On Aug. 22, 2025, the small-town lives of residents living near the Smitty's Supply facility in Roseland, LA, changed forever when an explosion occurred at the automotive lubricant plant. The explosion and ensuing fire, which burned for days, triggered evacuations across the area, blanketing homes and businesses with smoke, soot, and oily residue, while spilling petroleum products from the plant into area waterways, including several adjacent ponds and the Tangipahoa River. While the Environmental Protection Agency claims that the area is safe, according to the agency's own chemical monitoring, residents say they've been left behind and kept in the dark as they develop negative health symptoms and their homes remain covered in toxic substances. In this episode, we speak with Arlene Bankston, a farmer and resident of Roseland, and Allie Ponvelle, who lives one town over in Amite, about the slow-moving nightmare they've been living in ever since the massive explosion and chemical fire at Smitty's Supply.

Additional links/info:

• Alene Bankston's Facebook page

• Allie Ponvelle's Facebook page

• Petition to Close Roseland Montessori School Due to Toxic Contamination

• Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition (CICC) website

• Wesley Muller, Louisiana Illuminator, "Smitty's Supply neighbors still wary of fire fallout despite assurances from Landry, EPA"

• Whitney Miller, WWL Louisiana, "What was in the air and water after the Smitty's Supply fire? Testing under new scrutiny"

• "Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, "America's toxic future looks like East Palestine, Ohio, today"

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, will walk off the job on April 9 in an Unfair Labor Practice strike against their employer, Abacus Corporation. In their yearslong effort to unionize and secure more job security, better pay, accessible healthcare, and safer working conditions, workers at Abacus have reported rampant union busting and violations of their labor rights. In this episode, we speak with Laura Dixon, a veteran security officer and Abacus employee, and Jaimie Contreras, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union, Local 32BJ. Additional links/info:

• 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

While facing decades-long political efforts to throttle and privatize the United States Postal Service (USPS), and while US Postmaster General David Steiner ominously warns that the USPS will "run out of money" within a year, postal workers continue to deliver the mail and serve communities across the country. But that job has gotten harder, more dangerous, and more complicated in recent years. From increases in targeted violence against letter carriers to the Trump administration's attacks on mail-in voting, to ICE and Border Patrol agents invading communities on their mail routes, USPS workers are confronting many daily hazards on the job that the public doesn't see. In this episode, we speak with Connor Mauche, a letter carrier in New York and a shop steward for Branch 3 of the National Association of Letter Carriers, about what it's like to be a postal worker in America in 2026. Additional links/info:

• National Association of Letter Carriers - Branch 3 website
• Ann DeStefano Sutherland, The Revolt of the Good Guys (a documentary about the Great Postal Strike of 1970)
• Derek Dolbeare, Labor Notes, "Dispatch: Letter carriers are gearing up for another contract fight"
• Sara Braun, The Guardian, "Nearly blind refugee abandoned by US border patrol found dead in Buffalo"
• Monique Morrissey, Economic Policy Institute, "Why is President Trump attacking the Postal Service?"
• Susan Haigh, AP, "US Postal Service expects to run out of cash in a year without help from Congress, postmaster says"

Featured Music:

• Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits:

• Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

3,800 workers and Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 members at the massive JBS beef processing plant in Greeley, CO walked off the job on an unfair labor practice strike on March 16. This is the first strike ever at the Greeley plant—one of the largest in the country—and it's the biggest meatpacking strike in the US since the 1985-86 strike at the Hormel plant in Austin, MN. As Caitlyn Clark and Lisa Xu report in Labor Notes, "Strikers say JBS has been increasing the speed of the production line while cutting work hours from 40 a week to 35, squeezing out more work for less money… Workers are also demanding that the company stop charging them out-of-pocket costs for personal protective equipment like mesh vests and arm guards—essential because they work with knives, saws, and other sharp, dangerous equipment." In this episode, we speak with Clark and Xu, who report from the JBS picket line and break down why this strike is so significant and what it will take for workers to win this fight against the largest beef processor in the US.

Guests:

• Caitlyn Clark is a national organizer at Essential Workers for Democracy, an organization dedicated to rank-and-file member education and empowerment for UFCW members in grocery, meatpacking, and retail.

• Lisa Xu is a staff writer and organizer at Labor Notes.

Additional links/info:

• Caitlyn Clark & Lisa Xu, Labor Notes, "In 57 languages, meatpackers strike for the first time in 40 Years"

Featured Music:

• Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits:

• Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

Diane Wilson is a fourth-generation fisherwoman and a lifelong resident of Seadrift, Texas. Wilson has become a global folk hero over the course of her epic, decades-long journey from shrimp boat captain and mother of five to social and ecological justice warrior who took on a multibillion dollar corporation polluting the bays along her beloved Texas Gulf Coast. But the fight to save her home from industrial pollution is far from over. On March 2, Wilson began a hunger strike outside the Dow Chemical Company / Union Carbide plant in Seadrift. "I have a tent and am camping out 24 hours, 7 days a week," Wilson wrote in a letter to Dow CEO Jim Fitterling, "to impress upon Dow/Union Carbide our intense dislike and frustration of decades of plastic pollution being discharged into our bays and waterways." In this urgent episode, we speak with Wilson as her hunger strike enters its third week. Guest:

• Diane Wilson is a fourth-generation shrimper, boat captain, mother of five, author, and an environmental, peace, and social justice advocate. During the last 30 years, she has launched legislative campaigns, demonstrations, hunger strikes, sunk boats, and even climbed chemical towers in her fight to protect her Gulf Coast bay. She is a co-founder of CODEPINK, the women's anti-war group based in Washington, DC, and co-founder of the Texas Jail Project, which advocates for inmates' rights in Texas county jails. Since 2012, Wilson has been executive director and waterkeeper of San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper (SABEW) on the Texas Gulf Coast. Wilson is the author of numerous books, including: An Unreasonable Woman: A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters, and the Fight for Seadrift, Texas; and Diary of an Eco-Outlaw: An Unreasonable Woman Breaks the Law for Mother Earth.

Additional links/info:

• Follow updates on Diane's hunger strike here
• Diane Wilson website
• Diane Wilson, "Letter to DOW CEO Jim Fitterling"
• San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper (SAWBE) website, Facebook page, TikTok, and Instagram
• Plastic Pollution Coalition, "Diane Wilson launches hunger strike after Dow requests legalization of microplastics discharge in Texas"

Featured Music:

• Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits:

• Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

38-year-old regional video gaming champion Ludovic Mbock, who came to the US legally from Cameroon, was snatched by ICE while applying for his yearly work permit—as he's done for 20 years. He has since been detained for three weeks and moved to facilities in Louisiana and Georgia, and his freedom depends on a critical bond hearing this week. In this urgent episode of Working People, we speak with Diane Sohna, Ludovic's sister, and Nikhil Delahaye, a close friend of Ludovic's and a fellow gamer.

Additional links/info:

• Ludovic Mbock Instagram

• GoFundMe: Support Ludovic's Legal Defense

• Antonio Planas & Rondez Green, The Baltimore Banner, "He thought it was a routine ICE check-in. Now his family fears he'll be deported"

• Heidi Kemps, GameSpot, "The fighting game community bands together in solidarity to help free player from ICE"

Featured Music:

• Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits:

• Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

As general president of the union, Sean O'Brien has operated with a "Teamsters vs. Everybody" mentality, especially when it comes to dealing with President Trump and embracing the MAGA right. But now, 14 months into the second Trump administration, the labor movement and the entire working class—Teamsters members included—is under attack. In this episode of Working People, we speak with veteran Teamsters Richard Hooker Jr. and John Palmer, who are running to oust O'Brien from leadership in the upcoming union election. Guests:

• Richard Hooker Jr. has dedicated 26 years to the Teamsters, spending 20 of those years at UPS and the last six in leadership roles. He is the Secretary-Treasurer and Principal Officer of Teamsters Local 623 in Philadelphia, and he is now running on the Fearless Slate to unseat Sean O'Brien as a candidate for general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
• John Palmer has 38 years of experience in the Teamsters and is currently serving as a vice president at large of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He is running on the Fearless Slate as a candidate to be the union's general secretary-treasurer.

