Working People

Latest Episodes:

Justin Whittaker Jan 27, 2021

Show notes

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 Real News Network in Baltimore!

In this episode, we sit down with Justin Whittaker for the first part of an ongoing series of interviews where we'll be talking to workers on all sides of the marijuana industry—in states where that work is legal and in states where it's not. Justin is originally from the Midwest, but now he lives all the way up near Fairbanks, Alaska, where he works at an organic weed-growing operation. Alaska was the second state in the U.S. to decriminalize cannabis decades ago; in 2014, it became the third state to legalize recreational use. Justin has seen different sides of the industry, in different states, both before and after legalization. We talk about his life and work, and we talk about the ways legalization has changed things in the marijuana industry for buyers, business owners, and workers.

Additional links/info below...

The Tight Rope podcast, "Max Alvarez - The Tight Rope on The Real News"
The Real News Network website
In These Times magazine website
Javier Hasse, Forbes, "Even as Overall Deals Declined, VC Investments in Cannabis Nearly Doubled Over 2019"
Aubrey Wieber, Anchorage Daily News, "Alaska Marijuana Industry Works to Influence Local Politicians"
Katie O'Reilly, Sierra, "A Higher Cause: Is It Possible to Consume Organic Cannabis?"
Austa Somvichian-Clausen, National Geographic, "Organic Weed? Marijuana Growers Go Green"
Josh Marcus, Rolling Stone, "Meet America's Most Powerful Cannabis Union"

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

Jules Taylor, "Working People theme song"
Robert Farmer, "This Is Our World, This Is Our Home"

1001 days (w/ Suat Karlikaya & Burcu Ayan) Jan 20, 2021

Show notes

Production workers at Cargill Turkey were unfairly dismissed on April 17, 2018, while trying to unionize. Listeners will probably recognize the name Cargill: based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Cargill is the largest privately held corporation in the United States. And Cargill's reach is truly global, with operations around the world focusing on the trading, purchasing, distributing, and producing of agricultural commodities, energy, livestock, and ingredients for processed food. When workers at a Cargill starch plant in Bursa-Orhangazi tried to unionize under Tekgıda-İş (the Tobacco, Drink, Food and Allied Workers Trade Union of Turkey), they were dismissed for their union activity. Under Turkish law, companies like Cargill can simply pay fines for such human rights violations and factor it into the "cost of doing business"; however, these same companies are not required to reinstate unjustly dismissed workers, even if Turkish courts have definitively ruled that the dismissals were illegal.

For over 1000 days, these workers and Tekgıda-İş have been fighting an ongoing battle with Cargill to have their jobs reinstated. In this special episode (our first interview that is accessible to both English and Turkish speakers), we talk with Suat Karlikaya, a lead organizer with Tekgıda-İş, about Cargill Turkey's retaliatory dismissal of workers who tried to unionize—and what listeners in and beyond Turkey can do to show solidarity. English and Turkish translations are provided by Burcu Ayan of the IUF (the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations).

Additional links/info below...

IUF Information Page: Fighting for Trade Union rights at Cargill Turkey (CARGİLL TÜRKİYE'DE SENDİKA HAKLARI MÜCADELESİ!)
IUF website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
Tekgıda-İş website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
IUF, "January 11, 2021: 1000 days of fighting for rights at Cargill Turkey"
IUF, "Cargill unions around the world call for an end to rights abuses at Cargill Turkey"
Wikipedia, "Criticisms of Cargill"

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

Jules Taylor, "Working People theme song"
Ending Satellites, "A Place We Call Home"

Mini-cast: #SafeReturnOrNoReturn (w/ Paula Ladin & Mariana Ruiz) Jan 15, 2021

Show notes

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 first time in nearly a year. While COVID-19 cases and deaths have only increased (and increased dramatically) across the country since last spring, CPS officials and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot insist on reopening schools. What's worse, teachers who fear for their safety and the safety of their students and coworkers are being locked out of their employee accounts and having their pay docked if they refuse to return from teaching remotely. In this urgent mini-cast, we talk to Paula Ladin and Mariana Ruiz, two CPS special-ed educators, about the city's dangerous, reckless, and unnecessary reopening plan and the impact it is already having on students, teachers, their families, and their communities.

Additional links/info below...

