Labor Force Podcast

From hospital picket lines to Southern auto plants to a legal brothel in Nevada — and all the way to corporate offices rocked by AI layoffs — this episode connects the dots.

More than 31,000 health care workers at Kaiser Permanente are still on strike, demanding enforceable staffing standards and real raises after years of burnout. In New York, nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian proved that holding the line can win concrete gains. In C...

In this episode, we run through a wave of labor fights and political organizing that all point to the same thing: working people are done waiting their turn. From teachers in San Francisco forcing movement after a historic strike, to nurses in New York City refusing to be rushed into a weak contract, to health care workers walking out at Kaiser Permanente, this is what collective power looks like in real time. We also dig into the ...

This episode breaks down why unions still work—even as organizing faces political and economic headwinds. We cover new data showing union workers earn more and have better benefits, major wins like the UAW’s first contract at Volkswagen in Chattanooga and Iowa nurses unionizing with the Teamsters, and ongoing strikes by healthcare workers in New York and at Kaiser Permanente. We also look at the push to pressure Starbucks over st...

This episode looks at how immigration enforcement, union-busting, and corporate cost-cutting are all part of the same war on workers — and how workers are fighting back.

We break down the Minneapolis shutdowns demanding ICE leave Minnesota, the growing wave of nurse strikes in NYC and across Kaiser Permanente facilities, UPS’s plan to cut up to 30,000 jobs while posting massive profits, and the Trump administration’s attacks on fed...

This episode of Labor Force Podcast tracks a labor movement in motion, from mass protest to workplace transformation.

We start in Minnesota, where tens of thousands joined a coordinated economic blackout and protests demanding ICE leave the state, accountability for the killing of Renee Good, and an end to ICE funding—raising serious questions about the power and potential of general strikes.

We then cover an impending open-ended s...

A turbulent start to 2026 makes one thing clear: workers are being asked to absorb chaos, violence, and exhaustion as “normal”—and more people are refusing.

This episode begins with winter disruptions in the Great Lakes region and how constant school closures expose the failure of the five-day workweek, shifting stress and unpaid labor onto educators and families.

We then turn to New York City, where 15,000 nurses are on strike acr...

In this episode of the Labor Force Podcast, we look at how workers are being squeezed from every direction—globally, politically, and on the job.

We examine why imperialism and sanctions, especially in Venezuela, are working-class issues that weaken unions and devastate everyday life. We then turn to New York, where democratic socialists are trying to build on Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral victory to push policies like taxing the rich a...

This episode of The Labor Force Podcast takes on the question of power—who holds it, who doesn’t, and what it means for working people right now.

We examine Zohran Mamdani’s election as mayor of New York City and what it would take for democratic socialist policies to succeed in a city shaped by entrenched wealth and political resistance. From there, we dig into the state of organized labor, the need for rank-and-file power, and th...

In this episode of Labor Force Podcast, we break down a turbulent moment for workers’ rights in America—where real gains are colliding with aggressive rollbacks, corporate greed, and an economy that looks strong on paper while millions struggle to get by.

We start with developments in Washington, where the House passes the Protect America’s Workforce Act, aiming to restore collective bargaining rights stripped from federal workers ...

This week on The Labor Force Podcast, we cover one of the busiest news cycles of the year—from Hollywood power plays to working-class realities on the ground across the country.

We start with the massive proposed takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, as Netflix and Paramount battle for control of some of the most iconic brands in film and TV. Lawmakers, guilds, and labor advocates are already sounding the alarm about what this kind o...

This week on the Labor Force Podcast: Starbucks baristas escalate what may become the largest strike in the company’s history, demanding real movement at the bargaining table after years of delay tactics and retaliation. We break down the $35 million New York City settlement, the nationwide picket lines, and why workers say this moment is bigger than coffee.

Then we head to Iowa, where 2,000 UnityPoint nurses are preparing for a u...

This week on the Labor Force Podcast, we take a hard look at a holiday season defined not by shopping, but by worker power and the escalating fight against a system that keeps squeezing people from every angle.

We break down the largest open-ended Starbucks strike in the company’s history, the global Make Amazon Pay mobilization spanning 30+ countries, and the first-contract battles hitting Blue Bottle Coffee and SkyHop Global—wher...

In this episode of The Labor Force Podcast, we dive deep into America’s worsening affordability crisis and the growing worker uprisings pushing back against it. We start with new data showing that nearly one in three low-income households lives paycheck to paycheck, unable to keep up with inflation as wages stagnate and basic costs climb.

From there, we explore a revealing local debate in Watertown, NY, where shopping carts used by...

This week on the Labor Force Podcast:

• The federal government may have reopened, but for thousands of workers, the real impact of the shutdown is far from over. We dig deep into the lives of furloughed workers—from maxed-out credit cards to food bank lines—and the stress that lingers long after paychecks resume.

• In Pittsburgh, the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh celebrates a landmark victory after three years on strike against...

In this episode, we trace the through-line connecting a historic political upset in New York City, the grinding federal shutdown, a wave of labor actions across the country, and the everyday financial pressure bearing down on working people. From Zohran Mamdani’s stunning mayoral victory to the strain on air traffic controllers, we dig into the conditions pushing workers to the brink and the movements rising to meet the moment.

We ...

In this episode, we unpack the growing crisis sparked by the government shutdown and the Trump administration’s attack on SNAP benefits—threatening food security for millions of working families. We break down the court fight over federal worker layoffs, the latest mass job cuts at Amazon, and the Boeing machinists still holding the line in St. Louis.

Then, we turn to the rising tide of resistance—from the “No Kings” movement and F...

This week on The Labor Force Podcast, the ground feels like it’s shifting under everyone’s feet. As the government shutdown stretches on, its ripple effects are hitting far beyond Washington—federal workers without pay, contractors closing up shop, and small businesses left hanging by a thread. We look at how this slowdown is grinding down working people across industries and communities.

But while government action stalls, worker ...

This week on The Labor Force Podcast, we cover a country in motion—from federal workers trapped in a shutdown to Jamaican farmworkers fighting for their rights, Houston hotel staff winning big, and healthcare and aerospace workers holding the line. We also look at Volkswagen’s union showdown, the rise of white-collar organizing, and Shawn Fain’s call for a unified working-class movement built on fair wages, healthcare, retirement, ...