Hard Knock Radio sat down with Seattle based organizer Courtney Scott to unpack a season of layoffs and a grinding federal shutdown. Davey opened with the scope. Amazon and UPS are shedding tens of thousands. Tech and media giants are cutting deep. Hundreds of thousands of Black women in federal jobs have already been pushed out, with more furloughs looming. He also flagged a dangerous fog. The administration has weakened labor data tracking, which makes the crisis feel personal and isolated instead of systemic.
Courtney brought a veteran’s lens. During the 2013 shutdown, they helped organize Smithsonian cafeteria workers by meeting people at home when frustration was high. The lesson still holds. Worker power comes from relationships that move people to act together. Laws matter, but power resides where labor can say no and mean it.
They walked through the craft of organizing. It starts with real conversations about what people value. That can be PTO for a 22 year old or job security for a parent. Courtney referenced the AEIOU frame. Agitate, educate, inoculate, and organize around clear stakes. Prepare workers for the boss’s playbook. Employers now borrow freedom movement language and try to third party the union. The counter is credibility and participation. Workers sit at the table. Workers vote. Contracts replace at will rules that let managers change policy books overnight.
Davey pressed on fear and urgency. What if you are already laid off. Courtney said the best time to organize was yesterday. The next best is today. Unions can secure notice, severance, and recall rights. Mutual aid must carry people through hard choices. That is how farmworkers, housekeepers, and striking journalists have survived long fights.
They also explored the call for a general strike. Courtney defined the floor. Do not go to work. They argued for strategic focus in ports and rail while keeping journalists reporting. Real scale requires alliances. Unions, churches, mosques, synagogues, and neighborhood groups can act as one. Start where people meet. A Raiders game. A church basement. A queer bar that functions as a safe commons.
Two takeaways closed the hour. Know your coworkers well enough to trust one another. Then reach out for support from a union or EWOC. Add one more civic step. Subscribe to your local paper to protect independent reporting. The through line was simple. Collective liberation is linked. Nobody wins alone.
Hard Knock Radio is a drive-time Hip-Hop talk show on KPFA (94.1fm @ 4-5 pm Monday-Friday), a community radio station without corporate underwriting, hosted by Davey D and Anita Johnson.