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.
35episodes
Episodes
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Largest nurses union calls to abolish ICE after Alex Pretti killing
Jan 2800:24:53Tap to summarizeOn Friday, Jan. 23, around 50,000 people in Minneapolis, MN, engaged in a historic mass strike and day of protest to demand an end to ICE terror and President Trump's federal siege of Minnesota. Then, on Saturday, Jan. 24, an ICE agent shot and killed Alex Pretti, volunteer ICE observer and a registered union nurse who worked for the Veterans Health Administration. In this episode, we speak with Mary C. Turner, a registered nurse inn Minnesota and a member of the Council of Presidents of National Nurses United, the largest nurses union in the US, which is now forcefully calling for the abolition of ICE. Additional links/info: National Nurses United: "Week of action in honor of Alex Pretti, RN and all others killed by ICE" National Nurses United press release (1/24/26): "National Nurses United outraged by murder of VA registered nurse by immigration agents, demand abolition of ICE" National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United website, Facebook page, Twitter/X page, and Instagram Devon Lum & Haley Willis, The New York Times, "Videos show moments in which agents killed a man in Minneapolis" Thomas Birmingham & Ari Bloomekatz, In These Times, "A staggering number of Minnesotans took to the streets Friday to demand ICE leave. The next day, ICE responded by killing another resident" Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, "Trump plans massive military parade while cutting veteran jobs, benefits, & healthcare" Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, "Trump cuts leave VA hospital nurses and veteran patients in a crisis" Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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"Shut everything down": Minnesota calls for mass strike on Jan. 23
Jan 2100:56:59Tap to summarizeThe state of Minnesota is under siege by our own federal government, and residents—immigrant and US-born alike—are living in fear. With the deployment of over 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota in recent weeks, this is the Trump administration's largest and most violent so-called "immigration enforcement" operation yet—and with President Trump threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota in response to protests over ICE's terror campaign, the situation on the ground is extremely volatile. Amid this federal invasion, unions, community organizations, faith leaders, and small businesses in Minnesota are calling for a statewide day of "no work (except for emergency services), no school, and no shopping" on January 23. In this urgent episode, we speak with three union members and organizers in the Twin Cities—Daniel Troccoli, Douglas Williams, and Janette Corcelius—about the situation on the ground in Minnesota, and about the proposed mass strike this Friday. Additional links/info: 1/23: ICE OUT OF MN call to action and Facebook event page 1/23 ICE OUT OF MN Org Sign Up Sarah Lazare & Amie Stager, In These Times, "'We are facing a tsunami of hate': Amid ICE crackdown, unions and community groups call for Minnesota shutdown in 10 Days" Luis Feliz Leon, Labor Notes, "Will ICE ignite a mass strike in Minnesota?" Suzanne Gamboa, Shaquille Brewster, & Colin Sheeley, NBC News, "Immigration officers around Minneapolis are approaching people and demanding proof that they're U.S. citizens" Rachel Leingang & Maanvi Singh, The Guardian, "'Make no mistake, this is an occupation': ICE's deadly presence casts long shadow over Minneapolis" Joseph Cox, 404 Media, "Inside ICE's tool to monitor phones in entire neighborhoods" John Hamilton, Democracy Now!, "ICE vs. People of Minnesota: A special report on community resistance to Trump's militarized crackdown" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
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The longest-running strike in the US is over—and the workers won
Dec 1801:16:47Tap to summarizeOn Monday, Nov. 24, after more than 1,100 days on strike, Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh members were cheered on by supporters at a rally in downtown Pittsburgh before returning to work at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Even though strikers have returned to work, however, many issues at the center of the strike are still in legal limbo—and their fight for a fair contract is not over. In this episode of Working People, we speak with three Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh members—Bob Batz. Jr, Natalie Duleba, and Steve Mellon—about where things stand now, how their lives have changed since returning to work, and what it takes to hold the picket line for over three years. Additional links/info: Pittsburgh Union Progress website Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh website, Facebook page, and Instagram Bob Batz Jr. & Steve Mellon, Pittsburgh Union Progress, "Pittsburgh journalists vote to end country's longest strike and notify the PG they are returning to work" Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, "Post-Gazette strikers send company return to work offer" Sara Scire, Nieman Lab, "What newsroom organizers learned from the years-long strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Alina Nehlich
