Shows
Working PeopleJudy Gearhart and the Labor Link Podcast - What can a can of tuna teach us about International Worker SolidarityLongtime Working People listeners will be familiar with Max and Mel’s extended work discussing the supply chain, the workers who keep that system running day in and day out, and the dangerous and exploitative working conditions that many workers labor under. Our global economy relies on these workers to stay running–and bosses around the world use this pressure as a cudgel against the workers. For today’s episode of Working People, we’re zooming out and taking a look at the global supply chain with Judy Gearhart, research professor with the Accountability Research Center at...2024-12-0456 min
The Real News PodcastWhat a can of tuna can teach us about international workers’ solidarity | Working PeopleLongtime Working People listeners will be familiar with Max and Mel’s extended work discussing the supply chain, the workers who keep that system running day in and day out, and the dangerous and exploitative working conditions that many workers labor under. Our global economy relies on these workers to stay running–and bosses around the world use this pressure as a cudgel against the workers.For today’s episode of Working People, we’re zooming out and taking a look at the global supply chain with Judy Gearhart, research professor with the Accountability Research Center at American Universi...2024-11-2756 min
Working People**'The Upsurge' is Dead. Long Live 'The Upsurge'! (w/ Teddy Ostrow)**This is an excerpt from our most recent bonus episode featuring Teddy Ostrow. To access the entire conversation, and numerous bonus episodes we have released throughout seven seasons of Working People, please visit our Patreon to unlock this content. The Upsurge was an invaluable show that documented two of the most pivotal labor union struggles in recent years as they were happening: the 2023 Teamsters contract fight at UPS, and the UAW's 2023 stand-up strike at the Big Three automakers. Even though The Upsurge has closed shop and Teddy Ostrow, Ruby Walsh, and the gang are moving on to new p...2024-03-0112 min
The Real News PodcastThe UAW won big in 2023—and they’re not done yetThe historic UAW strike of 2023 against the Big Three put a new face on one of the largest and oldest unions in the US. The UAW not only managed to face down the largest and most entrenched business interests in the auto sector—they did it with innovative strategy and a commitment to not only win concessions but build political power for a long-term struggle. And the union isn't taking a break in 2024. Already, the UAW has thrown its weight behind support for a ceasefire in Gaza, and entered the fray of electoral politics by refusing a meeting with Trump. TR...2024-01-181h 07
The UpsurgeUNLOCKED: Teamsters Pride!: The LGBTQ+ CaucusOriginally published on June 29, 2023.
Happy Pride Month! In this bonus episode, we're sharing the efforts that LGBTQ+ Teamsters are engaging in to fight for liberation at UPS, other Teamsters employers, the union itself, and beyond.
We spoke with Andrew Rivas, a UPS package car driver and political coordinator of Teamsters Local 533 in Reno, Nevada. He is also on the board of the relatively new Teamsters LGBTQ+ caucus. Andrew told us about the initiative, what it's like to face and fight against discrimination in the workplace, and specifically what the LGBTQ+ Caucus is demanding in the...2023-12-1733 minThe UpsurgeUNLOCKED: Reforming the UFCWOriginally published on June 15, 2023.
The 1.2-million-member United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) is one of the largest and most powerful private sector unions in the country. Unfortunately, it has embodied some of the worst elements of business unionism over the decades. But a reform movement is burgeoning to change that.
We've covered the role of Teamsters for a Democratic Union in bringing militancy and democracy to the Teamsters union. Now, the independent organization Essential Workers for Democracy is looking to play that role in the UFCW. We spoke with Enrique Romero Jr., the group's organizing...2023-12-1732 minThe UpsurgeUNLOCKED: Hollywood Writers Strike!Originally published on May 8, 2023.
Hollywood television and movie writers are on strike! In this bonus episode of The Upsurge, Teddy and Ruby will take you to the picket lines in Manhattan. Hear from a number of writers – including Ruby's dad! – why they laid down their pens.
