Podcast Summary: Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff

Episode Title: Resurgent Labor Organizing
Date: November 11, 2025
Host: Richard D. Wolff (Democracy at Work)
Guests: Robert Ovitz (Senior Lecturer, Labor Relations), Kevin Van Meter (Author, Labor Educator/Organizer)

Overview

This episode centers on the resurgent wave of labor organizing within North America and beyond, examining modern labor struggles, new forms of worker consciousness, and the evolution of union organizing. Host Richard D. Wolff discusses current labor actions, especially in Canada, and is joined in the second half by experts Robert Ovitz and Kevin Van Meter to unpack both the history and practical dimensions of "workers’ inquiry" and class composition within labor movements. Notably, the episode emphasizes the renaissance of worker-driven organizing in sectors like nonprofits and service industries, connecting contemporary movements to rich historical traditions.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Shifting Attitudes Towards Socialism and Capitalism ([01:30]–[04:30])

• Wolff highlights a recent Axios/Generation Lab poll of US college students:
  • 67% have a positive or neutral view of "socialism"
  • 40% have a positive or neutral view of "capitalism"
  • 23% hold a negative view of socialism; 53% negative or neutral on capitalism
• "Something big is changing among young and particularly young educated Americans." — Richard D. Wolff [03:40]

Insight: There is a pronounced generational shift in economic attitudes, which correlates with increased labor activism among youth.

2. Labor Unrest in Canada: Alberta Teachers’ Strike ([04:30]–[10:00])

• Coverage of the October strike by 51,000 teachers in Alberta seeking pay increases to match inflation and enforce classroom size caps.
• Teachers garnered broad community support, including students and unions.
• The conservative provincial government invoked a rarely-used "notwithstanding clause" to mandate a return to work, sparking conversation about a potential general strike.
• "Labor conflict is heating up all over the capitalist world. It's a sign of stress and breakdown." — Richard D. Wolff [07:35]
• Canadian postal workers are also on prolonged strike, an outcome of governmental unwillingness to tax the wealthy and fund public services adequately.

Insight: Labor militancy is rising in response to austerity and right-wing governance, producing alliances between unions and the broader public.

3. Political Shifts: Ireland Elects a Socialist President ([12:30]–[15:50])

• Ireland’s election of Katherine Connolly, a lifelong left-wing socialist, as President, backed by a broad coalition of left parties and movements.
• Connolly rose to prominence fighting for rent control and housing access.
• "She's the left and she's the President of Ireland." — Richard D. Wolff [15:35]

Insight: Electoral victories for leftist and socialist candidates are both a cause and symptom of renewed worker power and public discontent with the status quo.

4. U.S. Foreign Policy: Critique of Military Actions ([15:50]–[18:00])

• Wolff condemns the U.S. military’s killing of over 57 alleged drug traffickers at sea, questioning the legality and morality.
  • No arrests, evidence, trial, or legal protections provided.
  • "What are we doing? Those boats were thousands of miles away from the United States. They represented no threat to us at all... What kind of a government does this?" — Richard D. Wolff [17:33]
• Points to a dangerous expansion of state power and erosion of civil liberties.

Insight: The host connects economic and labor issues to broader questions of state violence and democratic accountability.

5. The Workers' Inquiry: Understanding Labor from Within ([18:30]–[23:20])

Guest Segment: Robert Ovitz & Kevin Van Meter

Definition and Purpose ([18:30]–[23:19])

• Workers’ Inquiry: A strategy developed by Karl Marx to help workers analyze their own situation, how work is structured, and how to organize effectively.
  • "What Kevin and I are working on is rediscovering and revitalizing a strategy that was originally developed by Karl Marx called the Workers Inquiry." — Robert Ovitz [18:37]
• Class Composition: The arrangement of the workforce and organization of labor (and capital); key to developing new tactics.

Historical Evolution ([20:20]–[23:19])

• Marx’s original inquiry circulated globally (1880), revived in different contexts (U.S. 1938; various socialist traditions; resurgence in 1980s and now)
• Its goal is to “understand production and the experience of work from workers’ own perspective” and to build class consciousness by circulating lessons and struggles.
• "A pamphlet about auto workers in Linden, New Jersey in the 1940s can circulate to France and Italy, infect those factories with the same kind of processes..." — Kevin Van Meter [22:53]

Relation to Consciousness-Raising ([23:19]–[24:43])

• Wolff draws a parallel with consciousness-raising in the women’s movement.
• Kevin notes that labor and feminist organizing traditions have long influenced each other through educational practices that build collective awareness and identity.

6. Modern Application: Nonprofit and Cafe Worker Organizing ([24:50]–[30:46])

Unionizing the Nonprofit Sector ([24:50]–[28:18])

• Ovitz’s forthcoming Haymarket Press book applies workers’ inquiry to political advocacy nonprofits:
  • Explores how the growth of nonprofits (often foundation-funded) coincided with union decline and the offloading of public services.
  • Nonprofits employ primarily young, female, LGBTQ workers in often exploitative conditions.
  • "The foundation funding of these nonprofits has resulted in a massive growth... at the same time that unions have been in decline..." — Robert Ovitz [25:37]
  • Recent self-organizing waves among nonprofit workers, notably in NYC, have produced citywide strikes and a focus on collective action.

Organizing in the Service Sector ([28:27]–[30:46])

• Kevin shares research (with Blue Bottle Independent Union, Notes from Below) on CAFE sector unionization:
  • Workers fight not just for pay, but also for scheduling, safety, and workplace identity.
  • CAFE worker leadership is predominantly queer, trans, and non-binary; issues of dignity and representation are central.
  • "Arguably, one of the things on their agenda is real workplace democracy, substantive, meaningful workplace democracy." — Kevin Van Meter [30:11]
  • Study: 97% of U.S. service industry workers self-identify as working class.

7. Resources for Activists ([31:04]–[31:45])

Where to Learn More:

• Labor Notes Conference: Bi-annual event bringing together workers and organizers from multiple sectors. Next: Chicago, June.
  • "You'll find workers from many different sectors, also from around the world..." — Robert Ovitz [31:13]
• Long Haul Magazine: U.S. publication focusing on workers’ inquiries and related efforts.
• Notes from Below: U.K.-based publication/platform (notesfrombelow.org).
  • "We published our cafe workers inquiry in." — Kevin Van Meter [31:41]

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• "Labor conflict is heating up all over the capitalist world. It's a sign of stress and breakdown." — Richard D. Wolff [07:35]
• "The process of the inquiry itself seeks to get workers to think about those questions deeply...It helps develop their consciousness in doing such." — Kevin Van Meter [22:03]
• "Arguably, even more importantly, they're fighting over shifts—too few, too many, when they're scheduled." — Kevin Van Meter [29:22]
• “The class, the class is organizing. And one of the sectors... certainly that Robert, I and others want to call attention to and support the efforts of those in Starbucks, Workers United, in Blue Bottle Independent Union, and... other efforts.” — Kevin Van Meter [30:26]
• "We've run out of time, which is often a problem for us." — Richard D. Wolff [30:46] (Wolff's signature sign-off to a packed discussion)

Important Timestamps

• [01:30] Youth economic attitudes: poll results
• [04:30] Alberta teachers strike overview
• [12:30] Ireland’s left-wing presidential victory
• [15:50] Wolff’s critique of US military action
• [18:30] Introduction of Robert Ovitz & Kevin Van Meter; workers’ inquiry defined
• [23:19] Origins and parallels with consciousness raising
• [24:50] Nonprofit sector organizing
• [28:27] Cafe/service sector labor movement
• [31:04] Resources for labor educators/organizers

Tone

Wolff maintains his trademark accessible, passionate, and analytical style. Discussion with Ovitz and Van Meter is earnest, pedagogical, and activist-minded, focusing on empowering workers and highlighting the broader systemic challenges and opportunities before today’s labor movement.

This summary distills the central arguments, historical context, current labor battles, and expert perspectives featured in the episode—equipping listeners with both the big picture and actionable resources.