Get it on Google Play

E123: IWW Starbucks Workers Union, part 3

E123: IWW Starbucks Workers Union, part 3

Author: Working Class History July 8, 2026 Duration: 39:40
Working Class History
HistoryCultureEducationSocietySociety & Culture
Final part of our three-part podcast series about the organising campaign by the Industrial Workers of the World union at Starbucks in the 2000s, in conversation with Daniel Gross, one of the key organisers.
This part covers international solidarity, Starbucks union-busting strategies, the decline of the union, and lessons for today.
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
More
  • 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:
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 

Podcast Episodes
E96: Bootleg miners, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:52
During the Great Depression in the US, facing mass job losses and abject poverty, thousands of coal miners in Pennsylvania took direct action and began digging their own mines on company property. We tell their story in…
E95: Bootleg miners, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:27
During the Great Depression in the US, facing mass job losses and abject poverty, thousands of coal miners in Pennsylvania took direct action and began digging their own mines on company property. We tell their story in…
WCL9: Chinese migrant worker poetry, part 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:00
The final episode of our three-part series about migrant worker poetry in China. We speak to Maghiel van Crevel, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Leiden University. Maghiel has travelled extensively in Chi…
WCL8: Chinese migrant worker poetry, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:08
Part 2 of our three-part series about migrant worker poetry in China. We speak to Maghiel van Crevel, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Leiden University. Maghiel has travelled extensively in China, meeting…
WCL7: Chinese migrant worker poetry, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:33
First of the three-part series on migrant worker poetry in China. In these episodes, we speak to Maghiel van Crevel, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Leiden University. Maghiel has travelled extensively in…
E92: South Korea 1987, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:20
Second of a double podcast episode about the South Korean movements of 1987 which overthrew the US-backed military dictatorship and won big improvements for workers. In these episodes we speak with Kim Jin-sook and Hong…
E91: South Korea 1987, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:55
First of a double podcast episode about the South Korean movements of 1987 which overthrew the US-backed military dictatorship and won big improvements for workers. In these episodes we speak with Kim Jin-sook and Hong S…
E90: [TEASER] Fireside Chat - Q&A [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:26
Preview of our first Fireside chat. To celebrate our 10th birthday on 30 July 2024, we launched a new series of discussion podcast episodes exclusively for our supporters on patreon. For the time being, as a trial, we ar…

«12345