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Hosted by Teddy Ostrow
Edited by Teddy Ostrow & Ruby Walsh
Produced by NYGP & Ruby Walsh, in partnership with In These Times & The Real News
Music by Casey Gallagher
Cover art by Devlin Claro Resetar
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Support the...2023-12-1713 minThe UpsurgeUNLOCKED: Air Workers & Article 40 – a "Stain" On the ContractOriginally published on April 13, 2023.
Matt Cavagrotti is a part-time UPSer out of Teamsters Local 519 in Knoxville, Tennessee. But unlike most of his part-time union siblings, he heads to the airport for work.
Matt is one of more than 15,000 "air workers" at UPS, who are responsible for sorting, preloading and unloading the millions of packages aboard the over 2,000 daily flights to 700+ airports around the world. Air workers are integral to UPS's revenues, and yet they're among the most exploited in the entire company workforce – and have been since the late 1980s.
This is because th...2023-12-1740 minThe UpsurgeUNLOCKED: Retaliation at UPSOriginally published on March 30, 2023
On Dan Arlin's second day back as a package car delivery driver at UPS, after a three-year stint driving tractor-trailer trucks, he was fired – without explanation – and walked off company property. The 23-year veteran of UPS is a pro at his job. He knew he had done nothing wrong, but the company didn't like one thing: his union activism.
Harassment and retaliation is a way of life at UPS. After he was fired in March 2022, Arlin was committed to getting his job back. And indeed, fighting tooth and nail for eleven mont...2023-12-1754 min
The Real News PodcastThe Big 3 Have Fallen | The UpsurgeThe Big Three have fallen like a house of cards.The UAW's historic Stand Up strike has come to an end – for now, at least. After forty-four days on the picket line, the Auto Workers have reached tentative agreements with each of the Big Three automakers. GM was the last domino to fall on Saturday, October 28, just days after Ford and then Stellantis acquiesced to their own tentative deals.50,000 strikers have returned to work, and all 146,000 Big Three union members are now voting on the contracts. While it's up to the workers to decide whether the de...2023-11-1035 minThe UpsurgeEpisode 17: The Big 3 Have FallenThe Big Three have fallen like a house of cards.
The UAW's historic Stand Up strike has come to an end – for now, at least. After forty-four days on the picket line, the Auto Workers have reached tentative agreements with each of the Big Three automakers. GM was the last domino to fall on October 30, just days after Ford and then Stellantis acquiesced to their own tentative deals.
50,000 strikers have returned to work, and all 146,000 Big Three union members are now voting on the contracts. While it's up to the workers to decide whether the de...2023-11-1035 min
The Real News PodcastWith concessions already won, the UAW strike escalates | The UpsurgeNearly five weeks into the UAW's historic Stand Up Strike, there are just under 34,000 Big Three Auto Workers on strike in assembly plants and parts depots across the country. The latest escalation came on Wednesday, October 11, when the union called on 8,700 Ford workers at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, Kentucky, to walk off the job. For this episode, we're bringing you a UAW Strike update. You'll hear from two guests: Chris Budnick and Lisa Xu. Chris is a striking Ford worker at the Kentucky Truck Plant and the co-chair of Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD). Lisa...2023-10-1947 minThe UpsurgeEpisode 16: UAW Strike UpdateNearly five weeks into the UAW's historic Stand Up Strike, there are just under 34,000 Big Three Auto Workers on strike in assembly plants and parts depots across the country. The latest escalation came on Wednesday, October 11, when the union called on 8,700 Ford workers at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, Kentucky, to walk off the job.
