Working Class History

Before the current wave of organising at Starbucks, another group of workers in the early 2000s got together and formed a union at one of the most anti-union corporations on earth. They won better pay and conditions, and laid the groundwork for the unionisation campaign today. Learn their story in this three-part podcast series in conversation with Daniel Gross, one of the key organisers.
Our podcast is brought to you by our Patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes without ads, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Supporters also get access to two exclusive podcast series: Fireside Chats and Radical Reads. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory
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Part 1: Background about Starbucks, workers’ pay and conditions, the Industrial Workers of the World union, how the organising got started, and the legal avenues the IWW pursued. Available without ads for our supporters on Patreon.
Listen to all 3 parts now without ads, plus an exclusive bonus episode on Patreon.
More information, sources, show notes and eventually a transcript on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e121-123-iww-starbucks-workers-union/
Get hold of books by Daniel Gross, including:
Labor Law for the Rank and Filer: Building Solidarity While Staying Clear of the Law – Staughton Lynd and Daniel Gross
Solidarity Unionism at Starbucks – Staughton Lynd and Daniel Gross
Unions of our Own – Daniel Gross

Learn more about the IWW in our podcast series and in these books.
Learn more about McDonald’s Workers’ Resistance in this bonus podcast episode, available on Patreon.
Learn more about the Solidarity Union Network.
Learn more about workplace organising in these organising guides.
And, finally, learn about John’s experiences of organising at work in this bonus episode on Patreon.

Acknowledgements
Thanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands.
Episode graphic: Starbucks Workers Union members, including Daniel, holding the sign, left, march down Union Square, NYC, 2007. Courtesy IWW.
Our theme tune is Bella Ciao, thanks for permission to use it from Dischi del Sole. You can purchase it here or stream it here.
Edited by Jesse French

Fireside Chat podcast available exclusively for our Patreon supporters we invited back Tomas Rothaus (from our Argentina 2001 episodes) to discuss football, politics, and the chaotic mess of the World Cup in Donald Trump's USA.

Our podcast is brought to you by our Patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory

Recorded before the competition started,we discussed the many contradictions of being a radical football fan, the excitement of attending previous World Cups, the way various authoritarian regimes have utilised football for their own ends, and the many players and managers (past and present) who have believed in fairer society for all.

Listen to the full 92-minute episode here:
E124: Fireside Chat - World Cup of Chaos – Available exclusively for our supporters on Patreon

More information
Get a copy of Tomas' book, Argentina, a Tale of Two Utopias: Anarchism, Soccer, NeoliberalismYou can also get Tomas’ other book, Another War Is Possible: Militant Anarchist Experiences in the Antiglobalization Era

Check out our other books about football and politics in our online store
More football related merch
Acknowledgements
Thanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Fellow Worker and Jazz Hands.
Edited by Jesse French
Our theme tune is Montaigne’s version of the classic labour movement anthem, ‘Bread and Roses’, performed by Montaigne and Nick Harriott, and mixed by Wave Racer. Download the song here, with all proceeds going to Medical Aid for Palestinians. More from Montaigne: website, Instagram, YouTube.
You can listen to all of our Patreon-exclusive podcast episodes by joining us on Patreon at patreon.com/workingclasshistory

Bonus episode for our three-part miniseries about the UK’s 1926 general strike, in collaboration with the General Strike 100 project and told using interviews with striking workers themselves.

In this episode, East London dock worker, Harry Watson, talks about life and work on the docks around the time of the general strike as well as the split of skilled dock workers away from the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

Our podcast is brought to you by our Patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes without ads, bonus episodes, two exclusive podcast series – Fireside Chats and Radical Reads – as well as free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory
Listen to the whole exclusive bonus episode without ads by joining us on Patreon. As well as more from Harry, it also includes Betty Harrison who recounts her experience of the 1925 textile workers' strike: https://www.patreon.com/posts/e120-1-1926-155633267
Listen to our exclusive music bonus episode where we explain the history behind the theme song used for this series (recorded for us by award-winning artist, Montaigne)
More info
Find out about events to commemorate the strike in your area (and beyond!) on the General Strike 100 websiteYou will also find dozens of stories about incidents which took place during the strike in cities, towns, and villages across the UK

Get a copy of our interviewee, Judy Cox’s Revisiting the General Strike of 1926: When Workers Were Ready To Dare
More information including sources, further reading, images and soon a transcript available on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e119-121-1926-general-strike/
Acknowledgements
Thanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands and Fellow Worker.
Episode graphic: traffic on Westminster Bridge as a result of public transport being shut down. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Our theme tune for this preview is Montaigne’s version of the classic labour movement anthem, ‘Bread and Roses’, performed by Montaigne and Nick Harriott, and mixed by Wave Racer. Download the song here, with all proceeds going to Medical Aid for Palestinians. More from Montaigne: website, Instagram, YouTube.
Edited by Jesse French

The final of our three-part miniseries about the UK’s 1926 general strike, which saw one and three-quarter million workers walk out in the biggest single work stoppage in British history. In collaboration with the General Strike 100 project and told using interviews with striking workers themselves.

In this episode, we look at state repression against the strike, the capitulation of union leaders, and the victimisation of strikers and months-long lockout of the miners after the end of the general strike.

Our podcast is brought to you by our Patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes without ads, bonus episodes, two exclusive podcast series – Fireside Chats and Radical Reads – as well as free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory
Listen to our bonus episode to hear more from two participants in the general strike, exclusively on Patreon
Listen to our bonus mini-episode where we explain the history behind the theme song used for this series
More info
Find out about events to commemorate the strike in your area (and beyond!) on the General Strike 100 websiteYou will also find dozens of stories about incidents which took place during the strike in cities, towns, and villages across the UK

Get a copy of our interviewee, Judy Cox’s Revisiting the General Strike of 1926: When Workers Were Ready To Dare
More information including sources, further reading, images and soon a transcript available on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e119-121-1926-general-strike/
Acknowledgements
Thanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands and Fellow Worker.
Episode graphic: lorry loaded with petrol escorted by mounted policeas workers watch by the side of the road in London. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Our theme tune for this episode is Montaigne’s version of ‘When the Coal Comes from the Rhonda’, a folk song originating from Welsh miners in the early twentieth century and sung during the general strike. Download the song here. More from Montaigne: website, Instagram, YouTube.
Edited by Jesse French

Part 2 of our three-part miniseries about the UK’s 1926 general strike, which saw one and three-quarter million workers walk out in the biggest single work stoppage in British history. In collaboration with the General Strike 100 project and told using interviews with striking workers themselves.

In this episode, we go into the action of the strike itself, the self-activity of the 'Councils of Action', and first-hand accounts of clashes between workers, scabs, and police.

Our podcast is brought to you by our Patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes without ads, bonus episodes, two exclusive podcast series – Fireside Chats and Radical Reads – as well as free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory
Listen to Part 3 now (without ads) by joining us on Patreon
Listen to our bonus episode to hear more from two participants in the general strike, exclusively on Patreon
Listen to our bonus mini-episode where we explain the history behind the theme song used for this series
More info
Find out about events to commemorate the strike in your area (and beyond!) on the General Strike 100 websiteYou will also find dozens of stories about incidents which took place during the strike in cities, towns, and villages across the UK

Get a copy of our interviewee, Judy Cox’s Revisiting the General Strike of 1926: When Workers Were Ready To Dare
More information including sources, further reading, images and a transcript available on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e119-121-1926-general-strike/
Acknowledgements
Thanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands and Fellow Worker.
Episode graphic: Strikers and their supporters in the Poplar district around the East London docks (where Harry Watson, one of the speakers in our series, was on strike). Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Our theme tune for this episode is Montaigne’s version of ‘When the Coal Comes from the Rhonda’, a folk song originating from Welsh miners in the early twentieth century and sung during the general strike. Download the song here. More from Montaigne: website, Instagram, YouTube.
Edited by Jesse French