The economy has a public relations problem—or is capitalism failing working people? From rising living costs and declining consumer confidence to Trump’s economic claims, the risks of the AI investment boom, and warnings of another financial crisis, we examine why the economy looks strong on paper but feels increasingly difficult for ordinary Americans.
We also explore how inflation deepens inequality, why workers remain anxious about jobs and affordability, and what happens when corporations bet billions on AI while working people struggle to make ends meet.  
Subscribe to the Labor Force Podcast for working-class perspectives on unions, the economy, worker power, and the problems with capitalism.
#Economy #CostOfLiving #Inflation #ArtificialIntelligence #Capitalism #WorkingClass #LaborForcePodcast

The U.S. job market is getting harder for workers. Weak job growth, rising unemployment, brutal job searches, AI-driven hiring, and “entry-level” jobs demanding years of experience are exposing an economy increasingly built around employers — not workers.
The problem isn't that Americans don't want to work. It's that employers want workers who are already trained, experienced, productive — and cheap. The answer isn't more competition between workers. It's worker power.
#LaborForcePodcast #Jobs #Economy #Labor #Workers #JobMarket #WorkerPower #Capitalism

Workers are fighting back—and they’re proving that solidarity still matters.
AutoZone workers make history by unionizing with the UAW. Teamsters refuse to cross a Coca-Cola picket line. Starbucks continues battling its unionized workers in court and at the bargaining table. Meanwhile, nurses are warning that chronic understaffing and AI-driven scheduling are putting both workers and patients at risk.
These stories all point to the same question: Who should control the workplace—the corporations that own it, or the workers who actually do the work?
Subscribe to Labor Force Podcast for more working-class analysis of labor, politics, the economy, and the fight for worker power.
#Labor #Unions #WorkerPower #Organizing #Teamsters #UAW #StarbucksWorkersUnited #Nurses #Capitalism #LaborForcePodcast

The economy may look fine on paper — but for millions of working people, it doesn’t feel that way.
Consumer confidence is falling as Americans struggle with high prices, expensive gas, housing costs and economic insecurity. Meanwhile, wealth continues to pile up in the financial and digital economy.
This segment examines oil prices, economic instability, debt, and rising food-pantry use in New York — and asks why an economy that keeps generating wealth leaves so many workers falling behind.
Subscribe to the Labor Force Podcast for more on workers, unions, the economy and capitalism.
#LaborForcePodcast #Economy #WorkingClass #Inflation #CostOfLiving #Capitalism

AI isn't just threatening jobs — it's changing who gets the chance to build a career in the first place.
Across the economy, entry-level hiring is weakening as companies use AI to perform the "grunt work" traditionally assigned to young workers. Computer science graduates are struggling to find jobs, Toyota is investing in hundreds of thousands of factory robots, and Amazon is expanding the use of technology to monitor and manage delivery workers.
This episode looks at AI, automation, entry-level jobs, workplace surveillance, robotics and the future of work — from a working-class perspective.
#AI #FutureOfWork #Automation #Jobs #Labor #Unions #WorkingClass #ArtificialIntelligence #Amazon #Toyota

Labor is pushing back into American politics—but is electoral politics enough to rebuild working-class power?
With more union candidates running for Congress, deeper labor organizing taking shape, and the fight to organize Amazon continuing, this segment asks a bigger question: Can workers turn political energy into lasting collective power?
#LaborForcePodcast #Labor #Unions #WorkerPower #WorkingClass #UnionOrganizing #Amazon #Capitalism #Socialism #WorkersRights

Mortgage rates are back above 7%. Rent is becoming unaffordable even for middle-income families. Poverty among older Americans is rising. Consumer spending is slowing. And in New York, billions of dollars in federal funding for healthcare and SNAP are at risk. Meanwhile, we're still being told that the economy is entering a “golden age.”
This is the contradiction at the heart of American capitalism: the economy can grow while the people who actually produce the wealth struggle to afford housing, healthcare, food, and retirement. 
The real question isn't whether GDP is growing. It's who is benefiting from that growth — and who is being forced to pay for it?
#Capitalism #WorkingClass #ClassWar #CostOfLiving #HousingCrisis #RentCrisis #EconomicInequality #Labor #Workers #Unions #Inflation #Poverty #LaborForcePodcast

Diesel prices are hitting record highs — and workers are paying the price. In this segment, we look at how rising diesel costs are driving up food prices, transportation costs, heating bills and inflation, while farmers, truckers and small businesses get squeezed.
We also examine the Federal Reserve, interest rates, supply-chain disruptions and the declining labor share of income — and why workers keep absorbing the costs of an economy increasingly tilted toward capital.
If you want more coverage of workers, unions, wages, inflation and the economy from a working-class perspective, subscribe to the Labor Force Podcast. Hit the Subscribe button, turn on notifications, and join the fight for worker power.
#DieselPrices #Inflation #Economy #Workers #Labor #WorkingClass #SupplyChain #FederalReserve #LaborForcePodcast #Capitalism