"Workers have to really want this for this to happen"

<p>You know how like 200 Starbucks stores have unionized since that first one in Buffalo did back in December 2021, and over 100 of those 200 all struck in unison on Red Cup Day this year because the company—which is one of the biggest private employers in the U.S. by the way—refuses to bargain with its workers in good faith and has actually fired scores of them just for exercising their federally protected right to organize on the job? What’s going on there?</p><p>So glad you asked. Today on The Fingers Podcast, exclusively for paying Friends of Fingers, I’ve got an interview with , a writer and organizer at the worker publication/organizing platform <a target="_blank" href="http://labornotes.org">Labor Notes</a>. He’s also the guy behind , a vital, semi-weekly round-up of American labor news. If you spend any time on Twitter… well, first of all I’m sorry to hear it, you should definitely try to stop doing that. But <em>second</em> of all: you have probably come across Jonah thanks to <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/JonahFurman">his relentless coverage</a> of the U.S. labor movement. We first crossed paths last year when I was <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fingers.email/p/striking-against-corporate-greed">reporting on United Food and Commercial Workers’</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fingers.email/p/the-biggest-bourbon-strike-in-years">six-week strike at Heaven Hill’s Bardstown, Kentucky distillery</a>. I knew he’d be great for The Fingers Podcast because of how well he can get deep in the weeds of this or that union drive, then zoom out on what it all means for the overall landscape for workers in this country, and earlier this year, our schedules finally aligned to make it happen. </p><p><p>The Fingers Podcast is usually paid-subscriber bonus, but this episode is free for all. Please consider buying a subscription to support independent journalism about drinking in America!</p></p><p></p><p>Jonah and I spoke in October 2022 about a ton of different, related topics: his coverage o