Chicago has been ground zero for Trump’s attacks on immigrants and on state and local governments led by Democrats. Marcie Pedraza is an electrician and member of UAW 551, who works at the Chicago Ford Assembly plant. She talked with Pacifica’s Steve Zeltzer about what she and her neighbors have faced in Chicago and why she is urging UAW president Shawn Fain to support a general strike.
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On Friday, October 24, some 100+ pro-Palestine labor activists heeded a call for national protest at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington DC. They demanded that it implement a labor boycott of Israel to stop the genocide in both Gaza and the West Bank. The activists also demanded that the AFL-CIO formally oppose the genocide and support the campaign to hold Israel accountable for war crimes and genocide. A petition stating these demands was hand-delivered to security officials in the lobby.
Chris Smalls, a founder of the Amazon Labor Union who recently participated in the 42-vessel Sumud Flotilla to Gaza, was one of the organizers. He and others delivered the petition and demanded and answer within a week. Pacifica’s Thomas O’Rourke covered the rally and interviewed several including Dr. Jill Stein, former Green Party Presidential candidate, who also delivered remarks to the assembly. Notably no official union presence in the form of banners or insignia was observed.
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Sara Nelson is the president of the 60,000 member Airline Flight Attendants Union, which is affiliated to the 700,000-member Communication Workers Of America. She and fellow airline workers, including air traffic controllers, are facing a catastrophic situation because of the government shutdown. She joined others in calling for a general strike at the October 18th No Kings Rally in DC.
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Abel Mouton is a staff attorney at Legal Assistance for the Elderly and a member of UAW Local 2023 in San Francisco. His unit voted to take work action on October 24th and picket San Francisco ICE offices. He spoke with Pacifica’s Steve Zeltzer about why. We’ll also hear from Berta Hernandez, a member of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, about the need to support a general strike.
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Economist Richard Wolff responded to calls for a general strike in a video published on X on October 22, 2025.
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We thank all of Pacifica’s sister stations and affiliates who contribute to the production of this show. Today’s program was produced by the Capitalism, Race & Democracy collective, with contributions from Steve Zeltzer, Thomas O’Rourke, Ann Garrison and Polina Vasiliev.
You can find this and all previous episodes at our website “capitalism race and democracy dot ORG”. Make sure you click the subscribe button. Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, @PacificaCRD.
Thanks for listening!
Music:
Mike Stout, “Time for A General Strike”
