***Warning: this one's got some fruity language and touches on some darker themes very applicable to the present day.****

With increasing boldness from ICE and CBP, it felt right for a timely reminder that the U.S. security apparatus has always had a problem with exerting violent and sometimes deadly force against workers, but especially BIPOC and immigrant workers. In 1913, not for the first time, Colorado sent in its National Guard to quell a strike of miners against their company Colorado Fuel and Iron (CF&I). Working with deputized militia, company mine guards, and Baldwin Felts agents, the results of this was one of the deadliest strike breakings we've seen in U.S. history. Let's get into it.

Know Your Rights Trainings:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0iF8mWgjrs - Video training led by AOC and The Immigration Defense Project (IDP)

https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/know-your-rights-with-ice/

https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/immigrants-rights

Reporting Hotlines, and Legal and Advocacy Services for Immigrants:

https://nnirr.org/education-resources/community-resources-legal-assistance-recursos-comunitarios-asistencia-legal/immigration-hotlines-lineas-directas-de-inmigracion/ - Multiple reporting hotlines listed by state

https://www.freedomforimmigrants.org/hotline - If you are detained, dial 9233# from within a facility to reach the National Immigration Detention Hotline (free and unmonitored)

https://www.immigrationadvocates.org/nonprofit/legaldirectory/

Yay it's our first listener recommended strike! Today we're learning about the 1973 wildcat strike that broke out at a Ford plant in Cologne, Germany when predominantly Turkish guest workers stood up for their unjustly fired colleagues and walked out. There are a lot of interesting parallels to US migrant worker policy to talk about. While this one got shut down violently by police, it gained a lot of national attention, changed the way management engaged with its workforce going forward, and forced German industry and society to reckon with its problematic attitudes toward guest workers. Let's dive in!

Find Boot Biters - A Labor History Podcast online:

• Website and Transcripts: https://rss.com/podcasts/boot-biters/
• You can also listen to the pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts or anywhere you get your podcasts!

• Instagram and TikTok: @bootbiterspod

• BlueSky: @bootbiterspod.bsky.social

Support the podcast, get access to the Water Cooler monthly bonus episodes, and check out resources used in episodes for further reading (resources are publicly available): patreon.com/BootBiters

Credits: Creator, Host, Social Media, Art, Music, General Chaos Sower: Dakota Saunders

This one has another cool labor song! Also weirdly nepo babies doing good? In this episode, we're covering the 1909 Shirtwaist Strike or the Uprising of the 20,000, when predominantly Jewish and Italian women launched a general strike in the garment industry in New York City, winning better pay and strengthening their union, not to mention inspiring a whole lot of other workers to demand better for themselves too! Let's dive in!

Find Boot Biters - A Labor History Podcast online:

• Website and Transcripts: https://rss.com/podcasts/boot-biters/
• You can also listen to the pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts or anywhere you get your podcasts!

• Instagram and TikTok: @bootbiterspod

• BlueSky: @bootbiterspod.bsky.social

Support the podcast, get access to the Water Cooler monthly bonus episodes, and check out resources used in episodes for further reading (resources are publicly available): patreon.com/BootBiters

Credits: Creator, Host, Social Media, Art, Music, General Chaos Sower: Dakota Saunders