Working People

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Sean O'Brien sold workers and unions out to Trump—these Teamsters are running to oust him Mar 04, 2026

Show notes

As general president of the union, Sean O'Brien has operated with a "Teamsters vs. Everybody" mentality, especially when it comes to dealing with President Trump and embracing the MAGA right. But now, 14 months into the second Trump administration, the labor movement and the entire working class—Teamsters members included—is under attack. In this episode of Working People, we speak with veteran Teamsters Richard Hooker Jr. and John Palmer, who are running to oust O'Brien from leadership in the upcoming union election. Guests:

Richard Hooker Jr. has dedicated 26 years to the Teamsters, spending 20 of those years at UPS and the last six in leadership roles. He is the Secretary-Treasurer and Principal Officer of Teamsters Local 623 in Philadelphia, and he is now running on the Fearless Slate to unseat Sean O'Brien as a candidate for general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
John Palmer has 38 years of experience in the Teamsters and is currently serving as a vice president at large of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He is running on the Fearless Slate as a candidate to be the union's general secretary-treasurer.

Additional links/info:

Teamsters Fearless Slate website
Hank Kennedy, Current Affairs, "Sean O'Brien sold labor to Trump, and got nothing"
Michael Sainato, The Guardian, "Labor activist takes on Teamsters leader allying with Trump: 'He doesn't represent the workers'"
Joe Allen, CounterPunch, "Why are the Teamsters endorsing Greg Abbott?"
Peter Eavis, The New York Times, "UPS says it is cutting up to 30,000 jobs"
Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, "Everybody hates Sean"
Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, "We asked 8 different Teamsters what they thought of Sean O'Brien's speech—their responses may surprise you"

Featured Music:

Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits:

Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

Tech workers protest Microsoft's ties to ICE terror and Israel's war crimes Feb 26, 2026

Show notes

In just six months, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) more than tripled the amount of data stored on Microsoft's Azure cloud platform,The Guardian reports, "at the same time that its arsenal of surveillance technology ballooned." This week, tech workers with the No Azure for Apartheid (NOAA) campaign staged a protest and informational picket at Microsoft's global headquarters in Redmond, WA, demanding that Microsoft cancel all contracts that provide technological support for Israel's ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and ICE's campaign of terror in the US. We speak with Ibtihal, a former software engineer at Microsoft and an organizer with the NOAA campaign.

Additional links/info:

No Azure for Apartheid Instagram and Linktree
Harry Davies & Yuval Abraham, The Guardian, "ICE reliance on Microsoft technology surged amid immigration crackdown, documents show"
Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, "'Microsoft workers refuse to be complicit in the genocide'"
Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, "Microsoft cancels Israeli spy unit access after tech worker revolt"
Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, "The biggest labor story in the US right now is happening at Microsoft"

Featured Music:

Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits:

Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

They won their strike fair and square. Now their rich bosses are closing up shop. Feb 18, 2026

Show notes

On Nov. 24, 2025, in a major and hardwon victory, Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh members finally returned to work at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette after more than three years on strike. Then, on Jan. 7, 2026, workers were notified that Block Communications Inc.—the company that owns the Post-Gazette as well as the Toledo Blade, the Buckeye Sports Network, and a number of TV stations in Ohio and Kentucky—said that it will be ceasing operations at the Post-Gazette on May 3 of this year. We speak with Steve Mellon, a veteran photographer and writer who was on strike for over three years at the Post-Gazette, about how workers are processing this devastating news, and about their push to launch a new news source by and for working people. Additional links/info:

Pittsburgh Alliance for People-Empowered Reporting (PAPER) website
Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh website, Facebook page, and Instagram
Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette owners couldn't bust the union, so they shut down the paper"
Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, "The longest-running strike in the US is over—and the workers won"
Kris B. Mamula, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Post-Gazette to publish final edition and cease operations on May 3"

Featured Music:

Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits: Audio Post-Production:

Jules Taylor

NO DEAL: Nurses at NY-Presbyterian overwhelmingly vote to stay on strike Feb 13, 2026

