The Labor Notes Podcast

If you’re holding bad meetings, caving to management, and trying to do everything yourself, congrats—you’re already well on your way to fumbling your shot!    On the other hand, if you want to actually advance a positive vision for your union that energizes members, you can ground your next union election campaign in tried and true organizing principles.    Also check out:  How to Lose Your Next Election, A Step-By-Step Guide, by Dan Campbell

They lure people into their campaigns, grow phone trees, and machete a path out of fear. It turns out some of our archetypal evil heroines—Amy Dunne of Gone Girl, sisters Sally and Gillian Owens of Practical Magic, and Merricat Blackwood of We Have Always Lived in the Castle—have some positively devilish organizing tactics (disclaimer: not all of which we endorse!) up their dark, trumpet sleeves. Also check out: 1. All Horror Movies Are About Organizing, Actually: The Labor Notes Podcast  Hallowepisode 2. Steward's Corner: A Path Out of Fear 3. Keep Going: A Guide to Organizing When It's Hard

Tyson workers at a meatpacking plant in Joslin, Illinois, arrived at work one day in mid-August to discover that it was suddenly closed and that 2,500 of them would be out of jobs.  These workers—members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1546—are now rallying to demand that the plant reopen, or that they at least be given six months of severance pay rather than the two the company has offered.  Caitlyn Clark of Essential Workers for Democracy reported on the plant closure for Labor Notes, and joins this episode.  A representative for UFCW Local 1546 did not respond to emailed requests for comment.  Relevant reading:  2,500 Tyson Workers Laid Off, Plant Shutters Overnight The First Major Meatpacking Strike in 40 Years Extends into Third Week Learn more about the movement to revitalize the UFCW in our podcast episode from June 2025: “Grocery Workers at the UFCW are Organizing for a Fighting Union.” The incoming new CEO of Tyson just purchased $1 million in Tyson stock, almost immediately after an announcement of low projected earnings due to the beef sector. (Read more here)

After five weeks on the picket line, 80 public transit workers in Jackson, Mississippi, members of ATU Local 1208, have won a 5 percent wage increase; beat back a plan for “microtransit,” a private on-call service that would have brought in drivers without a commercial driver’s license at a lower-tier wage; and stopped cuts to Saturday service.    Labor Notes Organizer Paul Prescod joins the pod.   Check out Paul’s coverage of the strike on labornotes.org   Jackson Transit Workers Win Strike, Save Saturday Service Mississippi Transit Workers Strike for Better Protections and Service

The Labor Notes Podcast is taking a Summer Friday. We’ll be back next week!