What happens when women become more economically independent—but the expectations of marriage and parenthood don't change?
In this segment, we look at the complicated relationship between women's earnings, marriage, family life, and America's declining birth rate.
A recent Hill piece examines research suggesting that couples face greater separation risks when women become the higher earners. Then we turn to Nobel Prize-winning economist Claudia Goldin, whose argument is that women aren't necessarily rejecting motherhood—they're evaluating the enormous economic and personal costs that can come with it. 
What do you think? Are declining birth rates partly a consequence of women refusing to accept the traditional double burden of career and caregiving—or are there much bigger economic forces at work?
Drop your thoughts in the comments.
#LaborForcePodcast #WorkingClass #WomenAndWork #BirthRate #Fertility #ClaudiaGoldin #Economy #Labor #WorkingWomen #FamilyEconomics #GenderEquality #Childcare #Wages #Marriage

The economy may still be growing, but for millions of workers, the cost of simply getting by keeps rising.
In this segment, we examine the growing affordability crisis from multiple angles: record-high August gas prices, wages struggling to keep pace with inflation, mounting recession warnings, soaring government and corporate borrowing costs, rising grain prices, and the increasingly disturbing use of buy-now-pay-later services to cover basic expenses like rent and utilities.
The economy can grow. Corporate profits can grow. AI investment can grow. And workers can still get poorer.
#LaborForcePodcast #Labor #WorkingClass #Economy #Inflation #AffordabilityCrisis #Wages #Workers #Unions #AI #Recession #CostOfLiving

Workers across the country are fighting back — and the battles are happening on multiple fronts.
We start in Minnesota, where union members and activists have faced federal surveillance and indictments connected to protests against ICE. 
Then we turn to Amazon delivery drivers in New York, where the Teamsters are challenging mass layoffs.
We also look at Tyson Foods' decision to eliminate more than 3,000 jobs  — another example of how corporate restructuring can devastate workers and entire communities.
In Cook County, Illinois, roughly 200 Teamsters are on strike at the Forest Preserve District. 
And in Vermont, a judge has temporarily halted the closure of the St. Albans Creamery after the Teamsters alleged the shutdown was retaliation for a previous strike. 
If you find this discussion valuable, like, subscribe, and share the episode.
#LaborForcePodcast #Labor #Unions #WorkersRights #OrganizedLabor #Teamsters #Amazon #TysonFoods #Strike #WorkingClass #LaborMovement #Workers

Trump built his political comeback around a series of big economic promises: lower prices, cheaper gasoline, affordable housing, lower mortgage rates, more manufacturing jobs, a balanced federal budget, and an economy that would “grow like nobody’s ever grown before.”
But how much of that has actually happened? In this segment, we put the promises up against the economic reality. 
We also examine the increasingly K-shaped economy, Trump’s aggressive push for deregulation, and issues at the NLRB, where a new Republican majority could reverse numerous pro-worker precedents.
The larger question is simple: When politicians say the economy is booming, who exactly is that economy working for?
Subscribe to the Labor Force Podcast for more conversations about workers, unions, economic policy, corporate power and the struggle for a more democratic economy.
#LaborForcePodcast #Trump #Economy #WorkingClass #Labor #Unions #NLRB #Inflation #HousingCrisis #Deregulation #EconomicInequality #WorkingClassPolitics

Americans are working, earning more on paper—and still falling further behind.
In this segment, we examine the growing disconnect between the headline economy and the economic reality facing working people. Inflation is once again outpacing wage growth, real wages have fallen for four consecutive months, and millions of workers are still trying to recover purchasing power lost during the post-pandemic inflation surge.
At the same time, household debt has climbed to roughly $18.8 trillion, credit-card balances have reached approximately $1.26 trillion, and more Americans are struggling to keep up with their payments.
And then there's the wildcard: the war with Iran and the continuing crisis around the Strait of Hormuz, which threatens to keep pressure on energy prices—and potentially make an already difficult affordability problem even worse.
The bigger question isn't simply whether the economy is growing.
It's whether working people can still afford the economy that's supposedly doing so well.
#LaborForcePodcast #WorkingClass #Inflation #Wages #Economy #Workers #LaborMovement #HouseholdDebt #CreditCardDebt #CostOfLiving #StraitOfHormuz #Iran #TrumpEconomy

In this segment, we connect several stories that reveal a growing contradiction in the American economy.
At Cargill's meatpacking facility in Fort Morgan, Colorado, more than 1,700 workers remain locked out as employees fight over a contract and their future at the plant. Meanwhile, Cargill salt workers in Newark, California, have gone on strike over wages and soaring health-care costs.
At the same time, a new survey finds that 54% of workers would accept a pay cut simply to keep their jobs — a striking indication of just how much economic insecurity is reshaping workers' priorities.
And then there's AI.
Mark Zuckerberg has promised that artificial intelligence will give people more free time, but Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth offered a rather different vision: if AI gives workers an extra hour, he said, he would use it to “do even more and cooler stuff for the users.”
We also examine new research suggesting that AI-related layoffs can actually hurt worker productivity. When employees believe the technology being introduced could eventually eliminate their jobs, fear and distrust can undermine the very productivity gains companies are trying to achieve.
And that raises a fundamental question about the future of work:
If technology makes us dramatically more productive, why shouldn't working people get more of the benefits?
#LaborForcePodcast #Labor #Unions #WorkingClass #Cargill #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Jobs #Economy #Workers #Automation #LaborMovement

The Trump administration says America has entered a “new kind of economy.” But what does that actually mean for working people?
In this segment, we look beyond the political and economic headlines and examine what workers are actually experiencing in 2026.
Housing remains painfully out of reach. Instability surrounding the U.S.-Iran conflict threatens to push energy and transportation costs higher. At the same time, millions of workers—especially Gen X—are struggling to balance full-time employment with caring for children and aging parents.
And perhaps most revealingly, younger Americans are increasingly dipping into retirement savings to financially support their families.
So, are we really living in a “new economy”? Or are we looking at an economy where the risks have simply been shifted increasingly onto workers and their families?
Subscribe to the Labor Force Podcast for more conversations about work, wages, economic inequality, unions, and the changing American economy.
#LaborForcePodcast #WorkingClass #Economy #HousingCrisis #Inflation #Workers #Labor #EconomicInequality #GenX #GenZ

Workers are finding new ways to fight back—and the latest battles show just how much the American labor movement is changing.
In this segment, we look at a federal judge blocking the VA for the third time from terminating its union contracts with AFGE, the growing push to unionize Uber and Lyft drivers in California and Illinois, and what these new forms of collective bargaining could mean for the future of gig work.
We also examine the latest jobs data and the emerging “deportation economy”—and why removing immigrant workers isn't necessarily creating more opportunities for U.S.-born workers. 
🎙️ Labor Force Podcast — stories of work, unions, economic power, and the fight for a better deal for working people.
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