Show notes

The longest-running nurses strike in New York City history has come to an end—for some. Nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, however, overwhelmingly voted this week to reject a tentative agreement and to stay on strike until their demands for safer staffing and more job security are met. In this unscheduled strike update episode, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez speaks with Beth Loudin, a neonatal nurse and member of the executive committee of the New York State Nurses Association at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Additional links/info:

New York State Nurses Association website, Facebook page, Bluesky page, and Instagram
Claudia Irizarry Aponte & Ben Fractenberg, The City, "NewYork-Presbyterian nurses reject contract by overwhelming margin"
Luis Feliz Leon, Sarah Hughes, & Danielle Smith, Labor Notes, "Fifteen thousand New York City nurses strike"

Featured Music:

Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits:

Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

Massive strike at Kaiser Permanente enters third week Feb 12, 2026

Show notes

An estimated 31,000 health care workers in California and Hawaii walked off the job on Jan. 26 in their ongoing battle with healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente to address workers' demands for safe staffing, more manageable workloads, and a livable wage. The United Nurses Associations of California / Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) strike is now in its third week, and more than 3,000 pharmacy technicians, pharmacy assistants, and clinical laboratory professionals represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers. In this urgent strike update episode, we speak with a panel of UNAC/UHCP members who are all currently on strike at Kaiser Permanente. Guests:

Sanayo Kondo is a physical therapist at Kaiser Permanente - Redwood City in Northern California, and she is also on the bargaining team for her UNAC/UHCP group.
Kadi Gonzalez is an outpatient Registered Nurse at Kaiser Permanente who works in OB/Gyn care and is on the board of directors for UNAC/UHCP.
Lucky Longoria is a Registered Nurse who works in pediatrics at Kaiser Permanente - Downey in Southern California and previously worked as a travel nurse.

Additional links/info:

United Nurses Associations of California / Union of Health Care Professionals website, Facebook page, and Instagram
UNAC/UHCP Press Release: "Massive Kaiser strike enters third week"
Kaiser Permanente, "Our statement on the UNAC/UHCP strike (Jan. 25, 2026)"

Featured Music:

Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits:

Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

America's toxic future looks like East Palestine, OH, today Feb 06, 2026

Show notes

Feb. 3, 2026 marked the three-year anniversary of the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical disaster in East Palestine, OH—one of the worst industrial disasters in US history. Over the last three years, residents have been exploited and abandoned by Norfolk Southern, the government, opportunistic politicians, sensationalist media outlets, and self-serving attorneys, but we have not forgotten them. On the three-year anniversary of the day that changed their small-town lives forever, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez was on the ground in East Palestine speaking with residents about their lives and needs today. Here is what they said... Additional links/info:

Ohio Valley Derailment Mutual Aid Facebook page and fundraiser
Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition (CICC) website
Golomb Research Group (UCSD) website and East Palestine Health Effects Study website
Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "America's toxic future looks like East Palestine, Ohio, today" (click for a full list of all of Max's East Palestine reporting for TRNN over the last three years)

Featured Music:

Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits:

Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

"A hero": Nurses, federal workers honor Alex Pretti Feb 01, 2026

Show notes

Hundreds of union nurses, federal workers, and local residents gathered outside the Veterans Affairs central office building in Washington, DC, on Jan. 28, to hold a vigil for Alex Pretti and all who have been killed by ICE. The vigil was one of many events organized or co-sponsored by National Nurses United, the nation's largest union and professional association of registered nurses, which has forcefully called for ICE to be abolished in the wake of Pretti's killing. We speak with attendees of the vigil in this on-the-ground edition of Working People. Additional links/info:

Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "'A hero': Nurses, federal workers honor Alex Pretti (Documentary Report)"
Maximillian Alvarez Working People / The Real News Network, "Largest nurses union calls to abolish ICE after Alex Pretti killing: 'They messed with the wrong profession'"
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

Credits:

Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

Largest nurses union calls to abolish ICE after Alex Pretti killing Jan 28, 2026

Show notes

On 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

"Shut everything down": Minnesota calls for mass strike on Jan. 23 Jan 21, 2026

Show notes

The 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

The longest-running strike in the US is over—and the workers won Dec 18, 2025

Show notes

On 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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