Podcast
Working People
Hosted by Working People · EN
Working People: A podcast by, for, and about the working class today (now in partnership with In These Times magazine and The Real News Network).
Working People is a podcast about working-class lives in 21st-century America. In every episode, you'll hear interviews with workers from around the country, from all walks of life. We'll talk about their life stories, their jobs, politics, and families, their joys and hopes and frustrations. Overall, Working People aims to share and celebrate the diverse stories of working-class people, to remind ourselves that our stories matter, and to build a sense of shared struggle and solidarity between workers around the country.
21episodes
Episodes
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Over 4,000 UAW members on strike at Harvard University
1w ago00:50:50Tap to summarizeAfter 14 months of fruitless contract negotiations with the Harvard University administration, over 4,000 workers represented by the Harvard Graduate Students Union (HGSU-UAW Local 5118) walked off the job on an indefinite strike on April 21. According to the union, "Graduate student workers will suspend teaching and research labor until Harvard's bargaining team takes substantive action in addressing the union's key issues: pay that keeps pace with the rising cost of living, recourse for harassment and discrimination, support for non-citizen students, protections for academic freedom, and 'fair share fees' to equitably distribute the expenses of union representation, among others." In this episode of Working People, we speak with three striking graduate student workers about the issues at the center of this strike, and about what it's like to live, work, and strike at the country's richest university amid political attacks from the federal government, scandals connecting high-ranking Harvard officials to Jeffrey Epstein, and a nationwide cost-of-living crisis. Panelists include: Sara Speller, a fifth-year PhD student in the Music Department at Harvard and president of the Harvard Graduate Students Union; Zoë Feder, a seventh-year PhD student in the program in Biological & Biomedical Sciences at Harvard Medical School and a research assistant in the Microbiology Department; and Jacob Wolf, a third-year PhD student and Teaching Fellow in the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Additional links/info: Harvard Graduate Students Union (HGSU-UAW Local 5118) website, Facebook page, X/Twitter page, TikTok, and Instagram Harvard Graduate Students Union Strike Update/FAQ Zine Lydialyle Gibson, Harvard Magazine, "Harvard graduate student workers strike" Noah A. Ferris, The Harvard Crimson, "Grad students rally outside Garber's home as strike enters third week" Hugo C. Chiasson & Elise A. Spenner, The Harvard Crimson, "Harvard promised a 'full' review of its Epstein ties. Its own files reveal what it left out" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Meet the new Pittsburgh Post-Gazette bosses, same as the old bosses
2w ago00:52:26Tap to summarizeAfter members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh won their strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in late 2025, which had lasted for over 3 years, they were notified in January that the paper's wealthy owners, the Block family and Block Communications Inc., were shutting down operations. Then, in a stunning turn of events, the Post-Gazette was purchased in April by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, which also owns The Banner in Baltimore, MD. While Post-Gazette workers were cautiously optimistic about the news, the union learned last week that the Venetoulis Institute is cutting at least 40 percent of its staff, including 80 percent of the union workers who participated in the recently ended strike. In this episode of Working People, we speak with a panel of union members and former Post-Gazette employees about what will happen to them and their coworkers, to the Post-Gazette itself, and to journalism in the Steel City. Panelists include: Andrew Goldstein, a now-former Post-Gazette education reporter and still-acting president of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh; Helen Fallon, a longtime copyeditor for the Post-Gazette and professor emerita at Point Park University in Pittsburgh; and Erin Hebert, a now-former copyeditor and designer for the Post-Gazette and First Vice President of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh. Additional links/info: Pittsburgh Alliance for People-Empowered Reporting (PAPER) website Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh website, Facebook page, and Instagram Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh: "Incoming Post-Gazette ownership slashes staff, purges former strikers" Riddhi Setty, Columbia Journalism Review, "The Venetoulis Institute goes to Pittsburgh" Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, "They won their strike fair and square. Now their rich bosses are closing up shop" Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, "The longest-running strike in the US is over—and the workers won" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Alec Baldwin backs union drive at Starbucks
