Unf*cking Flashback: Labor Unions: From Pullman to Kellogg’s. Labor’s long, hard road.

We're re-releasing our Labor Union episode in honor of Labor Day. For Unf*ckers outside of the United States, this is the day government set aside as a token of appreciation to the labor movement for eight hour days, weekends, anti-child labor laws, protection from discrimination and more. (In reality, it was a consolation prize after Grover Cleveland jailed Eugene Debs and sent federal troops to beat the shit out of Pullman railcar workers on strike.) We celebrate this glorious day by giving members of the PMC a holiday to shop at stores run by the working poor.

--

From Pullman and Carnegie to Kellogg's and the PRO Act, this week we unf*ck the labor movement in the United States. No single episode can possibly do labor justice but we give it our best shot. The episode includes a blow-by-blow analysis of a recent interview with the CEO of Kellogg's to translate Wall Street speak for “how to fuck workers and influence inflation.” And we rip off a few Milton references to exercise our #FMF muscle.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:42

Segment 1: 00:02:11

Segment 2: 00:04:25

Segment 3: 00:12:18

Segment 4: 00:17:46

Segment 5: 00:21:29

Segment 6: 00:28:00

Segment 7: 00:30:20

Segment 8: 00:41:22

Show Notes: 00:52:15

Book Love: 00:57:17

Pod Love: 00:58:02

Emails + Shoutouts: 00:58:45

Outro: 01:10:42

Resources

American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)

The New York Times: Starbucks workers at a Buffalo store unionize in a big symbolic win for labor

Kellogg Company: Investor Relations

The Nation: Striking Kellogg’s Workers Need the PRO Act

U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics: Work Stoppages

OECD: Trade Union Dataset 

U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics: Union Members — 2020

Economic History Association: Labor Unions in the United States

History of Recessions in U.S.

Unionization rates by industry in the United States, 1880-2000

More Perfect Union: Kellogg's Factory Working Conditions

Media Matters: Joe Rogan Wrapped: A year of COVID-19 misinformation, right-wing myths, and anti-trans rhetoric

Book Love

Philip Dray: There Is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America

Nelson Lichtenstein: State of the Union: A Century of American Labor

Kurt Andersen: Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America

Joseph Stiglitz: People, Power and Profits

Robert Shiller: Narrative Economics

Pod Love

Economic Update with Professor Richard Wolff: S11 E47

--

If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com.

Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com.

Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week.

Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: spoti.fi/3yzIlUP.

Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list.

Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.

Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is written and hosted by Eugene Debs and distributed by the Pinkertons.

Podcast art description: Image of the US Constitution ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, ‘Unf*cking the Republic.’

Support the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/unftr

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.