This Wreckage

Thanks to friends in International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers: Caucus of Rank and File Electrical Workers, Sean was able to attend the 2026 Labor Notes convention in Chicago, Illinois. A bunch of fellow workers from ILC Chicago were also there so Sean sat down with them at a loud bar in the convention center hotel to discuss their experiences at various panels they went to.
Whither the Teamsters for a Democratic Union? Whither the labor movement? Is there a future for the types of left labor reform movements that Labor Notes calls for? Sean, Hope and Jamie Merchant give their assessment of the good, bad and ugly at the conference including those topic which remained unaddressed but hung in the air.
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Song: Neil Young - This Note's For You

The second episode from the Hyatt Regency in Rosemont, Illinois for Labor Notes 2026 convention. This time Sean sits down with fellow workers JoJo and Gav from ILC Chicago to discuss various panels that they had just seen. In a surprise appearance, friend from New York, Joyce of the dissident Teamsters Mobilize stops by to talk about the trouble their group had at the conference due to TM's adversarial stance towards the reigning Teamsters for a Democratic Union leadership.
Tune in to next week's new episode where Andy and Sean break down the counterprogramming event that occurred outside LN2026 featuring supporters of TM, Spartacists League and the leftcom group International Communist Party.

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song: Neil Young - This Note's For You

Sean is joined by favorite guest and wife Rax King to discuss her upcoming essay in journalism cooperative Flaming Hydra on why organizing in the food service industry is so difficult but also so vital. What will it take for labor to break through in this industry? What can restaurant work teach us about labor in general? Why are these restaurant owners always clenching their jaws and sweating so much? Answers to these questions, an introduction to Rax's patented Nine Rigors system of becoming a human, an old fashioned gripezone and more on this special, last minute episode.
To support our work and get access to all our bonus material become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/thiswreckage
Check out Rax King's excellent newsletter for all her great writings: https://www.patreon.com/c/raxkingisdead/home
Come see Rax in person in NYC for the Veiled Prophet event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-veiled-prophet-nyc-book-event-tickets-1990109537198

As Sean and Varn reconvene we are faced with the unenviable task of trying to understand what the hell the Democratic Party is going to run on in 2026 and 2028, How to understand this economic moment? How to understand the various geopolitical crises around the globe? How are counterhegemonic actors like Graham Platner and Alex Jones going to politically confront the brave new world of AI? Stay tuned!
To listen to the entire episode including the bonus section become a supporter of our show at www.patreon.com/thiswreckage
To watch the video of this whole episode become a supporter of C Derick Varn at www.patreon.com/varnvlog
Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRqRb6xYtEQ
https://www.cio.com/article/4131876/data-center-capex-to-hit-1-7-trillion-by-2030-due-to-ai-boom.html

NEW EP! Was Trump's China trip a Nothing Burger or a soy slop?
Why does the Deep State care so much about Taiwan?
And Sean's NY☭ hat came from WHERE?
All that plus choo-choo talk (LIRR Strike) in the bonus! For the full episode, sign up at http://patreon.com/thiswreckage

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/13/nyregion/lirr-strike-long-island-rail-road.html
https://nypost.com/2026/05/16/us-news/hochul-pushed-lirr-strike-to-pick-up-votes-on-long-island-from-gop-opponent-transit-union-chief/
De-Tuckerized version of Sean's hat: https://www.neoliberalhell.com/shop/p/mysterious-hat

Song: Misfits - She (Demo version)