00:24:14,613 --> 00:24:18,403
Like, we don't want to strike if
we don't have to, but we will.
395
00:24:18,632 --> 00:24:23,622
And to see the PCC, that they did it
and that they were successful and that
396
00:24:23,622 --> 00:24:29,518
they got a contract that they were okay
with just really, uh Really encourages
397
00:24:29,528 --> 00:24:34,698
me to say, "Well, if they can do it, we
can do it. We're not afraid. We're not
398
00:24:34,698 --> 00:24:36,278
afraid to go on strike if we have to."
399
00:24:36,598 --> 00:24:40,778
So what would be the impact of
a strike on the college as a
400
00:24:40,778 --> 00:24:43,838
whole, on the administration,
the students, the community?
401
00:24:44,368 --> 00:24:49,438
A-and how does a strike give
you the power to achieve what
402
00:24:49,438 --> 00:24:50,598
you need and what you deserve?
403
00:24:51,358 --> 00:24:55,048
Everything that the staff and
administration has to do to get
404
00:24:55,058 --> 00:24:59,878
something to the students that's
worth having goes through SEIU hands.
405
00:25:00,618 --> 00:25:03,798
Every single thing they do, whether
that's turning the lights on when they
406
00:25:03,798 --> 00:25:09,158
go into a classroom to teach, when
that's booting up their computer to put a
407
00:25:09,158 --> 00:25:14,898
presentation up on the screen, when they
are, uh, laying down in the grass in the
408
00:25:14,898 --> 00:25:19,828
park blocks, uh, on a sunny afternoon,
uh, every single one of those things
409
00:25:19,848 --> 00:25:23,018
is directly impacted by SEIU workers.
410
00:25:23,148 --> 00:25:27,578
I myself work at, um, on campus
as, uh, one of the locksmiths,
411
00:25:28,188 --> 00:25:29,988
um, at Portland State University.
412
00:25:30,018 --> 00:25:35,838
And so if the three of us on our team
were to go on strike, nobody would be able
413
00:25:35,838 --> 00:25:39,658
to get a new key for anywhere on campus.
414
00:25:40,138 --> 00:25:46,588
The entire university
operates on our, on our labor.
415
00:25:47,438 --> 00:25:50,988
There's nothing that can be done at
the university that wouldn't be slowed
416
00:25:50,998 --> 00:25:57,838
down, if not ground to a complete
halt, uh, by a strike by SEIU.
417
00:25:58,168 --> 00:26:05,148
And I think that, that all by itself, uh,
would be enough to, to, uh, change the
418
00:26:05,148 --> 00:26:09,278
minds of the, the various administrations.
419
00:26:09,478 --> 00:26:11,568
Well, that wraps it up
for this evening's show.
420
00:26:11,588 --> 00:26:18,198
You've been listening to Kevin
Reed of the SEIU 503 Sublocal 89.
421
00:26:18,828 --> 00:26:22,038
I'm Jamie Partridge here with
my co-host, Laura Wadland.
422
00:26:22,038 --> 00:26:25,238
This is Labor Radio this Monday
and every Monday at 6:00 PM.
423
00:26:26,238 --> 00:26:29,898
Hey, this is Chris Garlock
from Labor History Today.
424
00:26:30,508 --> 00:26:35,448
We're proud to be part of the Labor
Radio Podcast Network, more than 200
425
00:26:35,478 --> 00:26:40,578
labor radio and podcast shows across
the country and around the world.
426
00:26:41,008 --> 00:26:45,788
The Labor Radio Podcast
Network, where the people speak.
427
00:26:46,108 --> 00:26:49,678
Find us at laborradionetwork.org.
428
00:26:49,701 --> 00:26:53,871
our next show, um, I'm gonna hazard
a guess here, Patrick's favorite
429
00:26:53,871 --> 00:26:55,631
show this week, Grocery Nerds.
430
00:26:55,661 --> 00:26:57,821
what was the topic of
Grocery Nerds this week?
431
00:26:57,821 --> 00:26:58,861
I haven't got a clue.
432
00:26:59,351 --> 00:27:04,334
Well, I learned a lot about, uh,
Dr. Bronner's Soaps this week.
433
00:27:04,334 --> 00:27:09,104
And, uh, you know, typically I use
Dial, but I might be switching.
434
00:27:09,234 --> 00:27:15,984
Um, our friend Errol had a wild and
wonderful conversation with David Bronner,
435
00:27:15,994 --> 00:27:19,644
who is the CEO of, of Bronner's Soaps.
436
00:27:19,654 --> 00:27:21,834
Not the original Dr. Bronner.
437
00:27:21,834 --> 00:27:23,404
I believe he's the grandchild.
438
00:27:23,804 --> 00:27:26,844
He tells us a bit about
the sto- the family story,
439
00:27:29,990 --> 00:27:33,610
for how a company should
operate in the 21st century.
440
00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:34,780
Okay.
441
00:27:34,810 --> 00:27:40,360
So reading between the lines and knowing
that you have said some things to us
442
00:27:40,430 --> 00:27:47,840
off air, it sounds like, um, some of our
listeners might think that, uh, maybe Dr.
443
00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:49,870
Bronner is a little on the wacky side.
444
00:27:50,310 --> 00:27:56,000
But I think it's important to remember
that part of their whole vision is an idea
445
00:27:56,040 --> 00:27:58,390
of social and workplace justice, right?
446
00:27:58,524 --> 00:28:02,554
We're all inhabitants of Spaceship Earth,
447
00:28:06,831 --> 00:28:07,941
Welcome to Grocery Nerds.
448
00:28:08,201 --> 00:28:12,181
Grocery Nerds is the leading source
for insider commentary and analysis on
449
00:28:12,181 --> 00:28:15,301
the $1.1 trillion US grocery industry.
450
00:28:15,551 --> 00:28:18,831
This is your host, 30-year industry
veteran operator, analyst, and
451
00:28:18,831 --> 00:28:20,841
OG grocery nerd, Errol Schweizer.
452
00:28:21,271 --> 00:28:27,391
This week we have inspiring conversation
with my friend David Bronner, CEO, third
453
00:28:27,401 --> 00:28:32,111
generation of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps,
as he shares the company's history,
454
00:28:32,141 --> 00:28:36,511
social activism, their commitment to
regenerative organic farming, fair wages,
455
00:28:37,031 --> 00:28:39,311
social justice, and chasing that rainbow.
