Ep 15: Art Worker Power

In this episode we speak to Keiran Knutson, call center worker and president of Communications Workers of America Local 7250 in Minneapolis about the Minneapolis general strike against ICE and the organising that made it possible.⁠Subscribe to NFB!⁠

This episode is a mash up of different recordings and interviews done at the rank-and-file conference, Labor Notes, earlier this summer. The central interview is a half hour discussion with Isaac Nelson, a teaching assistant from Minnesota, about the resistance to Operation Metro Surge. Also featuring: Ellen David Freedman, author of Keep Going: A guide to organising when it's hard Josh McPhee, coauthor of Strike While The Needle is Hot: A discography of workers' revoltFor more about Labor Notes, check out their website: https://labornotes.org/Subscribe to NFB!

Direct action gets the goods. In this episode we discuss Matthew's experience of working and organising as a teaching assistant, including how they waged a campaign of on-the-job action to resist work intensification and management surveillance. This episode was recorded on the fly, so please enjoy the background ambience of a pub garden in South London. We'll be back to the usual studio setup soon. Read Matthew's article, A Lesson in Class Struggle: Working in a South London SchoolThe Whitehall Worker (civil service bulletin)The Handover (St George's Hospital bulletin) Read Notes from Below⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to NFB and get a copy of every print issue ⁠Say hello ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

New from the NFB vault: guest editors Rehana Zaman, Jenny Warren and Allan Struthers join Dante to discuss issue 24 on class struggle in arts and culture. This interview was recorded in late 2025. Read the whole issue hereSubscribe to NFB if you haven't already

The podcast returns with an election special on workers' inquiry, fascism, and poultry farms. Lotte's book: An Economy of Starlings The Future In Our Past - out now on Verso Interview about the book with Sam Kelly on Red Medicine Read Notes from Below⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to NFB and get a copy of every print issue Say hello ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

How do you build a militant rank and file movement of thousands of young workers in a sector everyone says is impossible to organise? Nick Troy joins us to talk strikes, hospitality, service work, and the experiences of the Unite Hospitality branch in Glasgow. Read the full interview here: https://notesfrombelow.org/article/afters-building-hospitality-workers-movement-glasg⁠Read Notes from Below⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Say hello ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

First off - sorry for the delay! As always, we blame the bosses. Second, enjoy this interview about organising in the care sector during the pandemic. Connor, our guest from episode one of Workers' Inquiry, returns to interview Allison and Steve about their experiences. Read the full interview here: https://notesfrombelow.org/article/moving-beyond-the-terror-care-and-support-workers Read Notes from Below⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Say hello ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Massive games studio Rockstar just victimised 30+ workers. We jumped on a call with Austin Kelmore, a games worker and IWGB organiser, to get an update on the state of organising in the industry and the birth of his union branch. Read Austin's article from Issue 24 of NFB here. IWGB Game Workers: https://www.gameworkers.co.uk/ Support the victimised Rockstar worker fundraiser: https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/support-rockstar-workers-fighting-unfair-dismissals/ Read Notes from Below⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Say hello ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

We're talking about the art and culture sector, workers' inquiry, and how to build rank and file organisation in a sector characterised by low union membership and small workplaces.Steff Huì Cí Ling is a cultural worker and labour researcher based in Vancouver who wrote for issue 24 of NFB. You can read the full article here: https://www.notesfrombelow.org/article/the-only-polemic-left-in-the-art-world-is-worker-pCome hang out with us at Pelican house on Fri Nov 7, from 7pm: https://luma.com/z9fzqwwi ⁠Read Notes from Below⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠Say hello ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠

Today we launch season 2 with an update from the French movement that has toppled two prime ministers and thrown the French political system into crisis. Louise Héritier, a Paris-based actor and culture worker, joined us to discuss 'Cultures en Lutte' , a rank-and-file anti-austerity campaign of culture workers. You can read the full article here: https://notesfrombelow.org/article/cultures-en-lutte Read Notes from Below⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the Podcast⁠⁠⁠Say hello ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