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 strike by 31,000 Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers across California and Hawaii, a major union victory at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the groundbreaking of Micron’s $100 billion semiconductor project in Central New York amid environmental backlash.
The episode also explores the rise of “microshifting,” a growing push to break free from rigid 9-to-5 schedules, especially among caregivers, and what flexibility really means in an unequal labor market.
We close with a look at AI-driven layoffs, mounting worker anxiety, and how companies are using “AI” to justify cuts—along with why upskilling and collective power will shape what comes next.

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 across Mount Sinai, Montefiore, and NewYork-Presbyterian. Nurses are demanding safe staffing, real wage growth, workplace safety, and limits on AI replacing human judgment in patient care.
In Minnesota, the killing of Renee Good by ICE has sparked a January 23 statewide shutdown. Unions, faith groups, immigrants, and community members are calling for collective refusal—no work, no school, no shopping—in response to escalating federal raids and state violence.
The episode also examines authoritarian rhetoric emerging from the Trump administration’s Labor Department, the suspension of a UAW member for speaking out in Dearborn, and what these moments reveal about power demanding silence from workers.
We close with the WNBA labor standoff, player-led alternatives like Unrivaled, and a broader challenge to hustle culture and the myth that longer hours equal greater value.
Across every front, the message is the same: labor moves forward through dissent, solidarity, and collective refusal.

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 and funding universal child care.
From there, we hear directly from Starbucks baristas on strike in the longest ULP action in company history, and why the boycott remains in effect until a fair contract is reached. We close by unpacking hustle culture and the changing job market, asking who really benefits when workers are told to adapt, grind harder, and blame themselves.
Because self-reliance isn’t power—solidarity is.

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 the limits of relying on cautious union leadership.
The episode also breaks down the confirmation of a corporate union-buster as General Counsel of the NLRB, the firing of board member Gwynne Wilcox, and what these moves mean for workers’ rights enforcement. We connect these developments to a tightening job market where workers are resorting to unconventional networking—including dating apps—just to get noticed.
We close with strike action at Telluride Ski Resort, a critique of the myth of a Trump-era “golden age” for workers, and a reflection on how crisis, exposure, and organizing have driven real change throughout history.

A retrospective on the year that was on the Labor Force Podcast: the developments, trends, worker actions, technology, and all that went into surviving these economic hunger games we’re playing as we soldier on into the back half of the 2020s. 
 

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 in previous administrations. From there, we head to Utah, where massive protests force lawmakers to repeal one of the most restrictive public-sector bargaining bans in the country—proof that sustained pressure still works.
But for every step forward, there’s a reminder of what workers are up against. New York’s attorney general sues UPS over alleged wage theft targeting seasonal workers. TSA leadership moves once again to eliminate collective bargaining for nearly 50,000 security officers. At the federal level, the NLRB is effectively paralyzed, leaving union elections and labor complaints stuck in legal limbo while corporations run out the clock.
We also look at the fightback: Starbucks baristas risking arrest on picket lines, Teamsters at Sysco winning a historic first regional contract with major wage and benefit gains, and video game workers protesting mass layoffs and AI-driven job cuts at the Game Awards.
Zooming out, we examine the broader economic reality—over a million layoffs in 2025, booming stock markets, rising debt, and a middle class increasingly forced to rely on credit just to survive. As automation and AI accelerate, the old promise that hard work leads to stability is rapidly eroding.
We close with a reminder that solidarity doesn’t end at the workplace—especially during the holidays. In a season marked by economic strain and uncertainty, taking care of ourselves and each other remains an act of resistance.

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 of consolidation means for workers, creators, and consumers.
Then we turn to the growing divide between federal inaction on the minimum wage and the wave of local and state-led wage increases taking effect on January 1st. With nearly 70 jurisdictions raising their floor, the message is clear: workers aren’t waiting on Congress.
In the “fightback” segment, we check in on labor battles across the country:• Starbucks baristas continue the longest strike in company history• National Park workers unionize at unprecedented levels• Hollywood PAs secure unanimous union victories• LEGO Store workers push forward despite aggressive union-busting• And 2,000 nurses at UnityPoint face a nail-biter union vote with hundreds of challenged ballots hanging in the balance
From there, we dive into New York’s looming health-care crisis, where federal restrictions threaten to strip coverage or raise costs for nearly half a million residents—undermining a decade of progress and hitting small business owners, gig workers, and legal immigrants especially hard.
We also explore whether a general strike in the U.S. is still a dream—or if the conditions that once made it seem impossible are now creating the kind of cross-worker solidarity that could make it real.
Finally, with Santa gigs drying up and holiday hiring hitting its lowest point since 2009, we ask: what can the state of seasonal work tell us about the economy heading into the new year?
It’s a packed episode about worker power, economic signals, and the ongoing reshaping of labor in America.

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 union vote with Teamsters Local 90 after years of unsafe staffing, burnout, and violence on the job. In New York, over 350 nurses at Cayuga Medical Center form Cayuga United–CWA, citing deteriorating conditions and the need for a stronger voice in patient care. And in Florida, city workers in Titusville rebuild their union from scratch under the state’s brutal new anti-union law, SB256.
After the labor headlines, we take on a deeper question:How did China eliminate extreme poverty while the richest country on Earth let millions fall through the cracks?We dive into inequality, policy choices, and the uncomfortable truth that America’s economic outcomes aren’t accidental—they’re engineered.
Finally, we explore the growing argument for building a real Labor Party in the United States. From Mamdani’s people-powered organizing in Queens to Dan Osborn’s near victory in Nebraska, we look at what a working-class political movement could accomplish in deep red states where Democrats barely register.
This episode connects the dots: workplace power, policy choices, and the political future of America’s multiracial working class.