Chicago Teachers Union website and Twitter page
Dawn Reiss, The Washington Post, "Chicago School System Locks Out Some Teachers, Withholds Pay for Not Returning to In-Person Instruction"
Jermaine Nolen & Nader Issa, Chicago Sun Times, "CPS Teacher Tests Positive for COVID-19, Forcing Principal into Quarantine During 1st Week Back"
Hannah Leone, Chicago Tribune, "As New COVID-19 Cases Emerge in Chicago Public Schools, Families Plea for Reinstatement of Locked-Out Teachers"

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

Jules Taylor, "Working People theme song"

2020: A Year to Remember & Forget Jan 13, 2021

Show notes

Well, that was ... quite a year. From the COVID-19 pandemic and the presidential election to mass protests against police violence and worker actions around the country, it's hard to even remember all that we went through in 2020. Luckily, right before New Year's Eve, we got together with four of the best young labor journalists around—Edward Ongweso Jr., Juliana Feliciano Reyes, Lauren Kaori Gurley, and Michael Sainato—to talk about the lessons we took away from the past year, and about what lies ahead.

Additional links/info below...

Edward's Vice author page and Twitter page
Edward's top stories from 2020: (1) "The Lockout: Why Uber Drivers in NYC Are Sleeping in Their Cars"; (2) "Proposition 22 Passes, But Uber and Lyft Are Only Delaying the Inevitable"; (3) "Uber Sells Off Sci-Fi Pipe Dreams. Exploiting Labor Is Its Only Plan"

Juliana's Philadelphia Inquirer author page and Twitter page
Juliana's top stories from 2020: (1) "How This Black UPS Worker Challenged Powerful Union Leaders in Philly, and Won"; (2) "Philadelphia's Labor Movement Faces a Reckoning Over the City's Powerful Police Union"; (3) "Trash Is Piling Up, But People Aren't Blaming Philly Sanitation Workers"

Lauren's Vice author page and Twitter page
Lauren's top stories from 2020: (1) "Target's Delivery App Workers Describe a Culture of Retaliation and Fear"; (2) "'I Could Show You Stuff You Wouldn't Believe:' Gravediggers Speak Out About Horrifying Conditions"; (3) "Secret Amazon Reports Expose the Company's Surveillance of Labor and Environmental Groups"

Michael's Guardian author page and Twitter page
Michael's top stories from 2020: (1) "Tesla Workers' Unemployment May Be Suspended If They Don't Return, Emails Show"; (2) "'I Cry Before Work': US Essential Workers Burned Out Amid Pandemic"; (3) "Walmart Cuts Workers' Hours but Increases Workload as Sales Rise Amid Pandemic"

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

Jules Taylor, "Working People theme song"
Hearse Pileup, "We're All Going to Hell"

It's Time for Workers to Take Back Power Jan 02, 2021

Show notes

In this special episode, we talk with three representatives of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades—Jim Williams (General Vice President), Kellie Morgan (Political Director & Community Organizer, District Council 77), and Salvador Herrera (Director of Organizing, District Council 88)—about labor's fight to pass the PRO Act. We break down what the PRO Act is, why passing it would institute a monumental shift in worker power, and how it would impact the daily realities of workers and organizers.

Additional links/info below...

Pass the PRO Act website
The International Union of Painters & Allied Trades website, Facebookpage and Twitter page
IUPAT District Council 88's website
IUPAT District Council 77's website
Jeremy Gantz, In These Times, "House Passes Bill to Dramatically Strengthen the Power of Unions"
Jim Williams, In These Times, "It's Time for the Democrats to Deliver for Workers. Fighting for the PRO Act Is the First Step"

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

Jules Taylor, "Working People theme song"
Jules Taylor, "Working People transition song"
IUPAT, "Pass the PRO Act" (link to video)
Doctor Turtle, "One Person Listening Now"

Zack Pattin & Brian Skiffington, Part II Dec 23, 2020

Show notes

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 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 23 and organizing leaders with the ILWU Young Workers Committee. In Part I of our conversation with Zack and Skiff, we talked about their winding paths to working on the waterfront and about the beauty and madness of longshore work. In Part II, we take a deeper dive into the politics and history of the ILWU. We talk about what being part of the union has meant to Zack and Skiff, their families, and their coworkers—and we talk about why fixtures like union hiring halls are so important that workers fought and died for them.

Additional links/info below...

Zack's Facebook page and Twitter page
Brian's Facebook page
ILWU Local 23's website and Facebook page
The Ten Guiding Principles of the ILWU
ILWU No. 23 Young Workers Committee Facebook page and Twitter page
Zack Pattin & Brian Skiffington, LaborNotes, "Longshore Young Workers Come to the Aid of Tenants Facing Eviction"
Stephen McFarland, "'With the Class-Conscious Workers Under One Roof': Union Halls and Labor Temples in American Working-Class Formation, 1880-1970 (dissertation)"
Union Halls of the World Twitter page

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

Jules Taylor, "Working People theme song"
Docks, "Get Well"

Zack Pattin & Brian Skiffington, Part I Dec 16, 2020

Show notes

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 Skiffington from Tacoma, WA. Zack and Brian are both members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 23, and organizing leaders with the ILWU Young Workers Committee. In Part I of our expansive, multi-hour conversation with Zack and Brian, we talk about their backstories and the winding paths that brought them to where they are now, working together on the waterfront. We also talk about growing up in union families, their mutual love of punk music, and we talk about the fast pace, precision, adrenaline, danger, and skill of longshore work.

