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 action surges.
Kaiser Permanente staff across California and Hawaii walk out for safe staffing and fair pay.
Boeing defense workers in St. Louis weigh a contract offer after an 80-day strike.
Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga push toward a strike authorization vote.
Starbucks baristas ramp up organizing and declare, “No Contract, No Coffee.”
We then turn to coal miners rallying in D.C. for stronger protections against black lung disease—and the long history of promises broken by both industry and politicians.
In tech and gaming, Activision Blizzard developers join the growing union wave, proving that creative work and collective power can go hand in hand.
Finally, economist Paul Krugman warns that the “strong” economy might not be so strong for workers, and the show closes with a question many are asking: Is a college degree still worth it?
From shutdowns to strikes, organizing to education—this episode digs deep into how working people are holding the line in unstable times.

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, and time.Topics Covered:Government Shutdown Fallout: Federal workers locked out, laid off, and fighting back as the shutdown grinds on.Houston Hilton Victory: Historic 40-day strike by UNITE HERE Local 23 wins major gains in Texas hospitality.Kaiser Permanente Strike: Tens of thousands of healthcare workers walk out for wages, staffing, and dignity.Boeing’s St. Louis Showdown: Strikers face replacement workers and silence from the national media.Volkswagen’s “Final Offer”: Unionized Chattanooga workers weigh transparency vs. pressure tactics.Jamaican Apple Pickers’ Stand: Farmworkers in upstate New York fight for a suspended contract and real rights.White-Collar Union Wave: Tech, legal, and office workers redefine what collective bargaining looks like.Shawn Fain & the Future of Labor: How “wages, healthcare, retirement, and time” could unify a fractured working class.

This week on The Labor Force Podcast, we’re taking a hard look at what happens when the system stops working — and workers don’t.The federal government shutdown continues to ripple through the lives of hundreds of thousands of public servants, forcing families to make impossible choices. In St. Louis, the Boeing strike enters its third month as machinists stand firm for fair pay and respect. Meanwhile, contagious organizing is spreading in Houston’s hospitality sector and California’s health care system, where Kaiser nurses are threatening one of the largest walkouts in company history.We also unpack California’s groundbreaking new law allowing Uber and Lyft drivers to unionize — a major shift for gig workers nationwide. Then we close with a generational deep dive: from pension gridlock in Europe to Gen X’s fight for survival in an AI-driven job market.From shutdowns and strikes to questions of fairness across generations, this episode asks: what kind of economy are we really building — and who is it working for?Segments:“Surviving the Shutdown” – The human toll of Washington’s dysfunction“The Boeing Standoff” – Three months in, the fight for dignity on the line“Contagious Organizing” – Houston hospitality workers and California nurses rise up“The Gig Worker Breakthrough” – Sectoral bargaining comes to California“Nothing But Hot Air” – Former Oklahoma state superintendent Ryan Walters’ attack on teachers’ unions“Gerontopia and Gen X” – Generational strain and the future of work

In this episode, we dive into the latest government shutdown and its very real impact on working families’ healthcare, explore the deepening crisis inside New York State’s correctional system six months after a wildcat strike, and spotlight a brand-new organizing effort at the Downtown Disney Lego Store in California.From the fight over Medicaid and CHIP, to prison staffing shortages and debates over solitary confinement, to workers demanding fair treatment in retail—each story highlights how policy, power, and organizing shape the everyday lives of working people.Topics:What a government shutdown means for healthcare, paychecks, and communities.New York’s correctional system: staffing shortages, rising violence, and the fight over solitary confinement.The first-ever union drive at a U.S. Lego retail store—and what it could mean for retail workers nationwide.

This week, we cover a wave of worker struggles and the bigger political forces shaping them:IAM-Boeing showdown in St. Louis – workers fight back after Boeing calls their contract a “fake deal.”Houston hotel strike – Hilton workers demand fair pay, humane workloads, and respect.UAW at Volkswagen – momentum builds in Tennessee as workers weigh strike pledges.Iowa nurses organize – a grassroots fight for safety, patient care, and against a multimillion-dollar union-busting campaign.Domesticity and control – how regimes, past and present, push “traditional values” to shift burdens onto women.Democracy vs. authoritarianism – why fear fuels repression, and how solidarity, strikes, and civil disobedience are keeping hope alive.From picket lines to policy fights, this episode connects the dots between everyday struggles and the larger battle for dignity and democracy.

This week on the Labor Force Podcast:Machinists at Boeing and aerospace workers at GE show what real solidarity looks like.Hotel workers in Houston hold the line for a living wage.Google’s hidden army of AI raters get chewed up and tossed aside.Starbucks baristas keep fighting through stonewalling and retaliation.Hollywood animators and production crews push union power into new territory.And a reality check on the so-called “resilient economy” that keeps most of us broke while Wall Street celebrates.If you’re struggling to stay afloat, you’re not alone—the system is rigged to keep people desperate. But every picket line, every strike, every act of solidarity proves workers are cracking that system open, piece by piece.Stay informed. Stay angry. Stay in solidarity.

In this episode of the Labor Force Podcast, we cover strike updates shaking up industries across the country—from Teamsters holding strong in Massachusetts and Minnesota, to Boeing machinists in St. Louis, to Hilton hotel workers in Houston making history in Texas. We dig into the widening gap between right-to-work states and free bargaining states, and what new research says about wages, union density, and democracy itself.We also take stock of America’s uneasy relationship with capitalism, rising fears of recession, and the growing appeal of democratic socialism—highlighted by Zohran Mamdani’s bold campaign for NYC mayor. What does this moment mean for workers, for unions, and for the future of our economy? Tune in for insights, analysis, and solidarity.

September is here, but the labor movement hasn’t cooled down one bit. In this episode, we cover strikes stretching from Massachusetts to Houston, workers pushing back in the defense industry, and a historic new path for Uber and Lyft drivers to unionize in California.We’ll dig into:Massachusetts trash collectors striking for parity and dignity.Defense industry walkouts at GE Aerospace and Boeing, where machinists are calling out unfair contracts and healthcare costs.Houston hotel workers launching the city’s first-ever hotel strike, fighting for fair wages and safer workloads.California rideshare drivers gaining new union rights—and the big questions that remain.Why labor power matters for democracy, and what billionaire Ray Dalio sees coming if inequality keeps growing.