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**Labor & the Long Road to Reunification in Korea (w/ Ju-Hyun Park)** PATREON EXCLUSIVE
Aug 28, 2023Tap to summarizeWithin the past two years, South Korea has seen major labor actions, including a general strike in October of 2021, and major crackdowns on organized labor, including the national intelligence agency raiding the offices of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions in January of this year. In that same time, military and geopolitical tensions in the region have been rapidly intensifying. What is going on? What is the state of organized labor in South Korea, and how have imperialist and capitalist pressures, especially from the US, shaped the terrain upon which working people across the Korean Peninsula are struggling to live and work with dignity? We talk about all of this and more with Ju-Hyun Park, author, organizer, and Engagement Editor at The Real News Network. Additional links/info below... Ju-Hyun's Twitter page Nodutdol Twitter page Jia Hong & Ju-Hyun Park, Truthout / The Real News Network, "Half a Million South Korean Workers Walk Off Jobs in General Strike" Dongmin Yang, The Real News Network, “'The President Forced Our Comrade to Die'—South Korea’s Workers Confront Yoon Seok Yeol’s Labor Crackdown" Joonseok, Left Voice, "South Korea: Building a Powerful General Strike Is Urgent to Fight Against the Right-Wing Government’s Attacks" Tim Shorrock, The Shorrock Files / The Real News Network, " South Korea’s Yoon Launches Vicious Attack on Unions, Peace Groups" Ju-Hyun Park, The Real News Network, "Biden Needs to Accept That the US Can’t Intimidate North Korea" Kap Seol, Labor Notes, "South Korea: Intelligence Agency Raids Top Union Confederation" Sam Yang, The Real News Network, "Squid Game and the Long Shadow of American Empire" Permanent links below... Working People Patreon page Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org) Jules Taylor, "Working People Theme Song
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Khali Jama
Aug 5, 2023Tap to summarize"I've never been an organizer," Khali Jama says, "but I've always fought." As a single mother, a Muslim, and a Somali-American worker living in Minnesota, Jama has always had to fight for the life she, her family, and her fellow workers deserve. And earlier this year, after bringing that fight to the Minnesota state legislature, Khali and her coworkers achieved a major victory. "On May 16," Lisa Kwon reports in PRISM, "Minnesota lawmakers passed the nation's strongest Amazon warehouse worker protection legislation with the Warehouse Worker Protection Act, which ensures that workers can take breaks during the workday and have access to relevant quota and performance standards and data on how fast they're working. The bill's passage marks a significant victory for migrant workers — especially Minnesota's Somali immigrant population, of which the state has the largest in the country. For Khali Jama, a former worker in Amazon's fulfillment center in Shakopee, Minnesota, the new bill offers reprieve and protections that she worked to mobilize. As a Somali and a Muslim, Jama said the Warehouse Worker Protection Act ensures some equity in Minnesota's facilities." In this episode, we sit down and talk with Jama about moving to the midwest as a child, about her path to working in healthcare and at Amazon, and about the incredible story of how Khali, her coworkers, and the team at the Awood Center, which organizes in Minnesota's East African communities, fought to pass the Warehouse Worker Protection Act. Additional links/info below... Khali's Twitter page Awood Center website, Facebook page, and Twitter page Isabela Escalona, WorkDay Magazine, "High Injury Rates Push Minnesota's Amazon Workers to Organize for Safety" Lisa Kwon, PRISM, "Warehouse Worker Protection Act Grants Migrant Workers in Minnesota Landmark Safety Protections" Matt Furber, Sahan Journal, "Amazon's Shakopee Workers Rally for Better Pay, Criticize Company for Not Giving Muslim Employees Vacation on Eid" Abdirahman Muse, Emma Greenman, & Erin Murphy, The Nation, "Minnesota Enacts Landmark Protections for Amazon Warehouse Workers" Permanent links below... Working People Patreon page Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show! Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org) Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song
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