Working People

The world as we know it is facing unprecedented crises today that are all converging at once, from "end-times fascism" and full-blown oligarchy to "artificial intelligence," endless wars, and genocide. The formal institutions of American democracy and organized labor have shown that they cannot stop the ruling-class onslaught on working people's lives, livelihoods, and futures, so it's up to rank-and-file workers everywhere to stand up and fight back. In this special Working People live show, hosted by In These Times magazine in Chicago, Illinois, we speak with veteran labor reporters Kim Kelly, Alex Press, and Hamilton Nolan about the crises breaking our world today—and how to stop them. Additional links/info: Support In These Times magazine! Kim Kelly website, X/Twitter page, TikTok, Bluesky page, and Instagram Alex Press Substack, X/Twitter page, and Instagram Hamilton Nolan Substack, X/Twitter page, Facebook page, Bluesky page Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

Nearly a year after workers voted to authorize a strike, non-union city and commercially contracted security officers in Baltimore, MD, walked off the job on April 9 on an Unfair Labor Practice strike against their employers, Abacus Corporation, Metropolitan Protective Services, and Urban Development Solutions. Now, Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) say that workers have been retaliated against by Metropolitan Protective Services (MPS), alleging that the city contractor "fired and harassed workers following [the] lawful strike." MPS denies these allegations and claims "that no employees have been terminated due to union involvement." In this episode of Working People, we speak with Victoria Cox, a former MPS employee who worked to reach the rank of sergeant, and Daril Riley, a former MPS employee who reached the rank of corporal. Both Cox and Riley have had their shifts taken off the schedule—and, essentially, their jobs taken away—and both have been put under investigation by MPS since the strike in April. Additional links/info: Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, "Underpaid, uninsured, held at gunpoint: Baltimore security guards strike for a union" SEIU Local 32BJ website, Facebook page, and Instagram Katherine Wilson, Baltimore Sun, "Baltimore contract security officers at city properties prepare to strike" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor Statement from Derrick Parks, CEO and President of Metropolitan Protective Services (5/26/26): Metropolitan Protective Services, Inc. (MPSI) maintains that no employees have been terminated due to union involvement. We fully support our employees' right to choose whether or not to join a union. The individuals recently removed from the schedule were terminated for failing to maintain the current Maryland guard license required by the Maryland State Police. Regarding Sergeant Cox, she was removed from the schedule at the specific request of the client following multiple advisements regarding violations of client policy and insubordination. Of our 175 employees, only six have been removed from the schedule or terminated, all due to licensing issues or performance concerns. We find these allegations to be without merit and believe they are being used by the union to exert pressure on the company. Furthermore, we have received reports of union representatives harassing employees who chose not to join, including unauthorized site visits and the use of derogatory language. MPSI is currently considering filing a cease and desist order and a harassment lawsuit to protect the rights of our staff. Our priority remains protecting all employees, regardless of their union status.

After 14 months of fruitless contract negotiations with the Harvard University administration, over 4,000 workers represented by the Harvard Graduate Students Union (HGSU-UAW Local 5118) walked off the job on an indefinite strike on April 21. According to the union, "Graduate student workers will suspend teaching and research labor until Harvard's bargaining team takes substantive action in addressing the union's key issues: pay that keeps pace with the rising cost of living, recourse for harassment and discrimination, support for non-citizen students, protections for academic freedom, and 'fair share fees' to equitably distribute the expenses of union representation, among others." In this episode of Working People, we speak with three striking graduate student workers about the issues at the center of this strike, and about what it's like to live, work, and strike at the country's richest university amid political attacks from the federal government, scandals connecting high-ranking Harvard officials to Jeffrey Epstein, and a nationwide cost-of-living crisis. Panelists include: Sara Speller, a fifth-year PhD student in the Music Department at Harvard and president of the Harvard Graduate Students Union; Zoë Feder, a seventh-year PhD student in the program in Biological & Biomedical Sciences at Harvard Medical School and a research assistant in the Microbiology Department; and Jacob Wolf, a third-year PhD student and Teaching Fellow in the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Additional links/info: Harvard Graduate Students Union (HGSU-UAW Local 5118) website, Facebook page, X/Twitter page, TikTok, and Instagram Harvard Graduate Students Union Strike Update/FAQ Zine Lydialyle Gibson, Harvard Magazine, "Harvard graduate student workers strike" Noah A. Ferris, The Harvard Crimson, "Grad students rally outside Garber's home as strike enters third week" Hugo C. Chiasson & Elise A. Spenner, The Harvard Crimson, "Harvard promised a 'full' review of its Epstein ties. Its own files reveal what it left out" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

After decades of decline, the organized labor movement in the US has seen a resurgence in rank-and-file militancy over the last decade, with increased strike actions and union drives in industries across the economy. And in the story of this recent revival of labor in America, the movement led by predominantly young baristas to unionize coffee giant Starbucks has played a pivotal role. The new documentary Baristas vs. Billionaires takes viewers on a journey through the last five years of the epic, ongoing struggle to unionize Starbucks, told by some of the workers and organizers at the center of that struggle. TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez speaks with director of Baristas vs. Billionaires and Academy Award nominee Mark Mori, and with legendary actor and Academy award nominee Alec Baldwin, who is a producer on the film. Additional links/info: Baristas vs. Billionaires website Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, "'Starbucks is the largest labor violator in modern history': Starbucks workers prepare for indefinite national strike" Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, "How union organizing can change your life and the world: A conversation with Jaz Brisack" Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, "Want to unionize your workplace? These worker-organizers have some advice" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Studio Production / Post-Production: David Hebden Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

An estimated 31,000 health care workers in California and Hawaii walked off the job on Jan. 26 in their ongoing battle with healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente to address workers' demands for safe staffing, more manageable workloads, and a livable wage. The United Nurses Associations of California / Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) strike is now in its third week, and more than 3,000 pharmacy technicians, pharmacy assistants, and clinical laboratory professionals represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers. In this urgent strike update episode, we speak with a panel of UNAC/UHCP members who are all currently on strike at Kaiser Permanente. Guests: Sanayo Kondo is a physical therapist at Kaiser Permanente - Redwood City in Northern California, and she is also on the bargaining team for her UNAC/UHCP group. Kadi Gonzalez is an outpatient Registered Nurse at Kaiser Permanente who works in OB/Gyn care and is on the board of directors for UNAC/UHCP. Lucky Longoria is a Registered Nurse who works in pediatrics at Kaiser Permanente - Downey in Southern California and previously worked as a travel nurse. Additional links/info: United Nurses Associations of California / Union of Health Care Professionals website, Facebook page, and Instagram UNAC/UHCP Press Release: "Massive Kaiser strike enters third week" Kaiser Permanente, "Our statement on the UNAC/UHCP strike (Jan. 25, 2026)" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

Hundreds of union nurses, federal workers, and local residents gathered outside the Veterans Affairs central office building in Washington, DC, on Jan. 28, to hold a vigil for Alex Pretti and all who have been killed by ICE. The vigil was one of many events organized or co-sponsored by National Nurses United, the nation's largest union and professional association of registered nurses, which has forcefully called for ICE to be abolished in the wake of Pretti's killing. We speak with attendees of the vigil in this on-the-ground edition of Working People. Additional links/info: Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "'A hero': Nurses, federal workers honor Alex Pretti (Documentary Report)" Maximillian Alvarez Working People / The Real News Network, "Largest nurses union calls to abolish ICE after Alex Pretti killing: 'They messed with the wrong profession'" National Nurses United: "Week of action in honor of Alex Pretti, RN and all others killed by ICE" National Nurses United press release (1/24/26): "National Nurses United outraged by murder of VA registered nurse by immigration agents, demand abolition of ICE" National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United website, Facebook page, Twitter/X page, and Instagram Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

The state of Minnesota is under siege by our own federal government, and residents—immigrant and US-born alike—are living in fear. With the deployment of over 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota in recent weeks, this is the Trump administration's largest and most violent so-called "immigration enforcement" operation yet—and with President Trump threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota in response to protests over ICE's terror campaign, the situation on the ground is extremely volatile. Amid this federal invasion, unions, community organizations, faith leaders, and small businesses in Minnesota are calling for a statewide day of "no work (except for emergency services), no school, and no shopping" on January 23. In this urgent episode, we speak with three union members and organizers in the Twin Cities—Daniel Troccoli, Douglas Williams, and Janette Corcelius—about the situation on the ground in Minnesota, and about the proposed mass strike this Friday. Additional links/info: 1/23: ICE OUT OF MN call to action and Facebook event page 1/23 ICE OUT OF MN Org Sign Up Sarah Lazare & Amie Stager, In These Times, "'We are facing a tsunami of hate': Amid ICE crackdown, unions and community groups call for Minnesota shutdown in 10 Days" Luis Feliz Leon, Labor Notes, "Will ICE ignite a mass strike in Minnesota?" Suzanne Gamboa, Shaquille Brewster, & Colin Sheeley, NBC News, "Immigration officers around Minneapolis are approaching people and demanding proof that they're U.S. citizens" Rachel Leingang & Maanvi Singh, The Guardian, "'Make no mistake, this is an occupation': ICE's deadly presence casts long shadow over Minneapolis" Joseph Cox, 404 Media, "Inside ICE's tool to monitor phones in entire neighborhoods" John Hamilton, Democracy Now!, "ICE vs. People of Minnesota: A special report on community resistance to Trump's militarized crackdown" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor