Ep. 57 - Labor Day: Workers' Rights & Class Solidarity ft. Taylor Maness

BrownTown shares virtual space with friend of SoapBox and
socialist organizer Taylor Maness as they dissect the origins of
Labor Day and May Day, talk labor movement history and the fight
for workers' rights, as well as the importance of class and
racial solidarity in the fight against racial capitalism then and
now.


BrownTown starts by reflecting on some August 2020 events in
Chicago -- jail support training, recent actions, and give
reminders on how to stay safe at protests, especially with heavy
police presence. Caullen and Taylor provide background on growing
up together and being radicalized during the Iraq War and fallout
of Hurricane Katrina. The gang then unpack the differences
between Labor Day, the hand-picked, pacified holiday, and May
Day, a homage to the Haymarket riots in Chicago and struggle for
workers' rights. From there, Taylor and BrownTown sift through
related topics including the very meaning of “work”, class
solidarity during the neoliberal shift, grassroots work versus
armchair intellectualism, movement atrophy, the expansion of
inequality during COVID-19/quarantine (1, 2, @hasbezosdecided),
nationalizing private corporations for the public good (1, 2),
and more. How do we actualize liberatory struggles against
 oppressive apparatuses and reclaim our everyday lives to
build a better society? Here's their take. Originally recorded
August 19, 2020.


GUEST
Taylor Maness is a socialist organizer who has spent years
building power with labor unions and community organizations. He
spends his downtime suffering in cold Minnesota winters and
studying mathematics, science fiction, and history.


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CREDITS: Intro clip of Fred Hampton layered onto
a track by Fiendsh. Outro song Which Side Are You On? by
Tom Morello. Audio engineering by Genta Tamashiro. Episode art
and Bourbon 'n BrownTown (masked) logo by Desirae Gladden.


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