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Episode 282: Fighting Times (Patreon)

Published:
2023-04-10 13:30:11
Edited:
2024-03-05 17:00:40
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

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Content

We’re joined by Jonathan Melrod, author of the new autobiography “Fighting Times.” We talk about the factory turn of the 1960s, SDS/RYM II, encounters with the Red Squad, and his 13 years fighting in American auto plants and as an activist in the UAW. 

Jonathan's FBI file 

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Comments

Mark AB

🍑🍑🍑

jsobrie

RYM II ??? hasn’t rateyourmusic.com 1 done enough harm

Buster Malino

Isnt finkelstein the oldest jewish person on the program?

Toddy Todd

I’m such a narcissist I’d love to have an fbi file that long on me

Dan Z

Dare I say sounds like modern activists need to channel their energy from posting into being more annoying irl

Barnabas

Top notch episode. Older organizers are endlessly inspiring and fascinating.

Barnabas

Eerie hearing about the struggles of the past and how many mistakes are repeated by organizers today. This sort of history is so helpful to know 👍

platform user

Someone tell YC to stop putting himself in the cover

Mark Owen

Millions of Damn Christians

Chris

He's so cool

GolfBaller

Get a cancer diagnosis and you'll rethink this stupid take.

Sarah Jay

So glad the Gourmand isn't ded yet

Shfifty_five

Amazing and relevant. One of the best episodes. Going to get peeps i know to listen.

Shfifty_five

Scientific research would say your wrong. It's amazing how the body mind and emotional spirit are connected.

TangiePower

This shit got me fired up 😤

Andrew Irwin

This gets me fired up and a little less embarrassed about going into a trade union after college

jer

First

ploob

Modern activists need solidarity

ploob

Hate to say 'I'm glad you're not dead' but I actually am glad you're not dead.

Dan Z

To expand more on what I wrote, I mean it sounds like the worry over being perceived as annoying was something that didn't seem to hold back the 60s activists

B Smith

Live in SC and VW is building a 2 billion dollar EV factory in my old hometown and a battery plant is going to be popping up nearby, only thing coming here faster than German manufacturers is people from Ohio who want to feel rich (also german).

Lydia

Thankful to hear y’all calling for young people to (geographically) spread out to strengthen the labor movement. I thought I needed to move to LA/NY if I wanted to get serious about my career. After working union jobs in NY for a few months, I bee-lined back to my small local the first chance I got. I learned how lucky I was to be a part of a local with REAL solidarity, who wasn’t afraid to say “Fuck you, we won’t do that” to producers (literally), and who welcome young people willing to learn with open arms. Some people don’t understand why I came back. The fact is that “climbing the ladder to success” does not walk hand in hand with worker solidarity. The faster you try to climb, the lower you drive standards of professionalism. That is what’s happening in larger cities with competitive fields, and with union locals who are in the pockets of the companies they serve. In my experience, I’ve gained more technical/professional skills from my union coworkers who drive in from bumfuck Appalachia than from any of the “cultured” NY scenesters who’d do anything to get ahead. I love my small cheap cities with freaky art scenes and union assholes. The kids need to spread out, find the seasoned unions who have tons of experienced workers and no young people. This is how we keep worker solidarity AND quality trade craftsmanship alive.

rutjake

certified cozy. love when yous chat with class war vets. lotta wisdom out there.

Isaac Suárez

I thought all these old SDS labor organizers died out! I’m so happy to see some of those guys found fertile ground, even after the Volker shock.

mary catherine

Lmao this guy is so annoying in person he totally co-opts whatever labor space he is to sell his fucking book

Kevin Price

that TCE story made my skin crawl. I work in industrial/chemical safety, it’s a real shame to hear how people have been fucked up by work like that. my job also involves being as normal as possible with blue collar industry types, lotta great guys out there. Some real terrible politics (I’m in a non union shop) but lovely guys

Wiley Michelle B

What a great episode - So informative! LOVE this guest!

Adam

solidarity

Cletus Bocephus

I’m all fired up! I’m pushing down harder on the gas pedal! I’m blowing through that red light!

gil maia

When's the crazy ass frosted tips pictures dropping?

gil maia

He certainly sounds like the oldest Jewish person in the world 😂😂.

Buster Malino

Oh damn my bad. Respect to melrod for earning the challenge coin

Char Kelly

Loved this conversation!! As a union organizer/staffer, the framing around union bureaucracy/bureaucrats hit sooo close to home. Really great episode

Hugo

Everyone dickriding on the new left in here but I gotta say…not knocking the guest who seems to be one of the good radicals of that era, but most of these ‘revolutionaries’ basically seemed to have been ‘main character communists.’ Like you see the same thing today, people want to be bad ass leaders of the vanguard party but the real process of building class power is the hard, dull work of organizing. I really think most (def not all) of the lessons to learn from that time are negative ones. Being serious about class struggle means doing the mundane shit not having the most hard core slogans

Nick

Bad vibes from this guy (sorry!)

sir peepus

what were the names of the four books he got from the CCP?

Gabi

awesome guy!! loved it

Sean

Good ep

Matthew Daunt

loved this podcast! i need more podcasts with organizers!

Jeremy hatrington

Patreon subscribers demand the leopard hair brace pic!!!

uya

oh u mean jewels jewels. not juuls juuls

DH

Who’s dickriding the “New Left”? Melrod isn’t a stand-in for every single tendency of the 1960s.

DH

That point about there being no good orators on the left anymore is so real. Almost every rally, protest, etc. I’ve ever gone to, the speeches are either scripted and dull or all over the place and everyone’s just giving them pity “Woo!”s. It’s actually a huge problem we don’t have great, popular orators who can speak from the soul anymore

Eric

My grandpa died when I was 10 and I only learned last year after looking up his obituary for something that he was president of the local UAW chapter for 20 years. I also found an article from the 80s which said, quote, each morning [their] pickets confront cops in full riot gear who escort scab truckers across the picket lines. Same as it ever was!

GolfBaller

Where is Mario Savio when you need him?

JV

incredible open

Go'Thrak

This is an all time episode

Joshua Baker

Excellent ep. One of y’all’s best tbh. Can’t wait to read the book. Also highly recommend The Southern Key by Michael Goldfield about labor organizing in the South in 1930s.

Manu Hurtado

This ep is sick and inspiring esp cuz I'm 7 months into a job where the union is a business union. Bargaining talks are coming up too

Jake Reynolds

I'm sure plenty of unionizing efforts at Starbucks and trader Joe's are being done by people older than liz lol

Daniel Goffe

Excellent stuff. ✊🏻🚩

Keegster Herman

Listening while on the line in Canton MI rn. Really got me through the shift. Awesome ep

Jasper Petty

Finally rediscovered this episode