3w ago00:25:40Tap to summarizeAfter decades of decline, the organized labor movement in the US has seen a resurgence in rank-and-file militancy over the last decade, with increased strike actions and union drives in industries across the economy. And in the story of this recent revival of labor in America, the movement led by predominantly young baristas to unionize coffee giant Starbucks has played a pivotal role. The new documentary Baristas vs. Billionaires takes viewers on a journey through the last five years of the epic, ongoing struggle to unionize Starbucks, told by some of the workers and organizers at the center of that struggle. TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez speaks with director of Baristas vs. Billionaires and Academy Award nominee Mark Mori, and with legendary actor and Academy award nominee Alec Baldwin, who is a producer on the film. Additional links/info: Baristas vs. Billionaires website Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, "'Starbucks is the largest labor violator in modern history': Starbucks workers prepare for indefinite national strike" Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, "How union organizing can change your life and the world: A conversation with Jaz Brisack" Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, "Want to unionize your workplace? These worker-organizers have some advice" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Studio Production / Post-Production: David Hebden Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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May 1: A Nationwide 'Economic Blackout' Against Billionaires and Authoritarianism
3w ago00:47:46Tap to summarizeInspired by January's mass strike against ICE terror in Minnesota, a vast coalition of labor unions, democratic organizations, and community groups are organizing a nationwide economic blackout on Friday, May 1, International Workers Day. "May Day Strong events are being planned across the US," Michael Sainato reports at The Guardian, "with organizers calling for 'no school, no work, no shopping,' in protest of government policies they say put billionaires' needs above those of workers." In this episode of Working People, we speak with a panel of guests who are all involved in organizing May Day events this week from Philadelphia to Chicago to Iowa. Panelists include: Jana Korn, who currently serves as the chief of staff for the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, and also serves on the board of Philadelphia Jobs with Justice; Jeff Kurtz, a retired locomotive engineer and union officer who also served as a state representative in the Iowa House of Representatives; and John Emiliano, a healthcare worker and organizer in Chicago with the Tahanan Center and Tanggol Migrante, a grassroots Filipino migrant defense network. Additional links/info: May Day Strong coalition website Workers Over Billionaires 2026 - Philadelphia Linktree Workers Over Billionaires 2026 - Chicago details Lee County (Iowa) Labor Chapter Facebook page and May Day 2026 details Tahanan Filipino Center Instagram Tanggol Migrante website Latino Union of Chicago website Michael Sainato, The Guardian, "US activists plan May Day economic blackout: 'No school, no work, no shopping'" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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'The rain was black': A plant explosion set off a toxic bomb in this Louisiana town
Apr 1500:52:17Tap to summarizeOn Aug. 22, 2025, the small-town lives of residents living near the Smitty's Supply facility in Roseland, LA, changed forever when an explosion occurred at the automotive lubricant plant. The explosion and ensuing fire, which burned for days, triggered evacuations across the area, blanketing homes and businesses with smoke, soot, and oily residue, while spilling petroleum products from the plant into area waterways, including several adjacent ponds and the Tangipahoa River. While the Environmental Protection Agency claims that the area is safe, according to the agency's own chemical monitoring, residents say they've been left behind and kept in the dark as they develop negative health symptoms and their homes remain covered in toxic substances. In this episode, we speak with Arlene Bankston, a farmer and resident of Roseland, and Allie Ponvelle, who lives one town over in Amite, about the slow-moving nightmare they've been living in ever since the massive explosion and chemical fire at Smitty's Supply. Additional links/info: Alene Bankston's Facebook page Allie Ponvelle's Facebook page Petition to Close Roseland Montessori School Due to Toxic Contamination Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition (CICC) website Wesley Muller, Louisiana Illuminator, "Smitty's Supply neighbors still wary of fire fallout despite assurances from Landry, EPA" Whitney Miller, WWL Louisiana, "What was in the air and water after the Smitty's Supply fire? Testing under new scrutiny" "Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, "America's toxic future looks like East Palestine, Ohio, today" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Baltimore security guards strike for respect, healthcare, and a union
Apr 800:29:01Tap to summarizeNearly a year after workers voted to authorize a strike, non-union city and commercially contracted security officers in Baltimore, MD, will walk off the job on April 9 in an Unfair Labor Practice strike against their employer, Abacus Corporation. In their yearslong effort to unionize and secure more job security, better pay, accessible healthcare, and safer working conditions, workers at Abacus have reported rampant union busting and violations of their labor rights. In this episode, we speak with Laura Dixon, a veteran security officer and Abacus employee, and Jaimie Contreras, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union, Local 32BJ. Additional links/info: SEIU Local 32BJ website, Facebook page, and Instagram Katherine Wilson, Baltimore Sun, "Baltimore contract security officers at city properties prepare to strike" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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US postal workers side with communities over collaboration with ICE: "Don't be a snitch"
