Shutting It Down: Labor, ICE, and Collective Power

This episode of Labor Force Podcast tracks a labor movement in motion, from mass protest to workplace transformation. We start in Minnesota, where tens of thousands joined a coordinated economic blackout and protests demanding ICE leave the state, accountability for the killing of Renee Good, and an end to ICE funding—raising serious questions about the power and potential of general strikes. We then cover an impending open-ended strike by 31,000 Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers across California and Hawaii, a major union victory at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the groundbreaking of Micron’s $100 billion semiconductor project in Central New York amid environmental backlash. The episode also explores the rise of “microshifting,” a growing push to break free from rigid 9-to-5 schedules, especially among caregivers, and what flexibility really means in an unequal labor market. We close with a look at AI-driven layoffs, mounting worker anxiety, and how companies are using “AI” to justify cuts—along with why upskilling and collective power will shape what comes next.