In today's episode, we discuss Andy's article for Tempest, "The RNC does the Teamsters" and break down how popular appetite for real change can be co-opted by nefarious actors looking to seize power for themselves. But it's not all bad! We also get into the US presidential election and how we're spoilt for excellent options (I'm being told now that it is, in fact, all bad). Andy's article: https://tempestmag.org/2024/09/the-rnc-does-the-teamsters/ Thanks for listening to the show. You can yell at us here: [email protected].

In our last episode, we talked about what unions are, why they’re important, and why you might want to join or start a union. Today, we’re continuing our unofficial “union basics” series and getting into the structure of what a union can look like. What’s a steward? What are my dues going to? What's a local? Email the show: [email protected] Chapters: 0:00 - Introduction 10:14 - Bungie CEO buys expensive cars as layoffs hit 17% of the workforce (https://www.vg247.com/bungie-ceo-seemigly-bought-over-2-million-dollars-classic-cars-since-acquisition) 23:35 - UAW files federal labor charges against Donald Trump and Elon Musk (https://uaw.org/uaw-files-federal-labor-charges-against-donald-trump-and-elon-musk-for-attempting-to-intimidate-and-threaten-workers/) 30:59 - Elon Musk loses fight with ex-Twitter staffer, must pay 600K (https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/08/elon-musk-loses-fight-with-ex-twitter-staffer-must-pay-600k/) 33:11 - AppleTV VFX workers unionize with IATSE (https://iatse.net/appletv-vfx-workers-unanimously-vote-to-unionize-with-iatse-in-official-labor-board-election/) 40:20 - The structure of a union Hardly Working is a ⁠Brand New Extra Good⁠ production.

Recorded August 2, 2024 Will and Andy are back to talk about the Oxford comma and some good old-fashioned Marxism. In this episode, we do some Unions 101 work and get into some of the personal, economic, and philosophical reasons unions are important. Chapters: 0:00 - Introduction 15:03 - Disneyland cast members ratify contract: ⁠https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/disney-cast-members-new-contract-raise-disneyland-anaheim-unions/⁠ 20:11 - Apple reaches its first-ever union contract with store employees in Maryland: ⁠https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/apple-union-towson-maryland-rcna163978⁠ 24:40 - Samsung workers in South Korea continue their strike, picketing outside Samsung chairman's house: ⁠https://techxplore.com/news/2024-08-south-korea-union-pickets-samsung.html⁠ 28:28 - Boeing workers authorize strike: ⁠https://nwlaborpress.org/2024/08/boeing-workers-vote-to-authorize-a-strike/⁠ 31:45 - Unions 101 55:29 - This is a system working as intended You can write in to the podcast at [email protected] Hardly Working is a Brand New Extra Good production.

In this episode, Andy and Will talk about captive audience meetings, a common union-busting tactic. Articles discussed: Journalists at Australian newspapers go on strike on eve of Olympics: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2024/7/26/journalists-at-australian-newspapers-go-on-strike-on-eve-of-olympics Staff at IOC’s luxury Paris hotel go on strike: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jul/25/olympic-breakfast-off-the-menu-staff-at-ioc-luxury-paris-hotel-go-on-strike The threat of a strike by dancers in the Opening Ceremony got them a greater share of broadcast royalties: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/24/arts/dance/olympic-dancers-strike-opening-ceremony.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare Video game performers go on strike over artificial intelligence: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4ngy53qyq8o World of Warcraft developers form Blizzard’s largest and most inclusive union: https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/24/24205366/world-of-warcraft-developers-form-union-blizzard-entertainment Blue states line up to ban anti-union captive audience meetings: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/captive-audience-meetings-state-bans_n_66a167d4e4b0ac6125bd0c36