An Introduction to Workers' Self-Management w/ Jess Thorne

Jess Thorne returns to the podcast to discuss workers' self-management – from the Lucas Plan of the 1970s to Yugoslavian workers' councils. She explains how workers have challenged the idea that innovation only happens thanks to top-down management structures and asks what worker autonomy offers in the face of current political problems. Jess Thorne is a trade union organiser who has spent the last two years assisting health care assistants with a rebanding campaign. She is also a labour historian and has contributed to journals such as European History Quarterly, Labour History Review and History Workshop Journal. Tickets for Festival of the Oppressed 2025: https://revsoc21.uk/festival2025/ Jess' report on workers' self management: https://autonomy.work/portfolio/worker-led-innovation/

Episode 85 of the Red Medicine podcast, hosted by S Kelly, titled "An Introduction to Workers' Self-Management w/ Jess Thorne" was published on April 22, 2025 and runs 74 minutes.

April 22, 2025 ·74m · Red Medicine

Summary

Jess Thorne returns to the podcast to discuss workers' self-management – from the Lucas Plan of the 1970s to Yugoslavian workers' councils. She explains how workers have challenged the idea that innovation only happens thanks to top-down management structures and asks what worker autonomy offers in the face of current political problems. Jess Thorne is a trade union organiser who has spent the last two years assisting health care assistants with a rebanding campaign. She is also a labour historian and has contributed to journals such as European History Quarterly, Labour History Review and History Workshop Journal. Tickets for Festival of the Oppressed 2025: https://revsoc21.uk/festival2025/ Jess' report on workers' self management: https://autonomy.work/portfolio/worker-led-innovation/

Episode Description