Working People

"Keep the Fire Burning" Livestream

24 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After nearly 3 months, the strike at cereal giant Kellogg's, which involved 1,400 workers at four different plants, has come to an end. On Tuesday, De...

Hospitality Workers at Colonial Williamsburg Need Help (w/ Agatha Hilt, Willie Brown, & John Boardman)

22 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Hospitality workers around the country have faced some of the worst layoffs in any industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. UNITE HERE, a labor union r...

Working-Class Politics: Paul Prescod

17 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Election season is coming up, so you know what that means... we're re-launching our series "Working-Class Politics"! In this ongoing series, we talk ...

Foul Ball (w/ Alex Bazeley & Bobby Wagner)

14 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ending 26 years of "labor peace," Major League Baseball is in the midst of a lockout. With league owners failing to address the core contract issues r...

Starbucks Workers United (w/ Brian Murray & Jordan Chariton)

09 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Starbucks is the world's largest coffeehouse chain and one of the most recognizable consumer brands in existence. In the US alone, Starbucks has nearl...

Columbia Is Still a Bully (w/ Joanna Lee, Tamara Hache, & Caroline Smith)

30 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Back in the spring, we spoke with three graduate student workers at Columbia University who were on strike with other members of the Student Workers o...

Fiction is a beautiful weapon in the class war - we should use it (w/ Sarah Lazare)

23 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What role does fiction have to play in the class struggle? Should the left be making a stronger case for the political importance of reading literatur...

(Unlocked) BONUS EPISODE - A Pivotal Moment for the Teamsters (w/ Indigo Olivier)

18 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is having a pivotal leadership election right now, and the results will set the future course for one of th...

35,000 Kaiser Permanente Workers Are Set to Strike (w/ Hannah Winchester & Nick Eng)

10 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

35,000 members of the Alliance of Health Care Unions, a coalition of 21 local unions representing over 52,000 workers at the healthcare giant Kaiser P...

Michael Francis McCarthy

09 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this special episode, Working People producer Jules Taylor (@realjulestaylor) speaks with working musician and farm laborer Michael Francis McCarth...

We're All We've Got (w/ Adam Johnson, Luis Feliz Leon, Brian "BZ" Douglas, & Jules Taylor)

29 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We hosted our first ever Working People livestream this week! We got to chat with some special friends about Spooky Season and #Striketober, and we ha...

Justin Mayhugh

20 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A lot of important history is being made right now, and something potentially game-changing is unfolding among the American workforce. At this very mo...

Breakfast of Champions (w/ Dan Osborn)

18 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Like Frito-Lay, Nabisco, John Deere, and Heaven Hill Distillery, cereal giant Kellogg's has seen consumer demand skyrocket during the pandemic...

Lisa Doerr

11 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We conclude our series of interviews from rural Wisconsin with farmers and community members fighting to defend life as they know it from the onslaugh...

Lights, Camera, STRIKE! (w/ Marisa Shipley, David McMahon, & Fae Weichsel)

02 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tens of thousands of members of the International Association of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) are currently voting on whether or not to authoriz...

Kristy Lynn Allen

30 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A proposed concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) in Burnett County, Wisconsin, is slated to house 26,000 hogs and produce millions of gallons o...

Hog Wild (w/ Lisa Doerr, Forest Jahnke, Hannah Faris, & Maeve Conran)

21 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Over the summer, Max traveled to Wisconsin to report on a crucial struggle that has been largely ignored by corporate media. Residents of rural Polk, ...

Work to Live (w/ Matt Aubrey)

14 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Around 400 union distillery workers in Bardstown, Kentucky, hit the picket line yesterday after rejecting a contract offer from Heaven Hill Distilleri...

Evan Seyfried (w/ Ken, Linda, & Eric Seyfried)

09 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

(C/W: bullying, harassment, suicide) Evan Seyfried was a loving son, brother, friend, and a dedicated worker. For 19 years, with a virtually spotless ...

