The Majority Report with Sam Seder

Episode 3628 – Community Fights ICE; Starbucks Strike & Boycott

Date: November 19, 2025
Guests: Hunter Dempster (Cindarios 901, Memphis), Sabina Aguirre (Starbucks Workers United, Columbus, OH)

Overview

This episode brings a sharp focus to grassroots resistance against intensified federal immigration enforcement in Memphis, Tennessee, and the escalating Starbucks barista strike and consumer boycott. Sam Seder hosts in his signature irreverent, analytical style, providing context for the aggressive ICE operations under the Trump administration and exploring the national labor struggle faced by Starbucks workers. The first half features a field report from activist Hunter Dempster, while the second half highlights the ongoing Starbucks strike with organizer/barista Sabina Aguirre.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Political Headlines and Context (06:59–19:12)

• Trump Administration Developments

  • Trump’s agitation over multiple issues: a bill to release Epstein files (with expectations of heavy redactions), CIA covert actions in Venezuela, and the announcement of dismantling the Department of Education.
  • Federal judge blocks Texas’s racist gerrymander; judicial rulings shift the midterms landscape.
  • ICE activity increases in Charlotte, NC, with student walkouts as job sites grind to a halt.
  • New low for Trump’s approval ratings; Democrats “over-performing” in generic polling.
  • Federal judge rules in favor of Meta in antitrust suit.
  • Texas Gov. Abbott’s declaration of a Muslim civil rights group as a terrorist org.

• Memorable Quote:

  "If I walked into the ring with Mike Tyson at the peak of his powers, my face would be just empty of teeth. We're gonna see that type of redaction [on the Epstein files]."
  — Sam Seder (11:12)

2. Trump/Saudi Press Conference, Epstein Files, and Media Attacks (12:39–19:12)

• Press exchange: Trump deflects on family business with Saudis and on MBS/Khashoggi murder, calls ABC News “fake news,” and launches into attack on Epstein coverage.
• Memorable Quotes:
  • "[Khashoggi] was killed and chopped into small pieces and then put into... a tandoori. Well, with goat. So that the body wouldn't smell that much..."
    — Sam Seder (14:00)
  • "ABC Fake News. One of the worst in the business. But I'll answer your question. I have nothing to do with the family business..."
    — Donald Trump (13:03)
  • "I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake news and it's so wrong..."
    — Donald Trump (18:11)

3. Community Response to ICE – Interview with Hunter Dempster

[29:30–54:58]

Background & Organization: Cindarios 901

• Who they are:
  Grassroots, rapid-response network founded in Memphis and modeled after Colorado's network, conducting 24/7 ICE activity monitoring, rights training, and community defense.
  • "We’re just concerned citizens who lead with love, for lack of a better word."
    — Hunter Dempster (34:02)

What's Happening in Memphis

• Federal escalation:

  • The “Memphis SAFE Task Force” created by Trump, consisting of 1,500 federal agents from 20+ agencies, plus 300 state troopers.
  • Racial profiling and intense ICE targeting of Hispanic neighborhoods.
  • Routine collaboration between local police, state troopers, and ICE for traffic stops, often for minor reasons used as pretext (broken taillights, etc.).
  • "The stops are always instigated by a Memphis police officer, Shelby county sheriff, or a state trooper. And they are being followed by between one and 10 unmarked cars with two to four federal agents inside each car."
    — Hunter Dempster (35:11)

• Scope and duration:

  • Agents have prepaid for hotel rooms for a year; Border Patrol told locals they plan to remain in Memphis until at least November 2026.

• Drastic Community Impact:

  • Community terrorized, families hiding at home, 23,000 traffic tickets written in one month, scaled up from 3–5 daily calls for help to 140 per day.
  • Surge in jail deaths, poverty forces people to risk fines or jail just to work or access basic services.
  • Blackhawks and helicopters patrol poor neighborhoods nightly.

Resistance & Support Work

• Tactics and Mutual Aid:

  • Filming law enforcement during stops: “You can see a physical change when you have that camera on them.”
  • Car repair clinics to address the pretexts for traffic stops.
  • Dissemination of “whistles” for alerting neighbors when law enforcement arrives.
  • Childcare, legal aid, and other wraparound support for families targeted or separated.

• Scalability and Solidarity:

  • Coordination with groups in LA, DC, and beyond.
  • Open to sharing resources and playbooks; local organizations are overwhelmed but remain connected.
  • Not a 501(c)(3); donations go straight to the front lines.

• Hunter on the Operation’s Underlying Motive:

  • "It does feel like a testing ground in all these different cities...I do think the heart of it is just based in racism and the historical relevance of Memphis and the civil rights and being the blackest city in the country." — Hunter Dempster (52:34)

Key Timestamps

• 29:30 – Interview intro
• 32:37 – How Cindarios 901 started
• 35:11 – Scale of ICE operation and racial profiling
• 39:17 – Evidence that agents plan to stay through 2026
• 42:52 – Mutual aid, car repairs, income/security strategies
• 51:33 – Theorizing the administration’s intent

4. Starbucks Workers United: Strike and Boycott – Interview with Sabina Aguirre

[56:00–64:23]

Background

• Columbus, OH, barista; part of the continuing nationwide Starbucks union drive.
• Strike escalates due to broad employer intransigence after Trump admin cuts NLRB funding and weakens enforcement.

Workers' Demands and Company Evasion

• Three Major Demands:

  1. Fair Hours
  2. Fair Wages
  3. Resolution of unfair labor practice (ULP) cases (Starbucks faces over 650, with 400+ formally charged)

  "They are one of the biggest violators of labor law in modern history."
  — Sabina Aguirre (58:52)

• Economic Disparity Highlighted:
  CEO Brian Nichols made $96 million in ‘24 (over 600,000x the average barista).

  "Cartoonishly evil."
  — Sam Seder (59:47)

Community/Consumer Action

• Consumer Boycott:

  • “No contract, no coffee” campaign, including joining strike lines and pledges on nocontractnocoffee.org.
  • Social media organizing and local actions.

• On Organizing Amid Hostile Administration:

  • Despite federal rollbacks, “the campaign is more passionate than ever…they just kind of galvanized our base for us.”
    — Sabina Aguirre (57:22)

Key Timestamps

• 56:00 – Interview intro
• 58:05 – Core union demands
• 59:14 – Unfair labor practices at Starbucks
• 61:41 – Consumer solidarity and action steps

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Memphis ICE Surge:

  "Since this occupation began...prior to this, we were getting three-to-five calls a day. Lately, we've been getting 140 calls a day."
  — Hunter Dempster (43:45)

• On Starbucks CEO pay:

  "Brian Nichols specifically making $96 million in 2024 alone...for 666,000 times the average barista."
  — Sabina Aguirre (59:14)

• On the Wealth Divide:

  "It's really a testament to the disparity between the classes here in the United States..."
  — Sabina Aguirre (60:38)

• On Resistance and Solidarity:

  "We're just concerned citizens who lead with love, for lack of a better word."
  — Hunter Dempster (34:04)

• On the Broader Impact:

  "It's a stage for the average consumer and every barista...to actually try to make tangible change with this wealth disparity."
  — Sabina Aguirre (61:07)

Resources, Links, and Ways to Support

• Cindarios 901 (Memphis ICE Watch/Mutual Aid):

  • Facebook: Scenarios901
  • Donate via Venmo or CashApp (links on their social pages)
  • Volunteers/trainings: Message them directly for resources

• Starbucks Worker Solidarity:

  • nocontractnocoffee.org – Sign the pledge, find picket lines, get updates

Overall Tone and Takeaways

The episode offers a mix of dark political comedy, sharp critique, and resolute optimism about community resistance. The Trump administration’s draconian policies drive real suffering and fear at the local level, received with a combination of analytical rigor and moral clarity by Sam and his guests. While the labor struggles at Starbucks demonstrate both corporate impunity and the power of organized, worker-led pushback, the Memphis community’s mutual aid feels both desperate and heroic—a real-time laboratory for resistance in authoritarian times.

(End of Summary)