We start this week's episode with congratulations to workers at Powerhouse Animation, who became the first unionized animation studio in Texas last week. Next we discuss the pausing of the LA hotel strike....and its resumption. Refresco workers finally won a contract after 3 years of fighting this week, winning big pay raises and other gains. Starbucks has lost in court AGAIN this week, losing cases in Pittsburgh and Ithaca and being forced to rehire workers. We also have some tragic stories of worker deaths this week, one a labor organizer murdered for his work in Bangladesh, the other a 16 year old child forced by our economic system to work in a dangerous saw mill. The University of California has been retaliating against workers following last year's major strike, now escalating to felony charges for writing with chalk. Finally, we have some happier news on some recent victories in organizing by the UFW in New York, and by grad student workers at Stanford.

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Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter,  John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

Ep 164 - We Organize to Protect Each Other

This week we are joined by Alexander Edward of Minion Death Cult and long time UPS worker! We start with some follow-up on Walgreens and CVS walkouts, felony vandalism charges being dropped against University of California Grad Student Workers, and the Las Vegas Culinary Union where 35,000+ Workers are set to strike on Nov 10th. In our main stories we start with actions by workers with the support of many organizations to shut down INKAS, an arms dealer sending weapons to Israel in order to perpetuate their genocide on Palestinians. The fight by the RMT and the British public to save ticket stations has won the battle with the Tories and attempts to destroy ticket worker jobs and replace them with kiosks has failed. We then talk about 4500 Portland Teachers and staff who are on strike across the city from 80 schools. In media news, journalists at the Daily Herald fight back against union busting and the NYT Tech Guild walks out over the NYT's return to office policy. U-Penn grad students revitalize the GET-UP union movement and file for an election and face repression from the administration. REI union workers and customers hold a day of action in protest of the company's recent illegal firing of 275 workers. Finally we celebrate the victory of Disney Animators who joined the Animation Guild.

Organize an action in defense of Palestine: https://www.shutitdown4palestine.org/

Sign the Daily Herald petition: http://tinyurl.com/5n7w22jd

Ep 181 - Workers Can Stop Arms Dealers feat. Alexander Edward of Minion Death Cult

Starting our labor news this week we discuss big union election news by healthcare workers in California, construction workers in Quebec, and Starbucks workers all over the country. In our first main story, we discuss attempts to quash organizing around Palestine by conservative leadership in a major AFSCME local in NYC. Next we cover this week's update in the historic UC stand up strike for Palestine, as the University administration continued to try to crush the strike in court. For our big story this week we discuss the surprise announcement of the ALU affiliating with the Teamsters to add national muscle to the fight against the e-commerce giant. Finally, we discuss the ongoing strike by the IBEW workers of Local 46 in Seattle, fighting the greed of general contractors and also for respect on the job.

Also, as we discuss at the end of the show, we're trying something new! Submit your stories about bad bosses, organizing wins, and other workplace tales to our new Google Voice number!

Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX 

Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter,  John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

More info on the show at http://workstoppagepod.com/

Ep 211 - The Teamsters Take On Amazon

Hello and welcome back to AI Tech News Today! It’s February third, twenty twenty-five, and we have a critical update and some fascinating news in the world of Artificial Intelligence. Let’s dive right into it.

deepseek exposed user data, chat histories in open database. Researchers from cloud security firm Wiz discovered that DeepSeek had an unprotected database that left sensitive user information, such as chat histories, API authentication keys, and system logs, in plain view for anyone to access. The database was publicly accessible and required no authentication, raising serious concerns about data security and privacy.

berkeley researchers replicate deepseek AI for just thirty dollars. In response to the vulnerabilities identified with DeepSeek, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a new model called TinyZero. This smaller-scale alternative utilizes reinforcement learning and is available on GitHub for public experimentation—all for the low price of thirty dollars.

openAI o3-mini: faster, smarter AI for STEM, now free for ChatGPT users. This latest model is targeted at science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, providing enhanced capabilities while lowering costs and reducing latency. Brought to you free of charge for ChatGPT users, it builds on the advancements of its predecessor while pushing the boundaries for small-scale AI applications.

openAI unveils ChatGPT deep research agent for in-depth AI analysis. The new Deep Research agent is designed for professionals in finance, science, engineering, and policy-making, offering a more analytical approach than traditional chat responses. It supports users researching significant purchases, such as cars and appliances, providing detailed analysis to facilitate informed decisions.

stanford’s virtual lab uses AI agents to advance scientific research. Stanford researchers are utilizing specialized AI agents to simulate collaborations among chemists, biologists, and machine learning experts. This innovative approach has the potential to accelerate breakthroughs across various fields, including medicine, climate science, and engineering.

That wraps up today’s AI Tech News! As the development of artificial intelligence continues to evolve rapidly, it’s crucial to stay informed about the implications for privacy, security, and technological advancements. Keep tuning in and remember: the future is bright for AI, so let’s keep our eyes on the horizon!

DeepSeek Data Breach Sparks Development of Affordable AI Alternatives and Advanced Research Tools

UFCW Solidarity Pledge: https://www.ew4d.org/blog/solidarity-pledge

We start this week's episode with headlines on UnitedHealthcare, Starbucks Workers United, the SEIU, pension fights in Panama and Belgium, and port workers in Kenya. 10,000 workers in UFCW Local 7 in Colorado remain on strike at King Soopers against attempts to gut their retirement benefits. 20,000 workers at the University of California prepare to strike for fair pay later this month. The fight to organize Amazon continues, even after this week's disappointing election loss in North Carolina. We do our best to keep up with the flurry of attacks on federal workers and the organized fight back against them. Finally, workers are responding to massive layoffs at Alamo Drafthouse with strikes.

Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX 

Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter,  John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

More info on the show at http://workstoppagepod.com/

Ep 246 - Mao Was Right

For Labor, Caution is Fatal - https://inthesetimes.com/article/trump-musk-labor-take-risks

The worker fightback grows stronger every week. We start our headlines with the fight for the right to protest genocide at Columbia, UCLA, and around the country. We've also got headlines at Northwestern University, REI, Hawaiian Airlines, Amazon, and Iowa egg producers. Mexican trolleybus workers are fighting to make the century old system a safe place to work. Tennessee gig drivers are fighting algorithmic attacks with collective action. The CWA have launched a new industrial union in video games for all to join. And of course we've got our weekly roundup of the attacks from the Trump-Musk administration. 

Join the discord: discord.gg/tDvmNzX 

Follow the pod at instagram.com/workstoppage, @WorkStoppagePod on Twitter,  John @facebookvillain, and Lina @solidaritybee

More info on the show at http://workstoppagepod.com/

New tracks tagged #University of California