by Maximillian Alvarez | Nov 20, 2025 | Economy, Economy and Inequality, labor, Podcast, Politics and Movements: US, Unions, Working People
Making ends meet in today’s economy is difficult enough, but with so many societal crises affecting working people’s lives on and off the shop floor—from mass layoffs to untenable costs of living, from an authoritarian federal government to AI and the climate crisis—it can feel all but impossible. What does it mean to have a union job, to be a union member, and to be part of the labor movement in these overwhelming times? What role do unions and other labor organizations have to play, not just in the fight for economic justice, but in the fight for democracy, civil rights, the rule of law, and a livable planet? We posed these questions to a range of emerging labor leaders from different unions and worker centers enrolled in the 2025-26 Minnesota Union Leadership Program (MULP). Here’s what they told us…
Additional links/info:
Minnesota Union Leadership Program website
Workday Magazine website
Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / The Real News Network, “What good is a union in Hell?”
Featured Music:
Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song
Credits:Audio Post-Production: Alina Nehlich
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Alight. Welcome everyone to Working People, a podcast about the lives, jobs, dreams, and struggles of the working class today. Working People is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and is brought to you in partnership within these Times Magazine and the Real News Network. This show is produced by Jules Taylor and made possible by the support of listeners like you. My name is Maximillian Alvarez and I am very excited to share today’s episode with y’all because believe me as
by Shauneen Miranda | Nov 19, 2025 | Department of Education, Linda McMahon, News, Trump Administration, Unions
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration took major steps Tuesday in trying to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, announcing six interagency agreements signed with other departments that will transfer several of its responsibilities to those agencies. The announcement was immediately met with intense backlash from Democratic members of Congress…
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by Sharon Zhang | Nov 14, 2025 | Democrats, Donald Trump, Hakeem Jeffries, labor, News, Republicans, Unions
On Wednesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) blocked an effort broadly supported by his own caucus to force a vote on restoring crucial labor protections for federal workers that were revoked by President Donald Trump earlier this year. A Democrat-led petition on the “Protect America’s Workforce Act” is just two signatures short of the 218-member threshold it needs to…
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by Maximillian Alvarez | Nov 14, 2025 | Economy, Economy and Inequality, labor, Politics and Movements: US, Unions, video, Working People
Over 1,000 unionized Starbucks workers in over 40 cities across the US walked off the job on an indefinite Unfair Labor Practice strike on Thursday, Nov. 13. The union, Starbucks Workers United, says more workers at more unionized stores will be joining the picket line during the busy holiday season to pressure Starbucks to return to the bargaining table with proposals that seriously address workers’ ongoing demands regarding better pay and work hours, safe staffing, and resolving the hundreds of Unfair Labor Practice charges that have been filed against the coffee giant. TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez reports on the ground from the picket line in Philadelphia, PA.
Credits:
Videography: Maximillian Alvarez
Post-Production: David Hebden, Maximillian Alvarez
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Crowd chants:
What do we want? Contract! When do we want it? Now! If we don’t get it? Shut it down! If we don’t get it? Shut it down!
Maximillian Alvarez:
I’m here in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, just outside City Hall. It’s Thursday, November 13th, around 5:00 PM Eastern time. And earlier today, over a thousand Starbucks workers in over 45 cities around the country walked off the job and went out on an unfair labor practice strike. After last week, a super majority of unionized baristas voted to authorize the strike, demanding that Starbucks come back to the bargaining table with serious proposals to address workers’ ongoing years long concerns about safe staffing, better pay, better work hours, and all manner of unfair labor practices that have been filed against the company since the first store unionized in Buffalo, New
by Sharon Zhang | Nov 13, 2025 | Bernie Sanders, labor, News, Starbucks, Starbucks Workers United, Union Busting, Unions
More than 1,000 Starbucks workers across over 40 U.S. cities launched a strike on Thursday, putting the company on blast for stonewalling unionized workers at the bargaining table for six months now despite having the widest CEO-to-worker pay gap in the country. The strike spans from coast to coast, encompassing 65 stores, according to Starbucks Workers United. There is no set end date to the…
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by C.J. Polychroniou | Nov 13, 2025 | Capitalism, Food Industry, Gig Economy, Gig Workers, Interview, labor, Labor Unions, Las Vegas, service workers, Strikes, Unions
Nearly 400 food service workers are set to go on strike at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas this week over wage disputes. They are underpaid and haven’t seen a raise in many years. This is the predicament facing many workers in the service industry, even though they play a critical key role in the contemporary capitalist economy. Gig and service sector workers are indeed among the…
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