Additional links/info below...

Zack's Facebook page and Twitter page
Brian's Facebook page
ILWU Local 23's website and Facebook page
ILWU No. 23 Young Workers Committee Facebook page and Twitter page
Zack Pattin & Brian Skiffington, LaborNotes, "Longshore Young Workers Come to the Aid of Tenants Facing Eviction"
The Docker Podcast, "EP# 38: Paul Finch (BCGEU) and Brian Skiffington (ILWU 23)"
The Docker Podcast, "ILWU 37th Convention Portland Part 10: Zack Pattin (ILWU 23)"

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

Jules Taylor, "Working People theme song"
Tendinite, "More Whiskey"

Erek Slater Dec 09, 2020

Show notes

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 father, and a three-term elected shop steward and executive board member of the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 241. We talk about his working life and all that goes into being a bus operator, all the things that passengers never see—even though we depend on workers like Erek every day to live our lives. We also talk about Erek's experience as a shop steward and about his unshakeable commitment to honor, justice, and to empowering the working class. In fact, it was because he stood up for these things that he was unjustly dismissed from his job in May.

Additional links/info below...

International Campaign to Reinstate Chicago Bus Driver Erek Slater
PETITION: Drop All Charges and Reinstate Chicago Bus Driver Erek Slater
Update on Campaign to Reinstate Chicago Bus Driver Erek Slater
Erek's Facebook page and Twitter page
ATU Local 241 website page

Connecticut Workers Crisis Response Facebook page

Sarah Lazare, Jacobin, "A Chicago Bus Driver Says He Was Retaliated Against for His Opposition to Transporting Police to Protests"
WorkWeek Radio, ""We May Have To Shut It Down" Fight To Protect Health & Safety For Chicago ATU 241 Members & Public"
Labor Beat, "São Paulo Is A Union Town: Travel Notes of a Chicago Trade Unionist"
Labor Beat, "Joint Action in Tokyo and Seoul"

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

Jules Taylor, "Working People theme song"
Cletus Got Shot, "Justice Is My Name"

Michele Dec 02, 2020

Show notes

We chat with Michele, a clinical social worker in the Bronx with years of experience working in psychiatric emergency and crisis settings. We talk about Michele's life and the road that led her to being a social worker—we also discuss the history of social work itself, and we dive into the very real struggles and often harsh circumstances that are a daily reality for social workers and the people they serve. (C/W: This conversation does broach topics involving psychiatric distress and suicide.)

Additional links/info below...

Laura Abrams & Alan Dettlaff, Social Work, "Voices from the Frontlines: Social Workers Confront the COVID-19 Pandemic"
J. Scott Janssen, Social Work Today, "Moral Distress in Social Work Practice – When Workplace and Conscience Collide"
Mark Fisher, The Guardian, "Why Mental Health Is a Political Issue"

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

Jules Taylor, "Working People theme song"
The Shivers, "Only Mine"

Amir Atabeygi, M.D. Nov 23, 2020

Show notes

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 Thurston County, Washington. On Monday, November 23, amid a terrifying surge in COVID-19 cases around the country, Dr. Atabeygi will join his fellow physicians, physician assistants, and advanced registered nurse practitioners on the picket line as they strike for the basic safety measures their employer refuses to provide. We talk to Dr. Atabeygi about what he and his coworkers face on the job, the rise of "retail health" companies like MultiCare Health Systems, and the growing labor consciousness of traditionally non-unionized healthcare workers.

Additional links/info below...

PETITION: Doctors and Patients United for Safer Working Conditions
Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD) national website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
UAPD Pacific Northwest Twitter page
Zack Pattin, LaborNotes, "Will Urgent Care Doctors Be Forced to Strike in a Pandemic for the Right to Go Home?"
Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD), Chinook Observer, "Labor Negotiations Stall Between MultiCare and Indigo Urgent Care Doctors"
Eric Topol, The New Yorker, "Why Doctors Should Organize"
Jason Hanna & Daniel Wolfe, CNN, "These Charts Show How Serious This Fall's Covid-19 Surge Is in the US""

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

Jules Taylor, "Working People theme song"
Fotos del Otoño, "Doctor McCoy"

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected