It’s Hump Day! Sam speaks with Tyler Vasseur, letter carrier and shop steward in the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), Branch 9, to discuss his recent piece in Labor Notes entitled “Momentum for Open Bargaining Grows in the Letter Carriers.” Then, Sam speaks with David Dayen, executive editor at the American Prospect, to discuss his recent piece outlining the new FTC rule regarding non-compete clauses, co-authored with Luke Goldstein. First, Sam runs through updates on escalating violence by police and Zionists against anti-war protesters, Netanyahu’s imminent invasion of Rafah, the Federal Reserve, Biden drug policy, state abortion bans, New York’s special election for Congress, Johnson and Johnson’s talc settlement, and labor rights, before watching Mike Johnson and Marjorie Taylor Greene trade shots ahead of a potential motion to vacate the Speakership. Tyler Vasseur then joined, first outlining NALC’s union structure and role as one of four postal unions, before exploring the progressive division between the unions – including the desynchronization of their contracts –  under the US’ shift into neoliberalism at the end of the 20th Century. Expanding on this, Vasseur explores the concept of “open bargaining,” and what it would mean in terms of activating and mobilizing NALC’s base of workers, as well as creating a much more transparent negotiating process. After walking through the major forces driving NALC members’ attempt at reform, and touching on the major roles of the US pre-funding mandate for the USPS and the 2008 Financial crisis in crippling industry wages, Tyler wraps up with the inspiring factor of the ongoing union renaissance in the US, and how this project has already begun to reshape organizing efforts within NALC. David Dayen and Sam then look to the absurd evolution of the “non-compete” contract clause, first popularized as a tool to prevent the spread of company secrets among executives, and now used to constrain some 30 million workers in industries from dog grooming to fast food. After expanding on the expansive chunk of our economy crippled by non-compete clauses, David walks us through the ongoing legal battle to overturn the bipartisan ban, how the legacy of Antonin Scalia looms large over this topic, and why the Supreme Court’s bogus “Major Questions” Doctrine is central to these arguments. After expanding on the likely evolution of this court battle, Dayen wraps up with a brief update on Live Nation’s attempt to court DC insiders with some help from the free (but evidently not priceless) press.

And in the Fun Half: Sam parses through yesterday’s mass escalation of violence against anti-war student protesters on college campuses across the US, with the NYPD sending a SWAT team to infiltrate the Student occupation of Harold Hall, and police in LA allowing a pro-Israel violent mob assault UCLA protesters, also expanding on the absurd and constant attempts to completely misrepresent these campus protests and the student activists behind them. Jose from Houston calls in with some updates on union business in the transport industry, Marcus from Huntington Beach explores the MAGA takeover of his local government and how to push back, Charlie Kirk shames Zionists for not thinking their grand Jewish conspiracy would come back around to hurt them, and Cory from Florida shares his experiences with the constraints of non-compete clauses. Dave Rubin floats his theory on the jihadists behind public health, and Paul Bet David admonishes a Columbia Student for not knowing NYU’s investment portfolio, in his leadup to platforming George Soros conspiracy, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Tyler’s piece here: https://labornotes.org/blogs/2024/04/momentum-open-bargaining-grows-letter-carriers

Check out the Zoom registration link for the next “Build a Fighting NALC” meeting on Sunday, June 2 at Noon central (10:00 am Pacific, 1:00 pm Eastern): https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcvceCtqzkqH9zau2xxvNmzfBcO62V-4FfM#/registration

Check out all of David’s work at the Prospect here: https://prospect.org/topics/david-dayen/

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