Working People

For the past month—led by students and joined by parents, teachers, labor unions, and more—France has been gripped by one of the largest protest waves in modern history. Protestors have faced violent police repression, a recalcitrant government, and rampant misinformation or skewed coverage from rightwing and corporate media. In this special international edition of Working People, we speak directly with a broad range of students and union members across France who are on the front lines of the current protest movement, and we put them in conversation with union workers and leaders in the US. Editor's Note: This episode contains an edited-down version of a Zoom webinar panel discussion recorded on Sunday, October 25, organized in partnership with The Real News Network, the Chicago Teachers Union, Haymarket Books, and the French labor union Force Ouvrière. Unless expressed by elected organization leaders, all views shared in this conversation are those of the speakers alone. Additional links/info: Chicago Teachers Union website, Facebook page, Bluesky page, and Instagram Force Ouvrière website, Facebook page, and Instagram Haymarket Books website, YouTube channel, Bluesky page, and Instagram Angelique Chrisafis, The Guardian, "Hundreds of thousands march across France in protests over schools and policing" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

Far from all the political bluster about police being "defunded," six years after the earth-shaking George Floyd protests swept the US and public approval for law enforcement plummeted, police have never been more politically and monetarily supported than they are now. But when veteran labor reporters and union activists Hamilton Nolan and Jacob Morrison attended the 23rd Quadrennial Convention of the International Union of Police Associations in Las Vegas, Nevada, they found a different kind of union, and a different kind of convention, than they were expecting… In this special episode of Working People, we speak with Nolan and Morrison about their August reporting trip to the IUPA Convention in Las Vegas. Additional links/info: Hamilton Nolan Substack (How Things Work) and Bluesky page Jacob Morrison's Twitter/X page The Valley Labor Report website, YouTube channel, Facebook page, Bluesky page, and Twitter/X page Hamilton Nolan & Jacob Morrison, The Real News Network, "Beards and loathing: A cop union convention comes to Las Vegas" Hamilton Nolan, How Things Work, "We infiltrated a police union convention in Las Vegas" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

President Trump has renewed his efforts to "Build the Wall" in areas along the US-Mexico Border that don't currently have border barriers—including the Big Bend region of West Texas. Invading people's private properties and upending their local economies and shared ecosystem with a border wall residents say they don't want or need, the Trump administration continues to dole out billions of taxpayer dollars to flood Texas border towns like Terlingua, Sanderson, and Marfa with troops and federal agents—and to pay construction contractors with ties to the Trump family. In this episode of Working People, we speak with a panel of residents living near Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park who have banded together with their neighbors to fight back against the federally funded destruction of their homes. Panelists include: Yolanda Alvarado, a fifth-generation cattle rancher and the regional director for Conserve Big Bend: No Big Bend Wall; Crystal Allbright, a longtime resident and bicycle shop owner in Terlingua; Sara Ryza, a longtime resident, small-business owner, and proprietor of the Desert Air Motel in Sanderson, Texas; Scott Whitener, a longtime resident of Marfa, Texas, and a former superintendent on the Big Bend Ranch State Park; and Sharron Reed Gavin, a retiree and longtime resident of Terlingua. Additional links/info: No Big Bend Wall website, Facebook page, and Instagram Uriel J. Garcia & Alex Ford, The Texas Tribune, "What to know about possible border barriers in Big Bend" The Terlingua Music Bash (Oct. 15-18) website and Facebook page, Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

Because he was bullied in elementary school for being Native American, James Gardner's friends lovingly call him "NDN." His friends and family know NDN to be a fiercely loyal, loving person, and a fiercely hard worker. But as a third-generation concrete specialist, NDN was exposed to chemicals that have left him disabled, terminal, and facing foreclosure on his home. In this episode of Working People, we speak with James "NDN" Gardner and his best friend James Quigg. Additional links/info: GoFundMe: James Gardner: Terminal Liver Failure—Home at Risk Maven Navarro, Forth Worth Star-Telegram, "Terminally ill, this proud man is fighting to keep the Fort Worth home he built" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

"We are living in a pivotal moment in labor history," Cole Rockarts writes in their new book Fired Up About Unions. "At a time when corporations have more power, profit, and political influence than ever before, workers are leading inspiring union organizing campaigns and taking on bosses to win big… Their struggles reveal that everyday people can unite, change their conditions, and build better workplaces and a better world." In this episode of Working People, we speak with a panel of labor organizers across the USA and Canada about why labor unions are more important now than ever, and how workers organizing collectively can change their workplaces, their lives, and the world. Panelists include: Hassan Husseini of the Public Service Alliance of Canada and Labor for Palestine - Canada; Tina Oh of SEIU Local 2 in Hallifax, Canada; Alex Raymond of Teamsters 322 in Virginia, USA, and Cole Rockarts, veteran labor educator and organizer and author of the new book Fired Up About Unions. Additional links/info: Cole Rockarts, Between the Lines Press, Fired Up About Unions Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor