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.

This week on the Labor Force Podcast:Strikes stretching from trash haulers to Boeing machinistsA razor-thin UAW win at a new battery plantNational park workers unionizing in drovesA Labor Day push: Workers Over BillionairesThe healthcare grind—why “preventive” doesn’t mean coveredNew data on young adults hitting pause on the American DreamA well-deserved Labor Day to all who toil in these capitalist hunger games. #UnionYES

Another day, another blessed dollar—except not if you’re building billion-dollar jets for $20 an hour or getting paid zero bucks while passengers board.In this episode:Boeing on the Brink – 3,200 workers walk out in Missouri and Illinois, shutting down production of fighter jets and commercial planes. Their message? Respect doesn’t come cheap, and “best and final” isn’t final.Air Canada Attendants Take Flight – Ten thousand flight attendants defy back-to-work orders, throw half a million travelers into chaos, and win pay for work that used to be “invisible.” Unpaid boarding time is officially grounded.The Great Divide – New data shows the wealthy keep cruising while everyone else drowns in debt. Welcome back to America’s K-shaped recovery: champagne for the top, hamster wheel for the rest.Gen X: The Skipped Generation – The NYT delivers a reality check: no corner offices for the slackers. Boomers cling, millennials leapfrog, and Gen X sits in the middle, rolling its eyes and saying, “Whatever, man.”

From trash piling up in Massachusetts to machinists walking out in St. Louis, the fight for fair pay and respect is raging coast to coast. This episode takes you inside the standoffs, the backroom games, and the political stonewalling—plus a look at the federal government’s latest assault on collective bargaining rights.We dig into the immigration crackdown gutting factory floors, hear from the union leaders watching skilled crews disappear overnight, and ask the question no one in power wants to answer: who’s going to do the work when the workforce is gutted by politics?Then, we look at a hard truth—hundreds of thousands of Americans in their 80s are still clocking in, not for fun, but because the system won’t let them stop. Their stories are raw, inspiring, and infuriating.In this episode:Six weeks of garbage and growing pressure in Massachusetts’ trash strikeBoeing machinists in St. Louis stand their ground for pay, respect, and securityTrump-era “national security” excuses strip union rights from federal workersThe New York prison officers’ illegal strike and the falloutHow immigration crackdowns are ripping holes in manufacturing crewsWhy retirement is out of reach for so many—well into their 80s