Casey Scully

01 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For many around the country, the new school year has already begun. And many districts are pushing through with in-person schooling, even though we ...

Listener Hang Session #1

23 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a much-needed break this week, but we'll be back with more worker interviews really soon! To hold y'all over, we're releasing a portion o...

End Unfair Practices against Window Cleaners (w/ Eric Crone)

20 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Repelling down skyscrapers to clean windows is already a very dangerous job. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, high-rise window cleaners with SEIU Lo...

Striking Coal Miners Won't Back Down, Part II (w/ Kim Kelly & Jacob Morrison)

12 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Over 1,100 union coal miners in Brookwood, Alabama, have been on an unfair labor practices strike against Warrior Met Coal for over five months. And ...

Striking Coal Miners Won't Back Down, Part I (w/ Jacob Morrison)

12 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Over 1,100 union coal miners in Brookwood, Alabama, have been on an unfair labor practices strike against Warrior Met Coal for over five months. For ...

When the Plant Closed (w/ Carla Shultz & Laura Flanders)

08 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Mylan pharmaceutical plant in Morgantown, West Virginia, has been in operation since 1965, producing low-cost generic drugs and providing good-pay...

Order-Takers No More (w/ Richard D. Wolff)

05 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this special episode of Working People, we chat with world-renowned economist Richard D. Wolff about how the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated ch...

Your Job Doesn't Have to Suck (w/ Jaisal Noor)

28 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

From workers dying from lack of adequate safety measures and PPE to states viciously cutting off extended unemployment benefits to force people back t...

CA Rideshare Driver Strike (w/ Ahmad Moss)

21 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On Wednesday, July 21, across California, rideshare drivers with Rideshare Drivers United are going on a one-day strike against the exploitative pra...

Cheri Renfro

15 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Hundreds of workers at the Frito Lay manufacturing and distribution plant in Topeka, Kansas, have been on strike since July 5th. Workers at Frito Lay ...

Kate

08 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we sit down with Kate from New Jersey. At the moment, Kate is working primarily as a caretaker for her parents, and we talk a bit abo...

Alex P.

06 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When faced with unlawful intimidation and interrogation from management at Trader Joe's, Alex P and his coworkers stood together and stood up for thei...

Smithfield Workers in Sioux Falls Stand Strong, Win Big (w/ Kooper Caraway)

28 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We cover a lot of important worker struggles on this show, but it's important to cover worker victories as well—and workers in South Dakota just lan...

Mo' Evil Foods, Part II

23 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this month, No Evil Foods, a vegan meat company founded in North Carolina, notified its staff that they were closing their Asheville productio...

(Unlocked) BONUS EPISODE - Nate Holdren

16 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We will be back to our regular Working People schedule next week. Until then, to tide y'all over, and to celebrate his book recently receiving Honorab...

Ric Ortiz

03 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Max is traveling for The Real News Network, so Working People producer Jules Taylor hosts this episode as he interviews his stepfather about his caree...

From Colombia to Palestine, We Will Be Free (w/ Irene Vélez Torres & Toufic Haddad)

21 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Right now, working people in other parts of the world are being crushed by a relentless onslaught of murderous violence and dispossession, economic de...

Why Is Trumka Going After Vermont AFL-CIO? (w/ David Van Deusen)

20 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past couple years, the Vermont State AFL-CIO and its membership have embraced a more democratic, rank-and-file strategy, building up bonds of...

On War & the Battle to Belong (w/ Triste Ordex, Amber Mathwig, & Clarke)

05 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this special episode, we talk with three veterans about how the military and the class system (in the U.S. and around the world) go hand in hand. H...

The Srsly Wrong MAY DAY Crossover Special (w/ Working People, Rebel Steps, & Doomer v. Bloomer)

01 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Happy May Day, everyone! All power to the international working class! Celebrate this most glorious of holidays by refusing to work and listening to t...

Solidarity with the Working People of Myanmar

28 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this important episode, we interview worker-organizers with the Federation of General Workers Myanmar about the brutal military coup that has been...

Mother (w/ Dominique Rémy)

22 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this pre-pandemic Working People recording that we thought was lost to history, we talk to filmmaker Dominique Rémy about her important full-lengt...

Schuylkill Hospital Nurses United

14 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On top of the typical stresses, intense work, and long hours common to the profession, nurses working at smaller hospitals in more remote parts of the...

On Strike at Warrior Met Coal (w/ Jacob Morrison & Lee Bains III)

07 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Last Thursday, around 1,100 coal miners at Warrior Met Coal in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, went on strike. According to the union, the United Mine Wor...

Aaron Major

31 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the world of higher education: forced campus re-openings have pushed many directly into harm's way; colleges and univer...

Mini-cast: Columbia Is a Bully (w/ Joanna Lee, Harlan Chambers, & Cameron Foltz)

30 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the middle of a deadly pandemic that has shaken the world of higher education to its core, graduate workers at Columbia University are heading into...

Terrill Haigler ("Ya Fav Trashman")

24 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We sit down and chat with (former) Philly sanitation worker and Instagram sensation Terrill Haigler—or, as listeners may know him, "Ya Fav Trashman....

Confessions of a Child of the Bourgeoisie (w/ Rick Perlstein)

18 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this special episode, we chat with the one and only Rick Perlstein. Rick is an internationally acclaimed and bestselling author and historian who h...

Goliath Can Be Defeated (w/ Danny Glover)

05 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

HAVE WE GOT A TREAT FOR YOU... Working People will be taking a much-needed break next week, but never fear—we've got something special to hold you ...

Jennifer Bates

03 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

At this very moment, one of the most historic union drives of our era is taking place at the Amazon fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama. Around 5,...

Rev. Lindsey Joyce

25 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we talk to Rev. Lindsey Joyce of the United Church of Rogers Park in Chicago and the Institute for Christian Socialism. We talk about...

**Luis Feliz Leon** Patreon Exclusive

23 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

***This is a Patreon Exclusive episode*** Subscribe to our Patreon:  www.patreon.com/workingpeople Thank you to all the Patreon subscribers for the...

Maya Morena, Part II (w/ Jessie Sage)

17 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We're back with Part II of our special mini-series on work and politics in the sex industry, guest-hosted by friend of the show Jessie Sage. Jessie is...

Maya Morena, Part I (w/ Jessie Sage)

10 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We're excited to share Part I of a special mini-series guest-hosted by friend of the show Jessie Sage! Jessie is a writer, podcaster, phone sex operat...

ACLU Staff United

03 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed many serious and dangerous challenges for workers everywhere—not just for workers on the job, but for workers trying...

Justin Whittaker

27 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Working People is excited to announce that, along with our ongoing partnership with the amazing In These Times magazine, we are now partnered with The...

1001 days (w/ Suat Karlikaya & Burcu Ayan)

20 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Production workers at Cargill Turkey were unfairly dismissed on April 17, 2018, while trying to unionize. Listeners will probably recognize the name C...

Mini-cast: #SafeReturnOrNoReturn (w/ Paula Ladin & Mariana Ruiz)

15 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week, the first wave of children, teachers, and clinicians in the Chicago Public Schools system were required to appear at their schools for the ...

2020: A Year to Remember & Forget

13 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Well, that was ... quite a year. From the COVID-19 pandemic and the presidential election to mass protests against police violence and worker actions ...

It's Time for Workers to Take Back Power

02 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this special episode, we talk with three representatives of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades—Jim Williams (General Vice Pres...

Zack Pattin & Brian Skiffington, Part II

23 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This is Part II of our special two-part episode with Tacoma longshore workers Zack Pattin and Brian "Skiff" Skiffington. Zack and Skiff are both memb...

Zack Pattin & Brian Skiffington, Part I

16 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We've got a Working People first! In this special two-part episode, we sit down to chat with not one but two longshore workers: Zack Pattin and Brian...

Erek Slater

09 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We chat with Erek Slater, a bus operator for the Chicago Transit Authority, where he's been working for the past 15 years. Erek is a family man, a fat...

Michele

02 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We chat with Michele, a clinical social worker in the Bronx with years of experience working in psychiatric emergency and crisis settings. We talk abo...

Amir Atabeygi, M.D.

23 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We're back with Season Four of Working People! In this urgent episode, we talk with Dr. Amir Atabeygi, a physician at MultiCare Indigo Urgent Care in ...

LRPN Member Spotlight: Maximillian Alvarez (Empathy Media Lab podcast)

20 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The next time you see us, it will be the premier of Season Four of Working People! Until then, we wanted to share this interview Max did with Evan Mat...

"We Are More Than Just Nametags" w/ Max Alvarez (Our Calgary podcast)

03 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We'll be back with Season Four of Working People very soon, but in the meantime, here's an interview Max did with Our Calgary, a great new Canadian po...

Soul Rot (w/ Hamilton Nolan)

28 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We talk to Hamilton Nolan, labor reporter for In These Times, about reporting on the Trump  re-election campaign during a pandemic and seeing up clos...

Working-Class Politics: Labor Slate

22 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We're back with another installment of our ongoing series Working-Class Politics, where we talk to working-class folks and advocates who are running f...

This Could Change Everything (w/ Veena Dubal)

09 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Everyone who is a worker or who cares about workers should pay attention to Prop 22 in California and understand the potentially devastating impact it...

Mini-cast: #DropTheChargesCO (w/ Amanda Yee)

27 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We talk with Amanda Yee for this urgent mini-cast on the deliberate and terrifying persecution of leftist organizers and activists by the state, inclu...

LaDonna Brave Bull Allard (Remastered)

07 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We've remastered our Labor Day special from Season One and are re-releasing it for all our new listeners. In this episode, we talk to LaDonna Brave B...

Cops — Labor: Which Side Are You On? (w/ Kim Kelly, Halimat Alawode, & Julia Wallace)

29 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We close out Season Three of Working People with a critical discussion about why cops have no place in the labor movement and about the rank-and-file ...

No Evil Foods Got Our Last Episode Removed

26 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

UPDATE: We were notified by Libsyn (the service where we host our podcast) that No Evil Foods demanded to have our last episode removed due to our use...

Mo' Evil Foods

24 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We talk to Jon, Meagan, Josh, and Cortne, four former employees at No Evil Foods, a vegan plant-based meat producer in North Carolina that made headli...

The People's Movement, the People's Media (w/ Mel Buer, Gabby, & Garrison Davis)

18 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We talk to Mel Buer (Protean Magazine), Gabby (DefendPDX), and Garrison Davis, three independent journalists who have been on the front lines this sum...

Maggie Levantovskaya

09 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We talk to writer, organizer, and adjunct lecturer Maggie Levantovskaya about immigrating from the Soviet Union, navigating class differences in the U...

Mini-cast: In the Lion's Den (w/ The Valley Labor Report)

30 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We chat with David Story and Jacob Morrison, the hosts of The Valley Labor Report, a new radio show out of Huntsville, Alabama, about the importance ...

Jami Bellefleur

25 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We're back from hiatus with a new full-length episode! We talk to Jami Bellefleur, a Maine native and shipbuilder, about her life and work, and about ...

Teaser: Mailbag Episode #1

24 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Oh shiiiit, it's mailbag time!! Max, Zak, and MacKenna (3/4 of the Alvarez siblings) sit down to answer listener questions. Listen to the full bonus e...

