Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff

Episode: How US Workers are Really Treated
Date: October 7, 2021

Overview: Main Theme and Purpose

This episode of Economic Update, hosted by Richard D. Wolff, critically examines the true conditions faced by U.S. workers today, using both national developments and personal experience as case studies. The episode includes a roundtable discussion with Leila Roberts, a college student and recent retail employee, and Tess Fraad Wolf, a psychotherapist, delving into the everyday realities, psychological impacts, and structural forces shaping American labor.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introductory Commentary and Updates (00:10–15:59)

• Labor organizing and the rise of unions:

  • Buffalo, NY Starbucks workers petitioned for union elections at three stores—potentially the only unionized Starbucks out of 8,000 locations in the U.S. (03:10).
  • Wolff exposes the performative language corporations use (“partners” for Starbucks employees) as a substitute for genuine improvements in pay or conditions.
  • Quote:

    "Starbucks calls its workers partners. Well, they're not. This is one of those games in which you hope you can get away with giving employees a better title as a substitute for better pay. Never works."
    —Richard D. Wolff (04:10)

• Supreme Court decision on Texas abortion law (06:40):

  • The economic dimensions of abortion restrictions, emphasizing forced parenthood's financial consequences, particularly for women and low-income families.
  • Inequity highlighted: Wealthier women will find options elsewhere, worsening inequality.
  • Quote:

    "To force a woman or a set of parents to bring to term and raise a child… makes those persons responsible for that child for the next 18 years… you are therefore compelling a subordination of women."
    —Richard D. Wolff (08:01)

• Economic fragility and inequalities:

  • Most American families cannot handle unexpected $1,000 expenses—a reality at odds with being forced into expensive child-rearing (10:59).

• Neglected infrastructure & misplaced spending (12:15):

  • Effects of Hurricane Ida in New York/New Jersey expose failing infrastructure and social safety nets.
  • $8 trillion spent on U.S. wars since 9/11 (Brown University)—contrasted with domestic underfunding.

2. Interview: Realities of US Work and Worker Treatment (15:59–28:40)

A. Leila Roberts’ Retail Experience (16:17–20:09)

• Worked at a large retail chain in NYC over the summer; felt overworked, under-informed, and mistreated.
• Key issues included:
  • Hiring process took a month with poor transparency;
  • Promised part-time hours, but scheduled for 40+ hour weeks, often with little time off;
  • Lack of accommodation for employees’ needs or well-being.
  • Quote:

    “I felt that the management was not understanding, and they just did not treat the employees well… It was not a great experience for me working with such a huge corporate company.”
    —Leila Roberts (16:33)

  • Memorable moment: Leila’s clear frustration with “partner” rhetoric vs. reality.

B. The Psychological Toll (17:52–19:13)

• Tess Fraad Wolf (psychotherapist) explains psychological effects:
  • Exploitation erodes self-esteem and sense of agency.
  • Power dynamics create constant fear and insecurity—even implicit threats of job loss if not compliant with exploitative demands.
  • The system “assaults anyone’s sense of self-esteem, anyone’s sense of personhood,” creating humiliation and confusion and ultimately making self-advocacy harder.
  • Quote:

    “There’s a vague threat that’s already there… That makes somebody already feel disempowered... It makes us feel small. It makes us feel humiliated. And I think for Layla, it was humiliating. It was overwhelming, and it was confusing.”
    —Tess Fraad Wolf (18:35)

C. Specific Workplace Mistreatment (20:09–22:04)

• Scheduling abuses: Part-time promised, full-time demanded (with “vague threats” for noncompliance).
• Dress code targeting: Despite compliance, only Leila was continually reprimanded—felt “targeted,” “ostracized.”
• Pandemic safety disregarded: Store failed to enforce COVID protections; managers pressured her to work after exposure.
  • Quote:

    “I called them and told them, like, I don’t feel comfortable coming in… They told me to just get a rapid [test] and come in that same day… They really just had no regard for that. That was really insane to me.”
    —Leila Roberts (21:25)

D. Systemic and Long-term Effects (22:04–27:31)

• Tess identifies long-term consequences:
  • Emotional outcomes: concentrated “rage, depression, and anxiety.”
  • Health and safety neglect felt as “eradicating” of personhood.
  • Disempowerment means anger can turn inward, exacerbating mental health struggles—may also fuel substance abuse and social withdrawal.
  • Quote:

    “There’s a curling in that we experience when we get hurt... that starts to sort of depress our spirit. Subsequently there's anger, because anger is a really healthy reaction to pain and injustice… But as an employee, we may not be able to do anything with that anger because of the disempowerment.”
    —Tess Fraad Wolf (23:15)

  • Union advocacy as solution: Tess argues robust unions would provide needed protection against exploitation, harassment, and unsafe conditions.

E. Broader Societal Consequences (25:19–28:11)

• Wolff connects millions of similar stories to macro social problems:
  • Links workplace abuse to widespread depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and social fragmentation—problems often treated as individual failings rather than systemic issues.
  • The “gap” between what work is and what it should be:
    • Loss of dignity, autonomy, and even basic well-being.
    • Leila shares: without basic respect, mental and social health decline.
    • Quote:

      “It definitely made me very depressed… I felt very isolated… felt very anxious about my job and just being in an environment where my existence itself was constantly in question or put down.”
      —Leila Roberts (26:31)

    • Tess adds that this is a system-wide problem, not an individual one:

      “It makes people feel alone within themselves… But rather with the system itself.”
      —Tess Fraad Wolf (27:31–28:03)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Richard D. Wolff [on “partner” rhetoric]:
  “You hope you can get away with giving employees a better title as a substitute for better pay. Never works.” (04:10)

• Leila Roberts [on retail reality]:
  “I was told it’d be part time, but I was working 40 plus hour weeks, with really no days off… I had really no time to do anything for myself.” (20:20)

• Tess Fraad Wolf [on psychological impact]:
  “All of these things assault anyone’s sense of self-esteem, anyone’s sense of personhood… humiliated, overwhelming, confusing.” (18:30)

• Leila Roberts [on being targeted]:
  “They constantly, like, dress coded me… I felt very uncomfortable and ostracized, like in my workplace just for coming to work to do work in the clothes I was in.” (20:57)

• Tess Fraad Wolf [on systemic impact]:
  “There’s an overarching sensation of loneliness Leila is speaking to… this is happening to millions of people… the system itself.” (27:31)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Buffalo Starbucks union campaign: 03:10–05:00
• Texas abortion law's economic impact: 06:40–11:59
• U.S. family financial fragility: 10:59–12:15
• Cost of U.S. wars since 9/11: 13:45–15:00
• Leila Roberts’ retail job account: 16:17–20:09
• Psychological impact on workers: 17:52–19:13; 22:45–25:19
• Workplace COVID safety failures: 21:15–22:04
• Long-term personal and societal effects: 25:19–28:11

Conclusion and Tone

The episode uses a blend of personal narrative and systemic critique, highlighting the disconnect between American ideals of freedom and the actual, constricted experience of workers. The tone is critical yet compassionate, aiming to empower listeners with both an understanding of systemic issues and awareness of the urgent need for collective solutions—particularly renewed labor organizing and union representation.

Summary prepared for listeners who missed the episode: this deep dive takes you beneath the surface of American work, showing how exploitative labor practices damage both individuals and society, and why robust, systemic change is not just possible, but necessary.