Additional links/info:

• Teamsters Fearless Slate website
• Hank Kennedy, Current Affairs, "Sean O'Brien sold labor to Trump, and got nothing"
• Michael Sainato, The Guardian, "Labor activist takes on Teamsters leader allying with Trump: 'He doesn't represent the workers'"
• Joe Allen, CounterPunch, "Why are the Teamsters endorsing Greg Abbott?"
• Peter Eavis, The New York Times, "UPS says it is cutting up to 30,000 jobs"
• Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, "Everybody hates Sean"
• Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, "We asked 8 different Teamsters what they thought of Sean O'Brien's speech—their responses may surprise you"

Featured Music:

• Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits:

• Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

In just six months, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) more than tripled the amount of data stored on Microsoft's Azure cloud platform,The Guardian reports, "at the same time that its arsenal of surveillance technology ballooned." This week, tech workers with the No Azure for Apartheid (NOAA) campaign staged a protest and informational picket at Microsoft's global headquarters in Redmond, WA, demanding that Microsoft cancel all contracts that provide technological support for Israel's ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and ICE's campaign of terror in the US. We speak with Ibtihal, a former software engineer at Microsoft and an organizer with the NOAA campaign.

Additional links/info:

• No Azure for Apartheid Instagram and Linktree
• Harry Davies & Yuval Abraham, The Guardian, "ICE reliance on Microsoft technology surged amid immigration crackdown, documents show"
• Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, "'Microsoft workers refuse to be complicit in the genocide'"
• Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, "Microsoft cancels Israeli spy unit access after tech worker revolt"
• Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, "The biggest labor story in the US right now is happening at Microsoft"

Featured Music:

• Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits:

• Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

On Nov. 24, 2025, in a major and hardwon victory, Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh members finally returned to work at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette after more than three years on strike. Then, on Jan. 7, 2026, workers were notified that Block Communications Inc.—the company that owns the Post-Gazette as well as the Toledo Blade, the Buckeye Sports Network, and a number of TV stations in Ohio and Kentucky—said that it will be ceasing operations at the Post-Gazette on May 3 of this year. We speak with Steve Mellon, a veteran photographer and writer who was on strike for over three years at the Post-Gazette, about how workers are processing this devastating news, and about their push to launch a new news source by and for working people. Additional links/info:

• Pittsburgh Alliance for People-Empowered Reporting (PAPER) website
• Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh website, Facebook page, and Instagram
• Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette owners couldn't bust the union, so they shut down the paper"
• Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, "The longest-running strike in the US is over—and the workers won"
• Kris B. Mamula, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Post-Gazette to publish final edition and cease operations on May 3"

Featured Music:

• Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits: Audio Post-Production:

• Jules Taylor

The longest-running nurses strike in New York City history has come to an end—for some. Nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, however, overwhelmingly voted this week to reject a tentative agreement and to stay on strike until their demands for safer staffing and more job security are met. In this unscheduled strike update episode, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez speaks with Beth Loudin, a neonatal nurse and member of the executive committee of the New York State Nurses Association at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Additional links/info:

• New York State Nurses Association website, Facebook page, Bluesky page, and Instagram

• Claudia Irizarry Aponte & Ben Fractenberg, The City, "NewYork-Presbyterian nurses reject contract by overwhelming margin"

• Luis Feliz Leon, Sarah Hughes, & Danielle Smith, Labor Notes, "Fifteen thousand New York City nurses strike"

Featured Music:

• Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits:

• 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