Labor Force Podcast

Mike Struchen
  • 2.0 (1)
  • NEWS COMMENTARY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Stories of the working class in a time of renewed labor militancy and awareness that capitalism is a rotten deal.

  1. 13H AGO

    Strikes, Immigrants, and the Politics of Listening

    In this episode, we run through a wave of labor fights and political organizing that all point to the same thing: working people are done waiting their turn. From teachers in San Francisco forcing movement after a historic strike, to nurses in New York City refusing to be rushed into a weak contract, to health care workers walking out at Kaiser Permanente, this is what collective power looks like in real time. We also dig into the fight at JBS in Greeley, where Haitian workers are organizing under brutal conditions while navigating immigration threats — and why their near-unanimous strike vote is about dignity as much as wages. We zoom out to connect these fights to the legacy of the 2006 immigrant walkouts that helped kill the U.S. Congress’s Sensenbrenner bill, and what today’s organizers can learn from that moment about scale, strategy, media, and clear demands. Then we head to Fort Worth to break down how machinist Taylor Rehmet flipped a deep-red state senate seat by focusing on bread-and-butter issues like schools, health care, and union rights — and by actually listening to voters instead of chasing culture-war nonsense. The throughline: rank-and-file democracy matters, solidarity works, and power doesn’t come from consultants or billionaires — it comes from people willing to take risks together. From picket lines to ballot boxes, this episode connects the dots between labor struggle, immigrant justice, and grassroots politics in a system designed to keep working people divided.

    35 min

  2. FEB 7

    Organize or Freeze: Labor’s Winter Showdown

    This episode breaks down why unions still work—even as organizing faces political and economic headwinds. We cover new data showing union workers earn more and have better benefits, major wins like the UAW’s first contract at Volkswagen in Chattanooga and Iowa nurses unionizing with the Teamsters, and ongoing strikes by healthcare workers in New York and at Kaiser Permanente. We also look at the push to pressure Starbucks over stalled contract talks, the growing crisis of soaring utility bills in New York, and how a historic general strike in Minneapolis is fueling new conversations about May Day and nationwide collective action.

    31 min

  3. JAN 31

    The Crossroads: Police State or Solidarity

    This episode looks at how immigration enforcement, union-busting, and corporate cost-cutting are all part of the same war on workers — and how workers are fighting back. We break down the Minneapolis shutdowns demanding ICE leave Minnesota, the growing wave of nurse strikes in NYC and across Kaiser Permanente facilities, UPS’s plan to cut up to 30,000 jobs while posting massive profits, and the Trump administration’s attacks on federal worker union rights. From ICE raids to health care picket lines, the pattern is clear: fear is being used to weaken workers — and solidarity is the response.

    44 min

  4. JAN 24

    Shutting It Down: Labor, ICE, and Collective Power

    This episode of Labor Force Podcast tracks a labor movement in motion, from mass protest to workplace transformation. We start in Minnesota, where tens of thousands joined a coordinated economic blackout and protests demanding ICE leave the state, accountability for the killing of Renee Good, and an end to ICE funding—raising serious questions about the power and potential of general strikes. We then cover an impending open-ended strike by 31,000 Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers across California and Hawaii, a major union victory at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the groundbreaking of Micron’s $100 billion semiconductor project in Central New York amid environmental backlash. The episode also explores the rise of “microshifting,” a growing push to break free from rigid 9-to-5 schedules, especially among caregivers, and what flexibility really means in an unequal labor market. We close with a look at AI-driven layoffs, mounting worker anxiety, and how companies are using “AI” to justify cuts—along with why upskilling and collective power will shape what comes next.

    33 min

  5. JAN 17

    Drawing the line: labor versus fascism

    A turbulent start to 2026 makes one thing clear: workers are being asked to absorb chaos, violence, and exhaustion as “normal”—and more people are refusing. This episode begins with winter disruptions in the Great Lakes region and how constant school closures expose the failure of the five-day workweek, shifting stress and unpaid labor onto educators and families. We then turn to New York City, where 15,000 nurses are on strike across Mount Sinai, Montefiore, and NewYork-Presbyterian. Nurses are demanding safe staffing, real wage growth, workplace safety, and limits on AI replacing human judgment in patient care. In Minnesota, the killing of Renee Good by ICE has sparked a January 23 statewide shutdown. Unions, faith groups, immigrants, and community members are calling for collective refusal—no work, no school, no shopping—in response to escalating federal raids and state violence. The episode also examines authoritarian rhetoric emerging from the Trump administration’s Labor Department, the suspension of a UAW member for speaking out in Dearborn, and what these moments reveal about power demanding silence from workers. We close with the WNBA labor standoff, player-led alternatives like Unrivaled, and a broader challenge to hustle culture and the myth that longer hours equal greater value. Across every front, the message is the same: labor moves forward through dissent, solidarity, and collective refusal.

    37 min

  6. JAN 10

    Imperialism, Hustle Culture, and the Cost to Workers

    In this episode of the Labor Force Podcast, we look at how workers are being squeezed from every direction—globally, politically, and on the job. We examine why imperialism and sanctions, especially in Venezuela, are working-class issues that weaken unions and devastate everyday life. We then turn to New York, where democratic socialists are trying to build on Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral victory to push policies like taxing the rich and funding universal child care. From there, we hear directly from Starbucks baristas on strike in the longest ULP action in company history, and why the boycott remains in effect until a fair contract is reached. We close by unpacking hustle culture and the changing job market, asking who really benefits when workers are told to adapt, grind harder, and blame themselves. Because self-reliance isn’t power—solidarity is.

    31 min

  7. JAN 2

    Who Really Runs the City? Socialism, Unions, and Power in 2026

    This episode of The Labor Force Podcast takes on the question of power—who holds it, who doesn’t, and what it means for working people right now. We examine Zohran Mamdani’s election as mayor of New York City and what it would take for democratic socialist policies to succeed in a city shaped by entrenched wealth and political resistance. From there, we dig into the state of organized labor, the need for rank-and-file power, and the limits of relying on cautious union leadership. The episode also breaks down the confirmation of a corporate union-buster as General Counsel of the NLRB, the firing of board member Gwynne Wilcox, and what these moves mean for workers’ rights enforcement. We connect these developments to a tightening job market where workers are resorting to unconventional networking—including dating apps—just to get noticed. We close with strike action at Telluride Ski Resort, a critique of the myth of a Trump-era “golden age” for workers, and a reflection on how crisis, exposure, and organizing have driven real change throughout history.

    33 min

  8. 12/27/2025

    2025: Power, Precarity, and the Working Class

    A retrospective on the year that was on the Labor Force Podcast: the developments, trends, worker actions, technology, and all that went into surviving these economic hunger games we’re playing as we soldier on into the back half of the 2020s.

    8 min
See All (35)

Ratings & Reviews

About

Stories of the working class in a time of renewed labor militancy and awareness that capitalism is a rotten deal.

Information

  • Creator
    Mike Struchen
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    35
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Mike Struchen
  • Show Website
    Labor Force Podcast