456
00:28:39,741 --> 00:28:43,131
Discover how a legacy of love,
spirituality, and sustainability
457
00:28:43,131 --> 00:28:45,821
is shaping a better future
for business and the planet.
458
00:28:46,511 --> 00:28:48,161
All right, let's jump
into this conversation
459
00:28:51,205 --> 00:28:52,705
Welcome to Grocery Nerds.
460
00:28:52,795 --> 00:28:58,315
Very special guest today, the OG,
the cosmic engagement officer, the
461
00:28:58,475 --> 00:29:03,705
CEO of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps,
all one or none, David Bronner.
462
00:29:04,405 --> 00:29:05,065
Good to see you.
463
00:29:05,625 --> 00:29:06,045
Bam.
464
00:29:06,085 --> 00:29:06,865
Right on, brother.
465
00:29:07,115 --> 00:29:07,745
Thanks for having me.
466
00:29:08,315 --> 00:29:08,985
My pleasure.
467
00:29:09,565 --> 00:29:15,005
So for those folks who may
live under a rock, tell us what
468
00:29:15,035 --> 00:29:16,725
are Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps?
469
00:29:16,755 --> 00:29:20,605
What is the history, the
legacy, the products themselves?
470
00:29:21,757 --> 00:29:23,827
So my grandfather's Dr. Bronner.
471
00:29:23,917 --> 00:29:27,647
He himself was a third-generation
German Jewish soap maker.
472
00:29:28,107 --> 00:29:34,967
His grandfather first started making
soap in 1858 in a small town in southern
473
00:29:34,967 --> 00:29:37,687
Germany called Laupheim in the basement.
474
00:29:38,127 --> 00:29:42,947
Jews were… Had gradually won rights,
uh, in the kind of post-enlightenment
475
00:29:42,957 --> 00:29:46,707
period, and so it was one of
the first family businesses.
476
00:29:47,217 --> 00:29:49,067
The, uh, family enterprise
grew quite a bit.
477
00:29:49,067 --> 00:29:52,867
The next generation built a factory
in Heilbronn, and actually our
478
00:29:52,867 --> 00:29:54,757
name at the time was Heil Bronner.
479
00:29:54,757 --> 00:29:56,707
It means healing well or healing spring.
480
00:29:57,357 --> 00:30:02,997
And, um, and w- we were supplying
most of the public washrooms and
481
00:30:02,997 --> 00:30:03,777
the Zeppelins with liquid soap.
482
00:30:03,787 --> 00:30:05,767
We pioneered liquid soap in, in Germany.
483
00:30:06,557 --> 00:30:10,477
And, um, my grandfather
was born, I think, in 1908.
484
00:30:11,037 --> 00:30:16,517
Um, and, um, he came up through
the guild system of the time,
485
00:30:16,597 --> 00:30:21,477
apprenticed with another soap maker,
earned his soap master certificate.
486
00:30:22,097 --> 00:30:25,467
Yeah, but was also very
kinda activist early on.
487
00:30:26,037 --> 00:30:29,257
Clash with his dad and two uncles who
were running the show quite a bit.
488
00:30:29,857 --> 00:30:34,487
And came over in 1929 to the
States, in Assum- uh, Chicago
489
00:30:34,487 --> 00:30:38,367
and then Milwaukee, and became a
consultant to the US soap industry.
490
00:30:38,647 --> 00:30:45,287
Berthel died in, in Theresienstadt
in 1942, and then Franziska
491
00:30:45,287 --> 00:30:46,412
in Auschwitz in 1944.
492
00:30:46,412 --> 00:30:48,997
And in the same period, my, my
granddad during the '30s, he'd met
493
00:30:49,067 --> 00:30:53,967
my grandmother, uh, and, and married
her and had three kids, and but she
494
00:30:53,967 --> 00:30:58,517
was in and out of hospitals, and she
died when he was, gosh, right, right
495
00:30:58,517 --> 00:30:59,867
around the same time as his parents.
496
00:31:00,497 --> 00:31:02,827
So just going through
immense anguish and grief.
497
00:31:03,307 --> 00:31:04,667
But he alchemized this.
498
00:31:04,907 --> 00:31:08,567
Also clearly had some, like, huge
mystical spiritual experiences in the
499
00:31:08,567 --> 00:31:10,097
course of, of this anguish and grief.
500
00:31:11,131 --> 00:31:15,571
And dedicated his life to uniting
spaceship Earth, uniting humanity across
501
00:31:15,601 --> 00:31:19,721
ethnic and religious divides, that he saw
in a nuclear armed world that the next
502
00:31:19,721 --> 00:31:23,651
Holocaust, if we don't realize that we're
all children of the same divine source,
503
00:31:23,961 --> 00:31:27,371
and all the faith traditions when they're
not demonizing each other and making
504
00:31:27,371 --> 00:31:30,961
idols of their beliefs, that they're
all pointing at the same transcendent
505
00:31:30,961 --> 00:31:34,671
source, the same source of love that,
you know, we're all children of.
506
00:31:35,111 --> 00:31:38,921
You know, somehow in the absurdity
and suffering and cruelties of
507
00:31:38,921 --> 00:31:42,191
life, somehow that is the ground
and, and reality of our being.
508
00:31:42,291 --> 00:31:46,581
He had the, uh, insight to, um, you
know, put his message on the bottle.
509
00:31:47,241 --> 00:31:49,331
So when you went to the bathroom
and forgot a magazine, you
510
00:31:49,331 --> 00:31:50,621
know, he, he, he got you.
511
00:31:51,101 --> 00:31:53,741
But it's, you know, it's a
beautiful all one love message.
512
00:31:53,741 --> 00:31:56,461
You know, he, he traded, or
he, he platforms Moses, Jesus,
513
00:31:56,491 --> 00:31:58,261
Hillel, you know, Buddha.
514
00:31:58,721 --> 00:32:01,701
Tried Lao Tzu, you know, just trying to
show that all the spiritual giants were
515
00:32:01,701 --> 00:32:05,771
on the all one love vibration and, you
know, we all gotta get on that vibration,
516
00:32:05,771 --> 00:32:07,201
or we're, you know, we're all one or none.
517
00:32:07,241 --> 00:32:09,811
You know, that was, that was
what I was raised with and
518
00:32:10,221 --> 00:32:11,871
just an incredible heritage.
519
00:32:11,871 --> 00:32:16,081
You know, I, I grew up with him just
coming from the mountaintop all the time.
520
00:32:16,081 --> 00:32:18,371
"We must unite spaceship Earth.
We're all one or none." You
521
00:32:18,371 --> 00:32:19,281
know, it was really important.
522
00:32:20,571 --> 00:32:24,281
Which, which honestly I had no idea
really what he was talking about.
523
00:32:24,311 --> 00:32:28,731
You know, it wasn't until like after
college and I had a very profound
524
00:32:28,731 --> 00:32:32,811
psychedelic experience where I experienced
ego death and died into the love and
525
00:32:32,811 --> 00:32:36,811
light at the heart of existence and was
like, "Holy shit," you know, "What?"
526
00:32:36,821 --> 00:32:38,231
You know, "My granddad's wholly right.
527
00:32:38,251 --> 00:32:41,065
This is, this is- Our reality.
528
00:32:41,945 --> 00:32:44,755
Yeah, and there's a lot more in that
experience, but anyways, there's a blog
529
00:32:44,765 --> 00:32:48,155
up on the website right now that in
part talks about this experience, which
530
00:32:48,155 --> 00:32:50,695
happened in a gay trans club in Amsterdam.
531
00:32:51,215 --> 00:32:51,455
Hmm.
532
00:32:51,625 --> 00:32:56,347
And I was just working through a lot of,
uh You know, just kind of seeing the, just
533
00:32:56,347 --> 00:33:00,537
the damage that our patriarchal culture
does to boys and men, and obviously to
534
00:33:00,537 --> 00:33:05,557
girls and ladies as well, uh, uh, with
the gender, with the constructs around
535
00:33:05,557 --> 00:33:10,187
gender and sexuality and, you know,
you're, you know, you know, do not be
536
00:33:10,187 --> 00:33:14,527
gay, do not be girly, and the way we're
socialized early and often to scorn
537
00:33:14,527 --> 00:33:18,377
expression of more feminine energy and
police ourselves, police each other,
538
00:33:18,797 --> 00:33:20,477
and just how much damage that does.
539
00:33:20,487 --> 00:33:24,547
The, you know, even the most
straightest hetero men are, are damaged.
540
00:33:24,597 --> 00:33:26,397
So anyways, so we're a big
believer in this medicine.
541
00:33:26,397 --> 00:33:27,637
I experienced it personally.
542
00:33:28,117 --> 00:33:29,997
And, uh, that's a big
part of our advocacy.
543
00:33:30,017 --> 00:33:32,657
Like, you know, I, I referenced
regenerative organic agriculture, which
544
00:33:32,717 --> 00:33:38,117
I'm sure is way more on theme here and,
but, but, uh, my other real passion is,
545
00:33:38,127 --> 00:33:42,507
is integration of these medicines in a
good way to the benefit of, of the planet.
546
00:33:42,517 --> 00:33:45,777
In part to get us to really care about,
like, what kind of food do we eat?
547
00:33:45,787 --> 00:33:46,637
How do we farm?
548
00:33:46,767 --> 00:33:50,367
You know, we're so disconnected as
consumers, and to realize our plate is
549
00:33:50,367 --> 00:33:54,417
a farm, and our fork is a pitchfork,
and our knife is a butchering knife.
550
00:33:54,747 --> 00:33:57,937
You know, like, we, we are making
a choice of what kind of farm, what
551
00:33:57,937 --> 00:33:59,197
kind of reality is in the world.
552
00:33:59,197 --> 00:34:03,557
Are we, are we being conscious in
supporting a farmer who's taking care
553
00:34:03,557 --> 00:34:06,427
of their land and their people and their
animals in a, in a good way, or are
554
00:34:06,427 --> 00:34:10,087
we just defaulting to the industrial
agricultural machine that's just ripping
555
00:34:10,087 --> 00:34:13,867
the world apart with, you know, crops
engineered to withstand weed killer?
556
00:34:14,347 --> 00:34:17,667
You know, it's just destroying
our landscapes and our ecosystems
557
00:34:17,667 --> 00:34:18,797
and our, our, our health.
558
00:34:19,357 --> 00:34:19,677
Yeah.
559
00:34:19,737 --> 00:34:22,317
Anyways, long answer to the question.
560
00:34:22,717 --> 00:34:22,907
Thank
561
00:34:23,027 --> 00:34:23,117
you though.
562
00:34:23,167 --> 00:34:23,637
All right.
563
00:34:23,687 --> 00:34:25,547
Let's bend the arc. Good talking, Dave.
564
00:34:26,187 --> 00:34:26,627
Bam.
565
00:34:26,967 --> 00:34:27,527
Thank you, brother.
566
00:34:29,597 --> 00:34:32,557
Thanks so much for tuning into this
week's episode of Grocery Nerds.
567
00:34:35,205 --> 00:34:38,245
Hey, this is Jeanne Anshel
from the Heartland Labor Forum.
568
00:34:38,545 --> 00:34:42,795
We're radio that talks back to the boss,
and we're proud to be part of the Labor
569
00:34:42,795 --> 00:34:48,655
Radio Podcast Network with more than
200 labor radio shows and podcasts from
570
00:34:48,655 --> 00:34:51,015
across the country and around the world.
571
00:34:51,405 --> 00:34:55,065
The Labor Radio Podcast Network,
where working people speak.
572
00:34:55,465 --> 00:34:59,545
Find us at laborradionetwork.org.
573
00:34:59,579 --> 00:35:04,529
one of my favorite, uh, podcasts
these days, the Manufacturing Report,
574
00:35:04,813 --> 00:35:07,403
Patrick, you edited this, uh, this show.
575
00:35:07,403 --> 00:35:08,693
What did you pick out for us?
576
00:35:09,263 --> 00:35:13,533
this is an interesting episode, They're
on site at the Detroit Historical
577
00:35:13,533 --> 00:35:18,303
Museum this week, and they're speaking
to the Historical Society's Director
578
00:35:18,303 --> 00:35:22,253
of Collections, Jeremy Dimmock,
about the Arsenal of Democracy,
579
00:35:22,712 --> 00:35:26,752
you're talking about the arsenal of
democracy during World War II, right?
580
00:35:27,134 --> 00:35:27,964
That's the one.
581
00:35:28,257 --> 00:35:28,657
Yes.
582
00:35:28,707 --> 00:35:33,957
and as Dimmock points out, most
people often think about the number
583
00:35:33,957 --> 00:35:38,307
of bombers that were being produced
per minute or per hour, and about the
584
00:35:38,307 --> 00:35:40,917
number of ammunitions or weapon…
585
00:35:40,957 --> 00:35:44,987
You know, all of the sort of
hardware of war that was produced
586
00:35:45,277 --> 00:35:47,417
by the Arsenal of Democracy.
587
00:35:47,427 --> 00:35:49,507
why was it in Detroit specifically?
588
00:35:49,507 --> 00:35:54,370
What made Detroit pr- prepared to
undertake that effort in terms of the
589
00:35:54,370 --> 00:36:00,950
environment, in terms of its geography,
its location, in terms of the auto
590
00:36:00,950 --> 00:36:06,260
industry that had preceded it, and of
course, also in terms of the workers
591
00:36:06,270 --> 00:36:11,860
that were involved, and the communities,
and the neighborhoods that were
592
00:36:12,018 --> 00:36:17,988
inextricably tied to this, this world
historical effort to make weapons of war
593
00:36:18,503 --> 00:36:22,823
I'm Scott Paul, president of the
Alliance for American Manufacturing
594
00:36:23,343 --> 00:36:27,343
and this is a special edition
of The Manufacturing Report.
595
00:36:28,343 --> 00:36:34,403
Today we're wrapping up our three-part
series on important moments in
596
00:36:34,403 --> 00:36:40,463
manufacturing history as part of
the 250th anniversary celebration
597
00:36:40,463 --> 00:36:42,983
for the United States of America.
598
00:36:43,403 --> 00:36:47,053
And to do that, we're at the
Detroit Historical Museum.
599
00:36:47,373 --> 00:36:50,553
We're gonna be talking about
the Arsenal for Democracy.
600
00:36:51,023 --> 00:36:56,283
That is the industrial might
that helped to win World War II.
601
00:36:56,963 --> 00:36:59,813
Without it, who knows
what would have happened.
602
00:37:00,283 --> 00:37:04,503
But with it, we were able to
accomplish extraordinary things.
603
00:37:04,903 --> 00:37:08,413
This city built a bomber every hour.
604
00:37:08,793 --> 00:37:14,513
It produced more machinery for
the war than one can even imagine.
605
00:37:15,023 --> 00:37:21,343
As glorious as the Arsenal for
Democracy was, there were some really
606
00:37:21,373 --> 00:37:26,943
specific negative consequences for
the people and for the community
607
00:37:27,093 --> 00:37:29,173
as well, and we'll get into those.
608
00:37:29,343 --> 00:37:33,063
To talk about the role that Detroit
played in the Arsenal for Democracy, we're
609
00:37:33,063 --> 00:37:34,703
gonna be speaking with Jeremy Demick.
610
00:37:35,373 --> 00:37:39,083
Jeremy's an expert here with
the Detroit Historical Museum.
611
00:37:39,263 --> 00:37:39,973
Let's get started.
612
00:37:41,373 --> 00:37:41,903
Hey, Jeremy.
613
00:37:41,953 --> 00:37:42,353
Hey.
614
00:37:42,433 --> 00:37:43,353
Yeah, Scott Tull.
615
00:37:43,383 --> 00:37:43,933
Hey, Scott.
616
00:37:43,943 --> 00:37:44,523
Nice to meet you.
617
00:37:44,803 --> 00:37:45,103
Great.
618
00:37:45,103 --> 00:37:47,733
Thank you so much for spending
some time with us today.
619
00:37:47,733 --> 00:37:48,733
Oh, absolutely.
620
00:37:48,993 --> 00:37:49,173
Look forward to it.
621
00:37:49,173 --> 00:37:49,773
Happy to show you around.
622
00:37:49,893 --> 00:37:50,333
All right.
623
00:37:50,333 --> 00:37:53,533
There had been a bit of, I don't know
if you… It's a little bit more than
624
00:37:53,533 --> 00:37:55,963
dabbling, you know- Yeah … during
World War I- Sure … where there's a
625
00:37:55,973 --> 00:38:00,083
bit of this kinda mobilization effort
of- Mm-hmm … you know, taking these
626
00:38:00,093 --> 00:38:04,353
private companies and turning them
toward war production, uh, with kind
627
00:38:04,353 --> 00:38:06,823
of varying success during World War I.
628
00:38:06,823 --> 00:38:07,083
Yeah.
629
00:38:07,143 --> 00:38:10,853
Um, and so there's a bit of that
going on earlier in the 20th century.
630
00:38:10,853 --> 00:38:14,973
But yeah, as you know, in the 1930s,
especially during the Depression, it,
631
00:38:15,203 --> 00:38:19,313
uh, kind of all of this manufacturing
kinda recedes a little bit and,
632
00:38:19,623 --> 00:38:24,033
uh, really focuses in on, um, yeah,
it's, it's not really military.
633
00:38:24,033 --> 00:38:25,413
It's more- Right … civilian- Right
634
00:38:25,423 --> 00:38:26,013
in nature, for sure.
635
00:38:26,013 --> 00:38:31,613
And one last question before we e-
get into the arsenal itself, uh, and
636
00:38:31,613 --> 00:38:37,353
the development of it, is that what
made Detroit the right place for this
637
00:38:37,363 --> 00:38:39,983
auto production in the first place?
638
00:38:40,023 --> 00:38:40,293
Yeah.
639
00:38:40,383 --> 00:38:42,293
Was it, like, geography?
640
00:38:42,293 --> 00:38:45,463
Was it just the, the, you know,
the entrepreneur who was here?
641
00:38:45,473 --> 00:38:46,433
You know, what, what- Yeah
642
00:38:46,433 --> 00:38:50,233
what kinda led, what was the
formula that led to Detroit becoming
643
00:38:50,233 --> 00:38:51,893
the, the hub of all of this?
644
00:38:51,953 --> 00:38:52,283
Yeah.
645
00:38:52,283 --> 00:38:56,203
It, again, goes back to this, uh,
goes back into the 1800s where
646
00:38:56,203 --> 00:39:00,153
Michigan's really uniquely positioned
as far as natural resources go.
647
00:39:00,153 --> 00:39:00,383
Mm-hmm.
648
00:39:00,623 --> 00:39:05,663
Uh, and Detroit is, uh, you know, natural
resources from Michigan's Upper Peninsula
649
00:39:05,663 --> 00:39:07,943
and Northern Michigan, so lumber first-
650
00:39:08,003 --> 00:39:08,423
Oh, sure
651
00:39:08,433 --> 00:39:09,973
then I think- Yeah … iron ore next.
652
00:39:09,973 --> 00:39:10,233
Yeah, iron ore.
