If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month.

The Work Stoppage crew starts a new series examining the conditions for workers and consumers in the exploding cannabis industry. First congratulating the workers at Ascend Cannabis in Aberdeen for joining the Teamsters, we launch an investigation into the conditions faced by cannabis workers across Maryland. We cover the conditions that lure young people into the industry, the structural racism of state licensing programs, an ultimately unsuccessful but highly instructive union drive at cannabis mega-corporation Star Buds, the shape of union busting in the cannabis industry, the supposed utility of labor peace agreements in burgeoning industries, and the current state of employment protections for lawful cannabis users in Maryland. John also becomes somewhat fixated on crabs.

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OT Ep 73: Cannabis and Labor Pt 1 PREVIEW

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month.

In this installment of “The Weed Series,” the gang discusses New York. We cover workers in Syracuse who unionized with RWDSU/UFCW 338, the state of employee protections in New York for lawful cannabis users, the multifaceted disaster of Hochul’s legal cannabis rollout, a cannabis product recall, and once again encounter the scourge of fake unions. John encourages maximum conjecture against the pod’s better journalistic instincts.

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

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OT Ep 75 Preview: Cannabis and Labor Pt 3

If you're not a patron you can get the full episode by visiting patreon.com/workstoppage and support us with $5 a month.

In this installment of “The Weed Series,” the gang discusses the conditions of the cannabis industry in New Mexico and Arizona. We cover workers who organized the first agricultural cannabis union in New Mexico, and Arizona workers who unionized with UFCW Local 99, including one group that now has a contract. We ask why New Mexico has so many dispensaries, and investigate the takeover of social justice initiatives in Arizona by gigantic multi-state operators. We round out with a discussion of two wage theft cases in New Mexico and Colorado that contain hallmark “small business tyrant behavior” and John refuses to pronounce last names correctly unless they belong to workers

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

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OT Ep 76 Preview: Cannabis and Labor Pt 4

It's Labor Day, and that can only mean workers standing up for our rights on the job. We begin this week with the launch of this weekend's national hotel strike by workers in Unite Here. After some quick stories on workers fighting for Palestine, the massive surge in unionization in academia, and more warehouse organizing by the Teamsters, we get into our main stories. We follow up with the UAW strike at Cornell, as workers have won a historic new contract. Workers at the Audubon Society have announced they will strike next week as their highly paid CEO continues a petty, illegal union busting campaign. Fred Meyer workers also struck this weekend, simultaneously showing how important stopping the Kroger-Albertsons merger is. Negotiations for a new contract for the East Coast dockworkers in the ILA have ground to a halt, potentially portending the first east coast port shutdown in nearly 50 years. We also discuss this week's 99.99% strike authorization vote by flight attendants at United and a new report showing just how deep the exploitation in the industry is. Finally, we celebrate the union election win of 4000 "temporary" workers at Firestone's massive rubber plantation in Liberia.

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

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Ep 223 - Labor Day Means Strike!

In the first hour, Michelle interviews Bill Benner from UCFW Local 75. In hour two, Clayton and Mark interview CPS Board President Eve Bolton, share their thoughts on the CPS Superintendent search and think through a new arena in Cincinnati.

Episode 18: UFCW, Eve Bolton & Cincinnati Arena

Louisiana Nurses Strike Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/donate-to-the-nurses-strike-fund

Another whirlwind week of attacks on workers rights and the fightback from the labor movement. In our headlines we check in on the Oregon Nurses Association, the UFW, Student Workers of Columbia, the Professional Staff Congress, and more workers across the country and the world. 10,000 workers at King Soopers in Colorado are on strike, we discuss the first week of UFCW Local 7's fight for a fair contract. Nurses in New Orleans used the spotlight on the city for the Super Bowl to highlight their struggle for safe staffing. Workers in National Nurses United, the UE, AAUP, SPFE and many other unions across the country are fighting back against the twin assaults on our trans siblings and our immigrant co-workers, we discuss some of their first steps. Finally, the AFGE, AFSCME, and the AFL-CIO at large are leading the fight against Elon Musk's attempts to purge and loot the federal government.

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

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Ep 245 - Striking Is Our Hammer

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.

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

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Ep 246 - Mao Was Right

The fightback against the Trump administration's war on the federal workforce continued to build this week, and the entire labor movement will need unity to overcome the billionaire's assault. We start with follow ups covering restaurant workers in DC, healthcare workers in Oregon and grocery workers in Colorado. Also this week, headlines from Finland, Cameroon, and Chattanooga. While most of the labor movement was working this week to fight Trump's agenda, Sean O'Brien of the Teamsters was working to support it; we discuss the endorsement of Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-Deremer. Meanwhile, researchers, air traffic controllers, postal workers, and thousands of others came together on different fronts this week to fight the assault on public workers. Finally, we end with the victorious struggle by teachers at a charter school in LA to win fair wages and protect their jobs.

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

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Ep 247 - r/IllegalWorkStoppages

Headlines this week from New Bedford, Seattle, Utah, Chicago, and Missouri. A recent piece from Amir Khafagy reveals the criminal underfunding of one of the few institutions of New York City government actually intended to help working people. The Trump and Musk assault on the NLRB continued this week with attacks on NLRB precedent, theft of sensitive NLRB data, and increasing numbers of workers calling for unity in the fightback. Zenimax workers are standing up and preparing for one of the first strikes in the video game industry's history. Finally, workers with independent Mexican union SINTTIA have once again won major gains through militant action, raising standards for autoworkers across the country.

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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 255 - Fighting Unions, Not Friendly Unions

Migrant Justice Petition: https://migrantjustice.net/node/556

Headlines this week from PetSmart, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Wellesley College, Kroger,  and the Port of Casablanca. We discuss a piece this week from The American Prospect on the rampant abuse of independent contractor labels in the construction industry. Also this week, attacks on immigrant workers continued to escalate with 8 dairy workers arrested in Vermont. Trump's tariffs continue to wreak havoc on workers, with many manufacturers cutting, rather than increasing jobs. Finally, we check in with Starbucks Workers United, where workers have taken to direct action as the company continues to refuse to offer a fair contract after three years.

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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 256 - The Cows Don't Milk Themselves

A political radio show that looks at political issues effecting working class Americans. The radio show is hosted by labor union members Mark Niehaus, Michelle Dunn and Clayton Adams. Boiling Point is based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Music played removed from recordings.

New tracks tagged #ufcw