Episode 38 - "Making Hope and History Rhyme"

Episode 38 - "Making Hope and History Rhyme"

Author: CUNY SLU January 7, 2023 Duration: 49:29
Over the past half-century, labor activists Marilyn Sneiderman and Stephen Lerner have been responsible for spurring major strategic advances in union organizing and movement building. Here, they discuss their recent New Labor Forum article, titled "Making Hope and History Rhyme: A New Worker Movement from the Shell of the Old". Describing the present moment as one of unparalleled peril and opportunity, they draw crucial lessons for the new crop of activists who have emerged in the current wave of strike action and unionization around the country.

What does it mean to stand together in a world that often feels fragmented? Reinventing Solidarity, from CUNY SLU, digs into that question without easy answers. This isn't a lecture series, but a collection of grounded conversations exploring how connection and mutual support are being reimagined right now. You'll hear from organizers, artists, scholars, and community members who are actively building bridges across differences, examining both the triumphs and the stumbling blocks in contemporary collective action. Each episode focuses on real-world examples, from workplace organizing and neighborhood initiatives to cultural projects that challenge old narratives. The discussions are nuanced, avoiding simple slogans in favor of honest talk about the hard work of building lasting bonds in our communities and institutions. Tune in for a thoughtful exploration of the practical and philosophical sides of coming together. This podcast offers a necessary space to consider how solidarity isn't just a historical concept, but a living, evolving practice we all have a stake in shaping.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Reinventing Solidarity
Podcast Episodes
Episode 59 - Jaz Brisack on Union Organizing Today [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:06
New Labor Forum’s Micah Uetricht speaks with labor organizer and former Starbucks barista Jaz Brisack about the Starbucks campaign, the practice of salting, and their new book Get on the Job and Organize: Standing Up for…
Episode 58 - Interrogating the Entrepreneurial Work Ethic [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:13
Historian Madeleine Baker talks to New Labor Forum's Micah Uetricht about the sanctified place of the entrepreneur in American history, and why the entrepreneurial work ethic is at the core of how the Right hopes to rema…
Episode 56 - Class Dealignment and the Two-Party System [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:57
New Labor Forum editor-at-large Micah Uetricht speaks to the Center for Working-Class Politics's Jared Abbott about Democrats losing working-class voters, why it matters, and the prospects for reversing it.
Episode 55 - New Directions in Labor Politics [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:42
Understanding what labor must do under a hostile new presidential administration requires reflection on unions’ successful political strategies in recent years, the nature of contemporary capitalism, the role of politica…
Episode 54 - An Interview with the UAW's Jonah Furman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:51
It's been a new day in the United Auto Workers since the election of Shawn Fain as president in 2023, with the union carrying out an aggressive organizing and political program that has established the UAW as a major pre…
Episode 53 - Labor, Big Tech, and A.I.: The Big Picture [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:32
What does the rise of artificial intelligence mean for workers and organized labor? And just what is AI, anyway? New Labor Forum editor-at-large discusses these questions and more with labor reporter Alex Press and techn…
Episode 52 - Free Trade, Repressed Workers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:09
How free was the imposition of the free trade model in the late-twentieth century? Not very, suggests political scientist Adam Dean’s research. The neoliberal trade model that has come to dominate the globe was imposed t…
Episode 51 - The Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:07
Times change, in society, politics, and economics, but the labor movement rarely does. Which makes the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) a rare bird in US labor. New Labor Forum editor-at-large Micah Uetric…