653
00:39:10,233 --> 00:39:13,443
You know, all of these kinda critical
components that you need to build
654
00:39:13,453 --> 00:39:18,363
things, and kind of ingredients of hea-
having he- heavy industry are being
655
00:39:18,363 --> 00:39:19,633
pulled out of the Upper Peninsula.
656
00:39:19,633 --> 00:39:23,163
And Detroit is really the first stop
on the Great Lakes before you get to
657
00:39:23,203 --> 00:39:26,883
Cleveland or before you get to Buffalo,
where there's any kind of refining
658
00:39:26,913 --> 00:39:31,113
capability for all of this material
that's coming out of the Upper Peninsula.
659
00:39:31,143 --> 00:39:37,273
So it's a geographical kind of advantage,
but, uh, it's a, uh, you know, uh, a
660
00:39:37,323 --> 00:39:39,223
technological, I guess, advantage too.
661
00:39:39,233 --> 00:39:39,253
Mm-hmm.
662
00:39:39,263 --> 00:39:42,593
There's the center of, uh, refining
here- Mm-hmm … in the city-
663
00:39:42,593 --> 00:39:46,463
Okay … kind of sets it off on this
path to where it's, you know, uh,
664
00:39:46,493 --> 00:39:48,753
cast iron stove manufacturing first.
665
00:39:48,753 --> 00:39:52,333
You know, Detroit's- Mm-hmm … the, the
world capital of cast iron stove- Yeah.
666
00:39:52,333 --> 00:39:54,133
Yeah … manufacturing in the 1880s.
667
00:39:54,403 --> 00:39:57,393
And then you get into rail car
production, which of course sets you
668
00:39:57,393 --> 00:40:04,273
up for kinda that heavy industry, um,
that real industrial kinda bent, and
669
00:40:04,333 --> 00:40:08,873
not just heavy industry, but kind of
a precision, uh, of heavy industry
670
00:40:08,873 --> 00:40:10,783
that's necessary for building cars.
671
00:40:11,023 --> 00:40:11,143
Yeah.
672
00:40:11,143 --> 00:40:13,473
Then once you get into the
20th century, of course, it's,
673
00:40:13,483 --> 00:40:16,553
it's, um, refinements to- Mm
674
00:40:16,563 --> 00:40:17,483
mass production.
675
00:40:17,493 --> 00:40:21,623
I think- Sure … specifically the Model
T- Okay … just kinda the perfection
676
00:40:21,633 --> 00:40:27,283
of that manufacturing process that, um,
yeah, really, really is critical to the
677
00:40:27,283 --> 00:40:29,183
war effort later in the 20th century.
678
00:40:31,839 --> 00:40:38,809
It seems to me that just based on, like,
scale and know-how in manufacturing that
679
00:40:38,819 --> 00:40:45,939
you kinda had to come to Detroit to, um-
Both plan and to think about how to do
680
00:40:45,939 --> 00:40:48,149
this 'cause that's where the capacity was.
681
00:40:48,189 --> 00:40:48,709
Yeah.
682
00:40:48,709 --> 00:40:49,019
Yeah.
683
00:40:49,019 --> 00:40:52,429
There's, you know, of course manufacturing
going on all over the country, but kind
684
00:40:52,429 --> 00:40:57,019
of the scale of manufacturing needed
to be able to scale up in that short
685
00:40:57,019 --> 00:41:02,259
period, you know, from roughly 1940 to
the end of 1941, it's less than two years.
686
00:41:02,699 --> 00:41:05,519
Um, Detroit is really the
only place manufacturing
687
00:41:05,519 --> 00:41:07,299
anything on that kinda scale.
688
00:41:07,659 --> 00:41:11,919
Uh, you know, Ford had built a million
cars in a year before this point, and
689
00:41:11,919 --> 00:41:15,669
so there's, there's scale and there's
know-how and there's kinda the… Even
690
00:41:15,669 --> 00:41:20,199
though a lot of the labor in the factories
itself is relatively unskilled labor,
691
00:41:20,209 --> 00:41:25,099
there's kind of all of this background of
skilled labor, um, you know, machinists
692
00:41:25,099 --> 00:41:31,619
and tie makers and, and, uh, people like,
um, William Knudsen who set up assembly
693
00:41:31,619 --> 00:41:33,819
lines or Charles Sorensen who sets up.
694
00:41:33,819 --> 00:41:35,209
You know, that's their job.
695
00:41:35,229 --> 00:41:38,599
They know how to make things, make
a lot of things really fast in the
696
00:41:38,599 --> 00:41:43,129
most efficient way possible, and
that's kinda Detroit's, uh, Detroit's
697
00:41:43,139 --> 00:41:45,699
reputation, uh, at this point in history.
698
00:41:46,299 --> 00:41:49,909
You know, you, we, we get bogged down
a lotta the times in kinda the sheer
699
00:41:49,949 --> 00:41:51,639
numbers of production, you know?
700
00:41:51,639 --> 00:41:54,569
The one, uh, B-24 bomber an hour.
701
00:41:54,849 --> 00:41:57,959
You know, you- Yeah … you get, uh,
y- you get down the rabbit hole of
702
00:41:57,959 --> 00:42:00,239
those things and- Right … forget
about all the people, you know,
703
00:42:00,239 --> 00:42:02,299
necessary to build that material.
704
00:42:02,299 --> 00:42:06,449
And, you know, factories because of
this glut of work and these contracts
705
00:42:06,449 --> 00:42:08,589
were operating around the clock.
706
00:42:08,939 --> 00:42:14,329
And really, uh, you see this period in
the 1940s where, uh, the pay is really
707
00:42:14,329 --> 00:42:17,969
good because there's, there's more
work than there are people to do it.
708
00:42:18,319 --> 00:42:22,889
Because there's more work than there is
people to do it, you see people who are
709
00:42:22,919 --> 00:42:28,419
traditionally kinda locked out of these,
um, high-paying jobs get an opportunity-
710
00:42:28,429 --> 00:42:30,099
Hmm … to actually take these jobs.
711
00:42:30,109 --> 00:42:34,019
So of course famously, you know,
uh, the Rosie the Riveter- Oh, sure.
712
00:42:34,029 --> 00:42:36,799
Yeah … uh, stereotype of-
Sure … you know, 30% of the
713
00:42:36,799 --> 00:42:38,139
male workforce is gone- Yeah
714
00:42:38,139 --> 00:42:40,469
either drafted or enlisted
into the armed service.
715
00:42:40,469 --> 00:42:44,719
So there's, you know, um, there's
fewer people, uh, in the factories.
716
00:42:45,451 --> 00:42:49,551
Women end up filling a lot of those
roles, and they're kind of asked to
717
00:42:49,551 --> 00:42:54,211
juggle these two very different things,
where it's like you need to help out on
718
00:42:54,211 --> 00:42:57,611
the home front, but then you also are
supposed to be taking care of your family.
719
00:42:57,941 --> 00:43:01,151
And they're in this really interesting
situation where they're kinda damned if
720
00:43:01,151 --> 00:43:02,521
they do and they're damned if they don't.
721
00:43:02,561 --> 00:43:02,661
Yeah.
722
00:43:02,741 --> 00:43:07,311
Where, um, you know, you see a rise
in juvenile delinquency in the 1940s,
723
00:43:07,311 --> 00:43:11,931
and that gets blamed on, uh, women not
being at home- Not being at home … and
724
00:43:11,931 --> 00:43:13,201
actually working- Okay … in a factory.
725
00:43:13,261 --> 00:43:20,291
So Jeremy, thank you so much for really
bringing The Arsenal of Democracy to
726
00:43:20,291 --> 00:43:25,461
life for me, and the profound impact
it had on the people of Detroit.
727
00:43:25,511 --> 00:43:25,861
Oh, yeah.
728
00:43:25,921 --> 00:43:26,581
Very much appreciate it.
729
00:43:26,631 --> 00:43:27,251
Absolutely.
730
00:43:27,311 --> 00:43:27,971
It was our pleasure.
731
00:43:29,035 --> 00:43:31,965
Hey, this is Dan Golodner from
Tales from the Reuther Library.
732
00:43:32,585 --> 00:43:36,635
I'm proud to be part of the Labor Radio
Podcast Network with more than 200
733
00:43:36,645 --> 00:43:40,655
labor radio shows and podcasts from
across the country and around the world.
734
00:43:41,185 --> 00:43:44,725
The Labor Radio Podcast Network,
where working people speak.
735
00:43:44,725 --> 00:43:47,035
Find us at laborradionetwork.org.
736
00:43:47,344 --> 00:43:50,544
All right, our next show,
Working Class History.
737
00:43:50,754 --> 00:43:52,824
Patrick, you did the edit on this one.
738
00:43:52,834 --> 00:43:53,434
what's the topic?
739
00:43:53,434 --> 00:43:54,214
What'd you pick out?
740
00:43:55,034 --> 00:43:56,434
This is great timing, really.
741
00:43:56,534 --> 00:44:02,774
you know, there's been a extensive series
from Haymarket chronicling the most recent
742
00:44:02,904 --> 00:44:05,154
Starbucks organizing campaign lately.
743
00:44:05,154 --> 00:44:09,704
That's not what we're listening to today,
but they have assembled a three-part
744
00:44:09,704 --> 00:44:15,124
series looking at an earlier generation
of union organizing at Starbucks.
745
00:44:15,124 --> 00:44:18,514
In this case, it was organized by the IWW.
746
00:44:18,514 --> 00:44:18,791
Yep.
747
00:44:18,791 --> 00:44:22,621
And you're going to hear today
from Daniel Gross, who was a
748
00:44:22,871 --> 00:44:25,131
barista in the early 2000s.
749
00:44:25,181 --> 00:44:31,121
He talks about what it was like working
there, the particular pressures that were
750
00:44:31,121 --> 00:44:35,911
involved in the job at that time, what
happened and how the company responded
751
00:44:35,911 --> 00:44:37,701
when they decided they wanted a union.
752
00:44:37,777 --> 00:44:41,757
In recent years, thousands of Starbucks
workers have organized themselves
753
00:44:41,787 --> 00:44:45,527
at hundreds of locations around
the US and walked out on strike.
754
00:44:46,107 --> 00:44:49,927
But before the current wave of
unionization, in the 2000s, an
755
00:44:49,957 --> 00:44:53,127
earlier group of workers also
decided to take on the biggest
756
00:44:53,127 --> 00:44:54,857
coffee corporation in the world.
757
00:44:55,317 --> 00:44:59,137
Through grassroots organizing and a
direct action approach, they managed
758
00:44:59,137 --> 00:45:01,997
to win improvements on the job
against one of the most infamously
759
00:45:02,037 --> 00:45:04,327
anti-union corporations in the world.
760
00:45:04,827 --> 00:45:06,547
This is Working Class History.
761
00:45:07,547 --> 00:45:12,947
Bella ciao, bella ciao,
bella ciao, ciao, ciao
762
00:45:16,783 --> 00:45:21,573
In 2021, workers at a Starbucks store
in Buffalo, New York got together and
763
00:45:21,573 --> 00:45:25,963
officially formed a union at their
workplace, Starbucks Workers United.
764
00:45:26,443 --> 00:45:30,313
Since then, workers at over
640 other stores around the
765
00:45:30,313 --> 00:45:31,803
US have unionized as well.
766
00:45:32,363 --> 00:45:36,703
As we're making these episodes, Starbucks
workers are on strike, demanding a union
767
00:45:36,733 --> 00:45:39,233
contract and an end to union busting.
768
00:45:39,673 --> 00:45:42,443
So we thought now would be a good
time to explore the little-known
769
00:45:42,443 --> 00:45:46,603
previous wave of workers organizing
at Starbucks in the 2000s, and
770
00:45:46,603 --> 00:45:47,873
the lessons we can learn from it.
771
00:45:48,673 --> 00:45:53,293
Starbucks was first formed as a
single coffee shop in Seattle in 1971.
772
00:45:54,213 --> 00:45:58,873
They opened a couple of other outlets, and
in 1982 they hired Howard Schultz, who led
773
00:45:58,873 --> 00:46:03,203
expansion efforts and put together a group
of investors to take over the company.
774
00:46:03,783 --> 00:46:08,343
In 1985, Starbucks Coffee Roasters
unionized with the United Food
775
00:46:08,343 --> 00:46:11,903
and Commercial Workers Union,
and store workers joined as well.
776
00:46:12,413 --> 00:46:15,833
But a union official reported
Schultz, quote, "going ballistic"
777
00:46:16,003 --> 00:46:20,183
end quote, at them, and removing
them from work premises, and soon
778
00:46:20,333 --> 00:46:24,923
the union was decertified in stores,
and in 1992, the roasting plant
779
00:46:24,933 --> 00:46:26,633
union was decertified as well.
780
00:46:27,103 --> 00:46:30,893
With the union gone, the scene
was set for Starbucks to expand
781
00:46:30,973 --> 00:46:35,433
massively, with no risk of its workers
demanding too big a share of the pie.