For this episode, we're bringing you a UAW Strike update. You'll hear from two guests: Chris Budnick and Lisa Xu. Chris is a striking Ford worker at the Kentucky Truck Plant and the co-chair of Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD). L...2023-10-1947 min
The ResponseThe United Auto Workers Strike with Teddy OstrowSummer might be over for us in the Northern Hemisphere — but things are still heating up in the US labor movement. A ground-swell of labor action continues to heave and crack the crust which had been slowly hardening on the surface of the radical fires dormant under neoliberalism. The latest news in the ongoing strike wave comes out of the United Auto Workers Union, where workers at a number of plants have walked out and are engaging in a historic “stand-up” strike — fighting for better wages and better working conditions. To talk about the strike, the labo...2023-10-1758 min
The Real News PodcastThis is history':UAW workers from the picket lines | The UpsurgeThis is history': UAW workers from the picket lines | The UpsurgeThe UAW’s Stand Up Strike is alive and growing. More than 18,000 auto workers across the Big Three – Ford, GM, and Stellantis – are on strike across twenty states, and just a few hours after this episode posts, thousands more will likely join them. The Fiery Labor Fall is here.In this episode, we bring you on the ground of UAW picket lines and rallies across three states – Michigan, Ohio, and New York. You’ll hear the perspectives and stories of over a dozen rank-and-f...2023-09-2936 minThe UpsurgeEpisode 15: On the UAW Picket LinesThe UAW's Stand Up Strike is alive and growing. More than 18,000 auto workers across the Big Three – Ford, GM and Stellantis – are on strike across twenty states, and just a few hours after this episode posts, thousands more will likely join them. The Fiery Labor Fall is here.
In this episode, we bring you on the ground of UAW picket lines and rallies across three states – Michigan, Ohio, and New York. You'll hear the perspectives and stories of over a dozen rank-and-file auto workers, as well as direct interviews with UAW president Shawn Fain and other union leader...2023-09-2936 min
The Real News PodcastThe Upsurge: Episode 15: On the UAW Picket LinesThe UAW's Stand Up Strike is alive and growing. More than 18,000 auto workers across the Big Three – Ford, GM, and Stellantis – are on strike across twenty states, and just a few hours after this episode posts, thousands more will likely join them. The Fiery Labor Fall is here.In this episode, we bring you on the ground of UAW picket lines and rallies across three states – Michigan, Ohio, and New York. You'll hear the perspectives and stories of over a dozen rank-and-file auto workers, as well as direct interviews with UAW president Shawn Fain and other union leaders. F...2023-09-2836 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyWorkers Rights Ascendent Amid Writers and Actors Strikes in Hollywood and the UAW Strikes Against the Big 3 US Automakers all While the Sociopathic Reality of Capitalism is Laid Bare by CEOs Explain How Exploiting Workers is Intrinsic to the SystemAir Date 9/26/2023 Rays of hope for the worker's struggle against unfettered, exploitative capitalism are coming from multiple angles as strikes from creatives in Hollywood and autoworkers in Detroit are striking to demand wages, benefits, and protections while executives make arguments for why workers should be made to feel the threat of poverty to keep them in line. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Join...2023-09-2759 min
Rev Left RadioWorkers Fighting Back: The UAW Goes on Strike! Teddy Ostrow and Maximillian Alvarez from The Real News Network join Breht to discuss the recent "stand up" strike launched by the United Auto Workers labor union. Teddy and Max discuss the strike, explain the causes of the strike and the demands of the workers, the UAW union president Shawn Fain and the democratic election that put him in leadership, what this strike - and others like it - mean for the American working class, the importance of solidarity in the labor movement and beyond, why the working class should own what it produces, and much more! 2023-09-191h 27
The Real News PodcastAuto workers prepare to strike the Big 3 | The UpsurgeThe hot labor summer isn't over yet. In a week's time, the United Auto Workers may launch a strike of 150,000 of its members if the Big Three automakers – Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) – fail to meet the workers' demands in a new contract by September 14. You see, the Big Three made a quarter trillion dollars over the past decade. And with non-union electric vehicle and battery manufacturing on the rise in the United States, this may be a make or break moment for the union. So, with a more militant leadership at its helm, the...2023-09-0859 minThe UpsurgeEpisode 14: Auto Workers Prepare to Strike the Big 3The hot labor summer isn't over yet.
In a week's time, the United Auto Workers may launch a strike of 150,000 of its members if the Big Three automakers – Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) – fail to meet the workers' demands in a new contract by September 14.