Apr 100:40:43Tap to summarizeWhile facing decades-long political efforts to throttle and privatize the United States Postal Service (USPS), and while US Postmaster General David Steiner ominously warns that the USPS will "run out of money" within a year, postal workers continue to deliver the mail and serve communities across the country. But that job has gotten harder, more dangerous, and more complicated in recent years. From increases in targeted violence against letter carriers to the Trump administration's attacks on mail-in voting, to ICE and Border Patrol agents invading communities on their mail routes, USPS workers are confronting many daily hazards on the job that the public doesn't see. In this episode, we speak with Connor Mauche, a letter carrier in New York and a shop steward for Branch 3 of the National Association of Letter Carriers, about what it's like to be a postal worker in America in 2026. Additional links/info: National Association of Letter Carriers - Branch 3 website Ann DeStefano Sutherland, The Revolt of the Good Guys (a documentary about the Great Postal Strike of 1970) Derek Dolbeare, Labor Notes, "Dispatch: Letter carriers are gearing up for another contract fight" Sara Braun, The Guardian, "Nearly blind refugee abandoned by US border patrol found dead in Buffalo" Monique Morrissey, Economic Policy Institute, "Why is President Trump attacking the Postal Service?" Susan Haigh, AP, "US Postal Service expects to run out of cash in a year without help from Congress, postmaster says" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Immigrant workers launch largest US meatpacking strike in 40 years
Mar 2500:33:49Tap to summarize3,800 workers and Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 members at the massive JBS beef processing plant in Greeley, CO walked off the job on an unfair labor practice strike on March 16. This is the first strike ever at the Greeley plant—one of the largest in the country—and it's the biggest meatpacking strike in the US since the 1985-86 strike at the Hormel plant in Austin, MN. As Caitlyn Clark and Lisa Xu report in Labor Notes, "Strikers say JBS has been increasing the speed of the production line while cutting work hours from 40 a week to 35, squeezing out more work for less money… Workers are also demanding that the company stop charging them out-of-pocket costs for personal protective equipment like mesh vests and arm guards—essential because they work with knives, saws, and other sharp, dangerous equipment." In this episode, we speak with Clark and Xu, who report from the JBS picket line and break down why this strike is so significant and what it will take for workers to win this fight against the largest beef processor in the US. Guests: Caitlyn Clark is a national organizer at Essential Workers for Democracy, an organization dedicated to rank-and-file member education and empowerment for UFCW members in grocery, meatpacking, and retail. Lisa Xu is a staff writer and organizer at Labor Notes. Additional links/info: Caitlyn Clark & Lisa Xu, Labor Notes, "In 57 languages, meatpackers strike for the first time in 40 Years" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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Fourth-generation fisherwoman Diane Wilson goes on hunger strike against Dow Chemical
Mar 1800:52:11Tap to summarizeDiane Wilson is a fourth-generation fisherwoman and a lifelong resident of Seadrift, Texas. Wilson has become a global folk hero over the course of her epic, decades-long journey from shrimp boat captain and mother of five to social and ecological justice warrior who took on a multibillion dollar corporation polluting the bays along her beloved Texas Gulf Coast. But the fight to save her home from industrial pollution is far from over. On March 2, Wilson began a hunger strike outside the Dow Chemical Company / Union Carbide plant in Seadrift. "I have a tent and am camping out 24 hours, 7 days a week," Wilson wrote in a letter to Dow CEO Jim Fitterling, "to impress upon Dow/Union Carbide our intense dislike and frustration of decades of plastic pollution being discharged into our bays and waterways." In this urgent episode, we speak with Wilson as her hunger strike enters its third week. Guest: Diane Wilson is a fourth-generation shrimper, boat captain, mother of five, author, and an environmental, peace, and social justice advocate. During the last 30 years, she has launched legislative campaigns, demonstrations, hunger strikes, sunk boats, and even climbed chemical towers in her fight to protect her Gulf Coast bay. She is a co-founder of CODEPINK, the women's anti-war group based in Washington, DC, and co-founder of the Texas Jail Project, which advocates for inmates' rights in Texas county jails. Since 2012, Wilson has been executive director and waterkeeper of San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper (SABEW) on the Texas Gulf Coast. Wilson is the author of numerous books, including: An Unreasonable Woman: A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters, and the Fight for Seadrift, Texas; and Diary of an Eco-Outlaw: An Unreasonable Woman Breaks the Law for Mother Earth. Additional links/info: Follow updates on Diane's hunger strike here Diane Wilson website Diane Wilson, "Letter to DOW CEO Jim Fitterling" San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper (SAWBE) website, Facebook page, TikTok, and Instagram Plastic Pollution Coalition, "Diane Wilson launches hunger strike after Dow requests legalization of microplastics discharge in Texas" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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"ICE got me": The urgent fight to free Ludovic Mbock
Mar 1200:43:41Tap to summarize38-year-old regional video gaming champion Ludovic Mbock, who came to the US legally from Cameroon, was snatched by ICE while applying for his yearly work permit—as he's done for 20 years. He has since been detained for three weeks and moved to facilities in Louisiana and Georgia, and his freedom depends on a critical bond hearing this week. In this urgent episode of Working People, we speak with Diane Sohna, Ludovic's sister, and Nikhil Delahaye, a close friend of Ludovic's and a fellow gamer. Additional links/info: Ludovic Mbock Instagram GoFundMe: Support Ludovic's Legal Defense Antonio Planas & Rondez Green, The Baltimore Banner, "He thought it was a routine ICE check-in. Now his family fears he'll be deported" Heidi Kemps, GameSpot, "The fighting game community bands together in solidarity to help free player from ICE" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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