Labor Is Antifascist (w/ Kooper Caraway)

31 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

UNLOCKED BONUS EPISODE: We talk to Kooper Caraway, President of the Sioux Falls AFL-CIO and Labor Rep for AFSCME Council 65 about the labor movement i...

Struggle Session (w/ Michael Brooks)

28 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We talk to Michael Brooks about his new book, Against the Web, and we try to move the ball forward on debates about the "woke left," working-class pol...

The Break Room: Daniel Stone

21 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this installment of The Break Room, Daniel Stone, a now-former employee of Dollar General in Nashville, tells us about issues with how the national...

On Meritocracy (w/ Zak Alvarez)

18 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

(We are making this Bonus Episode public to provide a follow-up to Max's latest In These Times article on whether or not the working class and progres...

The Break Room: Aminah Sheikh (Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario)

15 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to The Break Room, our new, ongoing series where workers and organizers send in 15-20-minute clips to talk about issues they're facing, action...

cOrE vAlUeS (w/ MacKenna Alvarez)

05 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Happy #TeachersDay! To celebrate National Teacher Appreciation Week, we are putting this special bonus episode on the main feed: Another Alvarez joins...

Adam Ryan (Target Workers Unite)

01 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Our Season Three finale: we talk with Adam Ryan, a Target worker in Virginia and liaison for Target Workers Unite, one of the groups that has been org...

Mini-cast: ICE Is the CIA Now, Apparently (w/ Ken Klippenstein)

25 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This is a clip from our bonus episode with Ken Klippenstein, DC correspondent for The Nation, about the Covid crisis and the scary powers our governme...

"We Are Essential," Pt II (Voices from the Covid-19 Crisis)

20 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Part II: The Covid-19 crisis and the current economic crash have broken our world apart. These are the voices of the people living, working, and fight...

"We Are Essential," Pt I (Voices from the Covid-19 Crisis)

11 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Covid-19 crisis and the current economic crash have broken our world apart. These are the voices of the people living, working, and fighting throu...

Workers' Book Club: A Serf's Journal (w/ Terry Tapp and John Tormey))

06 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The second installment of the Workers' Book Club is finally here, and it's a doozy! Our friend John Tormey, a track laborer and writer from just outsi...

Mini-cast: #InstacartStrike (w/ Vanessa Bain)

29 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This Monday (March 30) Instacart shoppers around the country will walk off the job to demand hazard pay and basic protections for working during the C...

Make Love, Not Stonks (w/ Tom Sexton)

27 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We're briefly coming back from hiatus to check in with an old friend and offer some thoughts on our breaking world.    Additional links/info below.....

(Unlocked) BONUS EPISODE - Candace Wolf

20 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We talk to activist and oral historian Candace Wolf about her self-published book of interviews with workers all over the world, Shifting the Universe...

Working-Class Politics: Phara Souffrant Forrest

13 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the newest installment in our ongoing series Working-Class Politics, we talk with Phara Souffrant Forrest, a union nurse, tenant activist, and dem...

SotB + Current Affairs Super Tuesday Crossover

04 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Our election-themed crossover panel collective continues to grow! We're excited to share on the Working People feed the newest installment of these on...

Lances for Hire

01 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this special compilation episode, we hear testimonies from 10 different freelancers—journalists, artists, musicians, designers, and more—about ...

Workers' Toolkit: ANTITRUST (w/ Marshall Steinbaum)

28 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In The Workers' Toolkit we take deep dives into the legal and institutional barriers that prevent workers from building collective power in the United...

The Billionaires' Caucus

21 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Our second election-themed crossover panel of the season: We team up with Mel from Protean Magazine and Dwight and Shane from Eat the Rich to break d...

Everybody In, Nobody Out (w/ Sara Nelson)

13 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We talk to the one and only Sara Nelson, flight attendant, union activist, and President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, about the labor ...

Deidra Demens

09 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We talk to professional yoga teacher Deidra Demens about the path that led her to yoga and about working in the yoga industry in New York City. We als...