You see, the Big Three made a quarter-trillion dollars in profits over the past decade. And with non-union electric vehicle and battery manufacturing on the rise in the United States, this may be a make-or-break moment for the union. So, with a more militant leadership at its helm, the UA...2023-09-0759 min
RedneckRedneck #81: Odborářská výhra v UPS, pat v Hollywoodu a hrozba stávky v automobilkáchJak pokračuje stávka herců a scenáristů v Hollywoodu? Co musela slíbit firma UPS svým řidičům, aby se vyhnuli stávce až 340 tisíců členů odborů? Jak velká protestní akce teď hrozí americkým automobilkám a co po nich požadují jejich zaměstnanci? Jak odborům usnadňuje práci administrativa Joea Bidena a v čem jim naopak nepomohla? To všechno se dozvíte v dnešním díle Rednecku.Youtubový kanál podcastu Upsurge.Harold Meyerson na webu American Prospect o rozhodnutí NLRB.Hamilton Nolan na webu In These Times...2023-09-0523 min
The Real News PodcastUPS Contract Ratified. What's Next? | The UpsurgeOn Tuesday, Aug. 22, the Teamsters union announced that its members voted to ratify the national UPS contract by 86.3% – and with record turnout. Workers won significant raises, the abolition of the two-tier driver system, air conditioning in package cars, thousands of new full-time jobs, and more.In our previous episode, we discussed the gains of the tentative agreement and the years of Teamsters organizing it took to make them possible, including the past year's contract campaign which built a credible strike threat. In this episode, we dug deeper into the various layers of members' reactions to the contract, as we...2023-08-2446 minThe UpsurgeEpisode 13: UPS Contract Ratified. What's Next?On Tuesday, August 22, the Teamsters union announced that its members voted to ratify the national UPS contract by 86.3% – and with record turnout. Workers won significant raises, the abolition of the two-tier driver system, air conditioning in package cars, thousands of new full-time jobs, and more.
In our previous episode, we discussed the gains of the tentative agreement and the years of Teamsters' organizing it took to make them possible, including the past year's contract campaign which built a credible strike threat. In this episode, we dug deeper into the various layers of members' reactions to the contract, as w...2023-08-2446 min
The Valley Labor ReportWill UPS Teamsters Vote Yes on the Tentative Agreement? w/ Teddy Ostrow - TVLR 8/19/23We have an Alabama Teamster on to give his thoughts about the Tentative Agreement, and the bring on Teddy Pstrow to zoom out and get a national picture. In OVERTIME we'll take calls AND MORE.✦ ABOUT ✦The Valley Labor Report is the only union talk radio show in Alabama, elevating struggles for justice and fairness on the job, educating folks about how they can do the same, and bringing relevant news to workers in Alabama and beyond.Our single largest source of revenue *is our listeners* so your support really matters and helps us s...2023-08-221h 29
The Real News PodcastTeamsters Organizing Delivers the Goods at UPS | The UpsurgeUPS Teamsters nationwide are voting on the tentative agreement for the largest private-sector labor contract in the United States. The vote will end on August 22. A majority decision will determine whether the contract is ratified, or the national negotiating committee will return to the bargaining table and potentially call a strike.In this episode, we explore the highlights of the tentative agreement and what its gains, such as the abolition of the driver two-tier and substantial wage increases, mean for workers' lives. We also dig into how the TA is proof that years of Teamsters organizing, including the...2023-08-1055 minThe UpsurgeEpisode 12: Teamsters Organizing Delivers the Goods at UPSUPS Teamsters nationwide are voting on the tentative agreement for the largest private-sector labor contract in the United States. The vote will end on August 22. A majority decision will determine whether the contract is ratified, or the national negotiating committee will return to the bargaining table and potentially call a strike.
In this episode, we explore the highlights of the tentative agreement and what its gains, such as the abolition of the driver two-tier and substantial wage increases, mean for workers' lives. We also dig into how the TA is proof that years of Teamsters organizing, including...2023-08-1055 min
FAIRTeddy Ostrow on UPS/Teamsters Agreement, Matthew Cunningham-Cook on GOP Climate SabotageElite media are deeply accustomed to calling any union action a harm, and any company acknowledgment of workers’ value a concession.2023-08-0427 minThe Valley Labor ReportThere Are Real Wins Here: Breaking Down the Tentative Agreement Between UPS and the Teamsters - TVLR 7/29/23Teddy Ostrow joins to break down the tentative agreement and give us his reading of the pulse of the membership. We watch bosses and talk about what happened last week in Southern Labor. ✦ ABOUT ✦The Valley Labor Report is the only union talk radio show in Alabama, elevating struggles for justice and fairness on the job, educating folks about how they can do the same, and bringing relevant news to workers in Alabama and beyond.Our single largest source of revenue *is our listeners* so your support really matters and helps us stay on th...2023-08-011h 30
The Real News PodcastUPS tentative agreement reached. Is a strike still possible? | The UpsurgeOn July 25, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters reached a tentative agreement with UPS just days before the current contract was set to expire on July 31. If a new deal was not reached this week, 340,000 UPS workers were prepared to hit the picket line on Aug. 1 in what would have been one of the largest strikes in US history. The contract negotiations process has been a roller coaster, filled with the twists and turns of bad offers and parties walking away from the bargaining table. What brought us to this point? What are the key issues workers have been prepared to...2023-07-281h 59The UpsurgeLivestream: UPS Tentative Agreement Reached. Is a Strike Still Possible?On July 25, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters reached a tentative agreement with UPS just days before the current contract was set to expire on July 31. If a new deal was not reached this week, 340,000 UPS workers were prepared to hit the picket line on Aug. 1 in what would have been one of the largest strikes in US history. The contract negotiations process has been a roller coaster, filled with the twists and turns of bad offers and parties walking away from the bargaining table. What brought us to this point? What are the key issues workers have been prepared...2023-07-271h 59
The Bitchuation RoomMobs Charges with Yamaneika & Teddy Ostrow (Ep 191)Trump and lackeys will likely be hit with a massive RICO case in Georgia, while fake electors in Michigan also face the music. Comedian Yamaneika joins to discuss this plus the new curriculum in Florida that requires teaching the silver linings of slavery! Then host of the Upsurge Podcast Teddy Ostrow joins to talk Teamsters ready for a strike as UPS scrambles to make 340,000 workers an offer they may well refuse. Hot labor summer rolls on. Finally, in honor of Barbenheimer, which toy and/or war crime would you like to see a dramatic film made about.Featuring: Yamaneika S...2023-07-261h 28
The Bitchuation RoomMobs Charges with Yamaneika & Teddy Ostrow (Ep 191)Trump and lackeys will likely be hit with a massive RICO case in Georgia, while fake electors in Michigan also face the music. Comedian Yamaneika joins to discuss this plus the new curriculum in Florida that requires teaching the silver linings of slavery! Then host of the Upsurge Podcast Teddy Ostrow joins to talk Teamsters ready for a strike as UPS scrambles to make 340,000 workers an offer they may well refuse. Hot labor summer rolls on. Finally, in honor of Barbenheimer, which toy and/or war crime would you like to see a dramatic film made about.2023-07-261h 28The UpsurgeEpisode 11: UPS Negotiations Resume. One Week Till Deadline.With one week till the strike deadline, UPS and the Teamsters have agreed to resume negotiations on July 24. A deal is still possible and workers' pressure is proving effective.
The Teamsters have already won tentative agreements on several key issues. UPS has pledged to end two-tier pay for drivers, install air conditioning in new trucks, and curtail forced overtime. But the Teamsters aren’t celebrating yet. Instead, there is cross-classification unity for the union's remaining demand: higher pay for part-time workers. If UPS refuses this demand, then, as Teamster General President Sean O’Brien puts it, they are...2023-07-2138 minThe Valley Labor ReportOVERTIME: What Does the 1997 Teamsters UPS Strike Mean for Today? w/ Teddy Ostrow - TVLR 7/15/23The Teamsters are more aggressive than they have been in decades with UPS as the clock counts down to the contract expiration date following a reformer sweep in the international elections. Something similar happened in 1997 - what are the similarities between that moment and today and how can it inform us moving forward? Teddy Ostrow joins to talk that and more. PLUS, UPS Teamsters call in. ✦ ABOUT ✦The Valley Labor Report is the only union talk radio show in Alabama, elevating struggles for justice and fairness on the job, educating folks about how they can do the...2023-07-201h 43
The Real News PodcastBONUS: Renewed Militancy at the United Auto Workers | The UpsurgeThe United Auto Workers' contract negotiations at the Big 3 automakers – Ford, GM, and Stellantis – just began. Their current labor contracts expire in mid-September, and the new UAW leadership has been crystal clear: they're not afraid to take 150,000 of its members out on strike if their demands aren't met. This would be less than two months after the potential strike of 340,000 Teamsters at UPS. In this bonus episode, we discuss the renewed militancy of the UAW, and the reform movement, Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD), which shocked the labor world for taking control of the union leadership earlier this year.Ther...2023-07-1331 minThe UpsurgeBONUS: Renewed Militancy at the United Auto WorkersThe United Auto Workers' contract negotiations at the Big 3 automakers – Ford, GM, and Stellantis – just began. Their current labor contracts expire in mid-September, and the new UAW leadership has been crystal clear: they're not afraid to take 150,000 of its members out on strike if their demands aren't met. This would be less than two months after the potential strike of 340,000 Teamsters at UPS.
In this bonus episode, we discuss the renewed militancy of the UAW, and the reform movement, Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD), which shocked the labor world for taking control of the union leadership earli...2023-07-1331 min
The Real News PodcastUPS-Teamsters contract negotiations collapse—what gig work has to do with it | The UpsurgeRead the transcript of this podcast:Negotiations between UPS and the Teamsters have collapsed after disagreement over part-timer wages. With less than a month from contract expiration, the largest single-employer strike in US history is looking more and more likely.We have another two-part episode this week. First, an update on the contract campaign. The Teamsters gave UPS two deadlines for their last, best, and final offer on proposals. UPS hasn't met either of them. So the union is upping the ante with practice pickets around the country. Could a deal materialize or is...2023-07-0741 minThe UpsurgeEpisode 10: UPS Strike Imminent? / The Gig is Up!Negotiations between UPS and the Teamsters have collapsed after disagreement over part-time wages. With less than a month from contract expiration, the largest single-employer strike in US history is looking more and more likely.
We have another two-part episode this week. First, an update on the contract campaign. The Teamsters gave UPS two deadlines for their last, best, and final offer on proposals. UPS didn't meet either of them. So the union is upping the ante with practice pickets around the country.
Could a deal materialize or is a strike imminent? We asked Stephen Franklin, a...2023-07-0740 min
Citations NeededNews Brief: As UPS Strike "Looms," Media Frames Working-Class Revolt as "Threat" to "The Economy"In this public News Brief, we break down media coverage of the potential UPS strike––and the trend more broadly in labor coverage––that paints a strike as something that harms "the consumer" or "the economy" rather than what it is: the only thing that gives workers any power. Our guest is writer and media analyst Teddy Ostrow, host of The Upsurge podcast.2023-07-0540 min
The Real News PodcastUPS Teamsters just voted to strike. What’s next? | The UpsurgeRead the transcript of this podcast: https://www.therealnews.comThe results are in: 97% of UPS Teamsters voted to authorize a strike if their demands are not met by August 1. Local unions around the country will practice picket lines starting next week. The clock is ticking. Following the recording of this episode of The Upsurge, the Teamsters announced that its National Negotiating Committee would no longer meet with UPS following “an appalling economic counterproposal.” Contract negotiations appear to be stalled until “money gets real,” which makes the probability of a strike higher than before.In this episode...2023-06-2350 minThe UpsurgeEpisode 9: UPS Strike, Authorized / The Threads of Labor MilitancyThe results are in: 97% of UPS Teamsters voted to authorize a strike if their demands are not met by August 1. Local unions around the country will practice picket lines starting next week. The clock is ticking.
For this episode, we've got a two-parter. First, an update on the contract campaign and negotiations, which have moved onto big-ticket economic items this week. UPSers across the nation tell us why they voted in favor of strike authorization. Local 623 secretary-treasurer Richard Hooker Jr. explains how the vote went down and a major tentative agreement: air conditioning in the package car...2023-06-2350 min
The Real News PodcastThe Teamsters Take Amazon | The UpsurgeRead the transcript of this podcast: Amazon: The company we hate to love, for its convenient next-day deliveries, and we love to hate, for its egregious treatment of the workers that execute that miracle.It really needs no introduction. Amazon is a corporate giant with 1.5 million employees, most of which are in the Teamsters’ bread and butter industry: logistics, meaning warehouse workers and delivery drivers. Only, these workers are almost entirely non-union. But the problem with Amazon is not just its own non-union pay and working conditions. Left unchecked, Amazon may just start a race to the bottom fo...2023-06-0848 minThe UpsurgeEpisode 8: The Teamsters Take AmazonAmazon: The company we hate to love, for its convenient next-day deliveries, and we love to hate, for its egregious treatment of the workers that execute that miracle.
It really needs no introduction. Amazon is a corporate giant with 1.5 million employees, most of which are in the Teamsters' bread and butter industry: logistics, meaning warehouse workers and delivery drivers. Only, these workers are almost entirely non-union. But the problem with Amazon is not just its own non-union pay and working conditions. Left unchecked, Amazon may just start a race to the bottom for the working class as...2023-06-0848 minThe UpsurgeBONUS: Resisting the UPS PatriarchyUPS is a patriarchal corporation – on the corporate and labor side. Whether it's sexual harassment or pregnancy discrimination, women at UPS confront particular workplace issues because of their gender. We spoke with Michelle Espinoza, a feeder driver out of Teamsters Local 135 in Indianapolis, about the gender discrimination she's battled at the company and the work she's doing to help other Teamster women.
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Hosted by Teddy Ostrow
Edited by Teddy Ostrow & Ruby Walsh
Produced by NYGP & Ruby Walsh, in partnership with In These Times & The Real News
Music by Casey Ga...2023-06-0145 min
The Real News PodcastEpisode 7: UPS and the Logistics Revolution | The UpsurgeRead the transcript of this podcast: https://www.therealnews.com/ups-and-the-logistics-revolution The word "logistics'' has somewhat of an impersonal ring to it. When you hear it, you think: massive container ships, cranes, eighteen wheelers, aircrafts, conveyor belts, spreadsheets, contracts, and of course, boxes. It's almost as if all of this infrastructure that moves our goods around the world, around the clock, is running by itself. But undergirding "logistics" is one indispensable element: Workers. Millions of them, without whom the colossal flow of goods and services would come grinding to a halt. In this episode of The Upsurge, we...2023-05-1941 minThe UpsurgeEpisode 7: UPS and the Logistics RevolutionThe word "logistics'' has somewhat of an impersonal ring to it. When you hear it, you think: massive container ships, cranes, eighteen wheelers, aircrafts, conveyor belts, spreadsheets, contracts, and of course, boxes. It's almost as if all of this infrastructure that moves our goods around the world, around the clock, is running by itself.
But undergirding "logistics" is one indispensable element: Workers. Millions of them, without whom the colossal flow of goods and services would come grinding to a halt.
In this episode of The Upsurge, we ask how our modern logistics giants, like UPS – and...2023-05-1841 min
The Real News PodcastEpisode 6: Let the Negotiations Begin! | The UpsurgeRead the transcript of this podcast: https://therealnews.comNegotiations on the national labor contract at UPS have begun. And while CEO Carol Tomé has insisted that the company and the union are "not far apart on the issues," their behavior at the bargaining table suggests otherwise. In bargaining sessions for regional contracts across the country, UPS is sometimes just not showing up, they're demanding concessions from the union, and they're playing dirty to get what they want — a workforce that looks more like the mostly non-union Amazon, FedEx, or Uber. That's why the Teamsters have taken neg...2023-05-0435 minThe UpsurgeEpisode 6: Let the Negotiations Begin!Negotiations on the national labor contract at UPS have begun. And while CEO Carol Tomé has insisted that the company and the union are "not far apart on the issues," their behavior at the bargaining table suggests otherwise.
In bargaining sessions for regional contracts across the country, UPS is sometimes just not showing up, they're demanding concessions from the union, and they're playing dirty to get what they want — a workforce that looks more like the mostly non-union Amazon, FedEx, or Uber. That's why the Teamsters have taken negotiations outside the bargaining room and into the workplace, wit...2023-04-2735 minThe UpsurgeEpisode 5: Is This The Upsurge?Things are shifting for the labor movement in the US. In the past few years, we've seen increases in unionization campaigns, strikes, and public approval of unions. But do these upticks in labor activity amount to a labor upsurge?
To explore this complex and exciting labor moment, we spoke with Barry Eidlin, associate professor of sociology at McGill University and the author of Labor and the Class Idea in the United States and Canada (Cambridge University Press, 2018). Barry studies class, labor, politics and social movements. He's an expert on the decline of labor in North America, but...2023-04-0644 minThe UpsurgeEpisode 4: Inside the Two-Tier: A Cancer in the UnionJustin Alo looks and sounds like your friendly, everyday UPS delivery driver in San Marcos, California. He drives the brown package truck, he wears the brown uniform, and he delivers, well, packages.
But there are some key differences between him and other drivers. For example, he makes substantially less money per hour, he has fewer job protections, and he has to work on Saturdays. In other words, he's performing equal work but for unequal pay and benefits. That's what they call the "two-tier" at United Parcel Service.
In this episode of The Upsurge, we explore...2023-03-1637 minThe UpsurgeBONUS: Turning up the heat — on UPSIt was a brutally hot day in New York City last summer for Chris Cappadona, a UPS package car driver with no AC in his delivery truck. Early on his route, his hands started to lock up, and he found himself unable to breathe. Desperate, he jumped out of the back of his vehicle, but the hundred-plus-degree weather gave him no relief.
Thankfully, nearby sanitation workers saw him struggling, gave him water, and probably saved his life. Like many UPSers last summer, Cappadona was hospitalized for heatstroke.
In this first bonus episode of The Upsurge...2023-03-0915 minThe UpsurgeEpisode 3: Inside Part-Time AmericaElbe Lieb is a UPS worker in Bloomington, Indiana, but you wouldn’t know she worked for the company if you saw her on the street, or even if you saw her on the job. That’s because Elbe isn’t one of the package car drivers that we all interact with. She is part of the company’s “silent majority” — the part-time warehouse workers.
In this episode of The Upsurge, we're doing something different. This is the first of a two-parter on what it's like to be a UPS worker. The company likes to boast that it offers full...2023-02-2328 minThe UpsurgeEpisode 2: 1997: The Last Strike of a GenerationIn 1997, Rand Wilson was in the war room. Though his opponent didn't really know that a war was afoot.
In the Parcel and Small Package division of the Teamsters union, Rand was strategizing to prepare 185,000 UPSers to strike, if they needed to, when their labor contract expired that summer. By August, they were prepared, and they did strike. And in the end, they won.
In this episode of The Upsurge, we speak with Rand Wilson, who was a communications coordinator of UPS Teamsters' contract campaign in 1997. Now an organizer with Teamsters for a Democratic Union...2023-02-0246 minThe UpsurgeEpisode 1 : The Never-ending PeakOn August 1, 2023, there's a chance Antoine Andrews won't show up to work. He won't step foot in the United Parcel Service (UPS) hub in Canarsie, Brooklyn where he's worked for 26 years. He won't hop into his iconic brown UPS truck and deliver packages to the businesses and households on his regular route.
No, he'll be on strike – with nearly 350,000 of his coworkers, in what could be one of the largest strikes in United States history.
Welcome to The Upsurge, a podcast about UPS, the Teamsters union, and the future of the American labor movement. In th...2023-01-191h 00