782
00:46:36,103 --> 00:46:40,483
A typical workday at Starbucks,
it was rough, and I was
783
00:46:40,493 --> 00:46:43,613
struck pretty quickly by that.
784
00:46:43,903 --> 00:46:48,563
And I, I remember, like this is obviously,
you know, 20-plus years ago, I still
785
00:46:48,563 --> 00:46:54,669
remember in particular This thought,
like, Starbucks has really mastered
786
00:46:55,209 --> 00:47:01,769
how to suck as much labor as possible
out of you, you know, drain you each
787
00:47:01,829 --> 00:47:04,769
hour, each shift, each minute, right?
788
00:47:04,769 --> 00:47:07,469
So I was definitely struck
right off the bat that there was
789
00:47:07,469 --> 00:47:12,069
something really intense about
the type of exploitation there
790
00:47:12,199 --> 00:47:17,329
This is Daniel Gross, who started working
at Starbucks in New York City in 2003.
791
00:47:17,619 --> 00:47:20,339
So, you know, wage very, very low.
792
00:47:20,339 --> 00:47:21,189
Were there tips?
793
00:47:21,209 --> 00:47:22,739
Yes, there were some tips.
794
00:47:22,769 --> 00:47:26,339
You know, this is cash tipping,
but, you know, when you got your
795
00:47:26,349 --> 00:47:29,829
paycheck, basically the tips usually
would be for like a MetroCard.
796
00:47:29,929 --> 00:47:34,589
I think this is less true now, but then
there's kind of a popular imagination,
797
00:47:35,239 --> 00:47:40,609
right, in the media that was pushed of,
like, the quaint coffee shop with the,
798
00:47:40,619 --> 00:47:46,189
the artsy barista, and it's a neighborhood
thing You don't really think about it.
799
00:47:46,189 --> 00:47:52,779
Many people didn't how it is, which
is the fast food chain with incredible
800
00:47:53,269 --> 00:47:55,819
demand i- in many parts of the day.
801
00:47:56,629 --> 00:47:59,819
So the shifts were very, very stressful.
802
00:47:59,959 --> 00:48:04,199
You know, just to, just to kind of
put a illustration on it, several
803
00:48:04,199 --> 00:48:09,149
times, not once or twice, several,
you know, from time to time, not
804
00:48:09,159 --> 00:48:13,009
infrequently, you see a coworker
at the bar literally breaking down.
805
00:48:13,679 --> 00:48:14,729
Breaking down.
806
00:48:15,379 --> 00:48:20,029
Total freak-out just because it's
just such a overwhelm, you know?
807
00:48:20,799 --> 00:48:26,839
Big, big demand, understaffed, companies
pushing these time metrics on your
808
00:48:26,839 --> 00:48:29,849
throat, writing you up, all the things.
809
00:48:30,269 --> 00:48:34,719
Really, really stressful
shifts, very tightly controlled.
810
00:48:35,319 --> 00:48:38,969
From his previous work experience
at the bookshop Borders, Daniel had
811
00:48:38,999 --> 00:48:42,349
tried to organize with his coworkers
before, and in doing so joined the
812
00:48:42,349 --> 00:48:44,109
Industrial Workers of the World Union.
813
00:48:44,629 --> 00:48:49,349
So my store was on the East Side
of Manhattan on Madison Avenue.
814
00:48:49,809 --> 00:48:52,739
This is a, you know, heart
of the advertising industry,
815
00:48:52,779 --> 00:48:54,179
to add that little twist.
816
00:48:55,359 --> 00:49:02,079
I mean, every barista basically was
frustrated with the issues I mentioned,
817
00:49:02,159 --> 00:49:08,819
you know, being underpaid, understaffed,
difficulty with the work hours.
818
00:49:09,479 --> 00:49:12,579
So I think that was kind
of motivated all of us.
819
00:49:13,289 --> 00:49:17,889
The first step I did is, is the
same step, you know, these years
820
00:49:17,889 --> 00:49:23,049
later of working with union builders
through Solidaire Union network,
821
00:49:23,149 --> 00:49:25,059
and it's like, you know, get a list.
822
00:49:25,069 --> 00:49:27,269
Make a list of your coworkers, right?
823
00:49:27,859 --> 00:49:29,159
Uh, that was the thing.
824
00:49:29,249 --> 00:49:33,359
You know, all I had to do was get ahold
of… Uh, you know, I think I just
825
00:49:33,449 --> 00:49:36,839
took or copied the schedule, right?
826
00:49:36,839 --> 00:49:37,939
Or the roster.
827
00:49:38,439 --> 00:49:39,239
Probably both.
828
00:49:40,269 --> 00:49:41,249
Just get a sense.
829
00:49:41,409 --> 00:49:46,539
Just have on paper or have in your
computer, um, you know, who the folks are.
830
00:49:46,549 --> 00:49:50,639
Like, literally the names of the folks,
all the folks you work with, not just
831
00:49:50,639 --> 00:49:52,139
the ones you think will resonate.
832
00:49:52,789 --> 00:49:53,989
That's what I did.
833
00:49:54,159 --> 00:49:55,749
That's all we've got time for this week.
834
00:49:56,029 --> 00:49:59,619
You can learn more about what types
of direct action the union took and
835
00:49:59,619 --> 00:50:03,019
what they won in the rest of this
miniseries, as well as how the union
836
00:50:03,019 --> 00:50:04,869
ended up and lessons for today.
837
00:50:05,279 --> 00:50:06,089
Thanks for listening.
838
00:50:06,359 --> 00:50:07,149
Catch you next time.
839
00:50:08,149 --> 00:50:10,919
Hey, this is Carmen
Rodriguez from El Desvío.
840
00:50:11,669 --> 00:50:16,639
At LCLAA, we're proud to be part of the
Labor Radio Podcast Network with more than
841
00:50:16,639 --> 00:50:21,409
200 labor radio shows and podcasts from
across the country and around the world.
842
00:50:21,869 --> 00:50:25,769
The Labor Radio Podcast Network,
where working people speak.
843
00:50:26,639 --> 00:50:29,699
Find us at laborradionetwork.org.
844
00:50:30,405 --> 00:50:35,105
all right, guys, time for our
speed round, shows you should know.
845
00:50:35,165 --> 00:50:35,705
Harold?
846
00:50:36,395 --> 00:50:39,785
the Union Labor Advisory Network podcast.
847
00:50:39,805 --> 00:50:45,825
talked with the new IBEW Local
25 president, Sean Meehan, about
848
00:50:45,835 --> 00:50:50,325
leadership, apprenticeships, workforce
development, and the life-changing
849
00:50:50,325 --> 00:50:54,525
opportunities available through
the unionized electrical industry
850
00:50:56,312 --> 00:50:57,462
Podcast is back.
851
00:50:57,542 --> 00:51:02,822
Kim kicks things off by talking with Sarah
Jane Kennett about growing up in foster
852
00:51:02,822 --> 00:51:07,002
care, living with multiple disabilities,
and her varied labor history.
853
00:51:07,431 --> 00:51:12,241
Cassie Kilroy-Thompson joins Bill on
Maryland Labor History to talk about
854
00:51:12,241 --> 00:51:15,751
the labor history of Texas, Maryland.
855
00:51:15,851 --> 00:51:20,311
Solidarity Breakfast chairs the
Australian Education Union's Daryl
856
00:51:20,341 --> 00:51:26,581
Cooke discussing why union members voted
the Victorian government's offer down.
857
00:51:26,665 --> 00:51:28,675
on the Worker Power Hour.
858
00:51:28,765 --> 00:51:30,785
Jenny Hernandez reflects
on what she learned at the
859
00:51:30,795 --> 00:51:32,775
National Teamsters Convention.
860
00:51:33,315 --> 00:51:37,555
Philip Cothran sits down for an honest
discussion about the relationship between
861
00:51:37,555 --> 00:51:39,795
the Republican Party and organized labor.
862
00:51:40,255 --> 00:51:45,345
Tim Ballard discusses entrepreneurship,
community involvement, and the
863
00:51:45,345 --> 00:51:49,275
role local businesses play in
strengthening the Inland Empire
864
00:51:49,375 --> 00:51:53,315
we have one more, a late breaking show
actually, literally folks, just came in
865
00:51:53,315 --> 00:51:57,295
at the last minute, Why did we decide to
include, uh, the Green and Red Podcast?
866
00:51:57,905 --> 00:52:04,345
Well, they have an update on the
Prolan 9 case, and this is a, uh, case
867
00:52:04,345 --> 00:52:06,215
that's been going through the courts.
868
00:52:06,635 --> 00:52:13,045
There was a noise protest about a year
ago outside an ICE detention center.
869
00:52:13,095 --> 00:52:20,245
Protesters were setting off fireworks
in solidarity with detainees inside, and
870
00:52:21,855 --> 00:52:30,105
due to an unfortunate sequence of events,
uh, gunfire broke out between protesters
871
00:52:30,235 --> 00:52:33,085
and the security officer got injured.
872
00:52:33,475 --> 00:52:41,635
Since then, the, uh, protesters have
been charged as domestic terrorists.
873
00:52:41,945 --> 00:52:46,265
The administration has tried to make this
into kind of a showcase demonstrating
874
00:52:46,265 --> 00:52:52,515
how heav- heavy-handed they intend
to be with Antifa as they see it.
875
00:52:52,605 --> 00:52:59,095
Um, Scott and Bob have been doing
a, a great job of following this
876
00:52:59,125 --> 00:53:05,055
They've just handed down very severe
sentences to the nine protesters
877
00:53:05,055 --> 00:53:06,805
who were convicted in this case.
878
00:53:07,625 --> 00:53:08,715
It's ongoing.
879
00:53:08,725 --> 00:53:10,045
There will be an appeal.
880
00:53:10,289 --> 00:53:14,889
Scott's joined on the show by journalist
Adam Federman, and so they're talking
881
00:53:14,919 --> 00:53:19,249
about the latest with the case, but also
about some of the broader implications
882
00:53:19,329 --> 00:53:24,679
of, o- of this case, which, um, they,
they consider quite serious for an-
883
00:53:24,689 --> 00:53:30,439
anyone engaged in sort of organized
protest in, in, in the United States.
884
00:53:30,728 --> 00:53:33,658
And that's a wrap for this
week's Labor Radio Podcast
885
00:53:33,698 --> 00:53:36,258
Weekly on this holiday weekend.
886
00:53:36,338 --> 00:53:44,318
Your roundup from nearly 250 shows
in the Labor Radio Podcast Network.
887
00:53:44,618 --> 00:53:48,368
Find links to every show at
laborradionetwork.org and follow
888
00:53:48,368 --> 00:53:53,128
#laborradiopod on BlueSky,
X, Facebook, and Instagram
889
00:53:53,248 --> 00:53:55,418
And we love to hear what you think, folks.
890
00:53:55,418 --> 00:53:57,108
We read all our email.
891
00:53:57,138 --> 00:54:01,808
Info@laborradionetwork.org
is how you get hold of us.
892
00:54:01,950 --> 00:54:04,970
It's hot as hell, so- … why
not buy a T-shirt?
893
00:54:05,070 --> 00:54:08,514
We have two colors available
in m- a bunch of sizes
894
00:54:09,374 --> 00:54:10,614
We've got T-shirts, people.
895
00:54:10,734 --> 00:54:11,954
That's all you need to know.
896
00:54:12,136 --> 00:54:13,586
Uh, for laborradionetwork.org.
897
00:54:14,126 --> 00:54:18,186
You know, I'm thinking we should get some
of those, like, tank tops and so forth
898
00:54:18,196 --> 00:54:19,856
to, you know, get with the season here.
899
00:54:20,226 --> 00:54:21,146
Oh, heck yeah.
900
00:54:21,196 --> 00:54:26,076
If anyone, uh, wants to purchase
a T-shirt, I can turn it into
901
00:54:26,076 --> 00:54:29,366
a tank top for you or give you
instructions on how to do that.
902
00:54:30,554 --> 00:54:34,094
You heard it here first,
info@laborradionetwork.org,
903
00:54:34,114 --> 00:54:35,784
Patrick is on it.
904
00:54:36,674 --> 00:54:41,694
This show is covered under a SAG-AFTRA
collective bargaining agreement.
905
00:54:41,946 --> 00:54:48,736
And it's also produced by Chris Garlock,
Patrick Dixon, and me, Harold Phillips.
906
00:54:48,828 --> 00:54:50,028
Stay active.
907
00:54:50,122 --> 00:54:54,192
Stay tuned to your local
Labor Radio or podcast show.
908
00:54:54,358 --> 00:54:55,818
And we'll see you all next week.
909
00:54:55,981 --> 00:54:57,961
Everybody be safe out
there during the 4th.
910
00:54:58,071 --> 00:54:59,161
Stay cool