Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV

@solongdentalplan

Coming April 2027 from SUNY Press. Multi-disciplinary collection exploring how labor unions, union organizing, and strikes and job actions have been portrayed in mainstream, scripted episodic television shows.

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Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV@solongdentalplan· 5d

Finally, we bookend with @hodderandy.bsky.social & Benjamin Hopkins' much more exhaustive examination of "The Portrayal of Labor Unions and Strikes in The Simpsons."

We were left with six episodes where disputes were considered part of the storyline. We then watched these episodes (and within these episodes, specific segments) repeatedly, while taking notes individually. We brought together our individual analysis and used this to structure the chapter. We then consulted the official episode guide for seasons 1-20 as well as DVD commentaries for key episodes (where available) to see if further insights about the episodes could be gleaned. Three of these six episodes placed strikes at the center of the storyline, while three further episodes featured strikes as a secondary story. In this latter group of episodes, “Simpson Safari” begins when Homer causes a strike by bag packers at the local supermarket, “Labor Pains” features the organization of a cheerleaders’ union as a significant second story in the episode, and “The Winter of Our Monetized Content” includes a brief strike by school children undertaking labor in detention. Other more minor mentions of unions are listed as follows. An episode of “Klassic Krusty” (allegedly from 1961) is briefly shown in “Bart of Darkness,” and features Krusty the Clown interviewing AFL-CIO President George Meany about the once-perennial media topic, the “crisis in labor” (Meany is referred to as the “Chairman” of the AFL-CIO and, amusingly sounds more like successor Lane Kirkland than a plumber from the Bronx). Unions were also mentioned in opening ‘chalkboard gags’ in two episodes, although the actual plots did not relate to unions or labor relations.

Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV@solongdentalplan· 5d

.@oliviawood.bsky.social might convince you to steal someone's Apple TV log-in with "Workers of Mars Unite: Shop Floor Struggle on For All Mankind."

First, the labor legal context in For All Mankind is unclear. Samantha mentions discussing their circumstances with an AFL-CIO representative, so presumably Helios, as an American company operating in territory that doesn’t belong to any sovereign nation, is subject to the jurisdiction of U.S. law. Is U.S. labor law more or less the same in their alternate universe? The moon workers were fired immediately when trying to organize, according to one character, but this could have easily been in violation of the law — which seems likely, given that the show has also established that United Mine Workers is now active on the moon.

Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV@solongdentalplan· 5d

Kelly Diaz writes about one of the more recent shows in “'We Feed You, Now Help Feed Us': Depictions of FGLI Students at Elite Institutions and the Essex College Food Workers Strike on The Sex Lives of College Girls." Here's a delightful quote/footnote combo.

Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV@solongdentalplan· 5d

In "The Class Struggle at Superstore" @ericdirnbach.bsky.social expands on his earlier @labornotes.bsky.social review of what is becoming a classic TV touchstone on union organizing.

Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV@solongdentalplan· 5d

Was Spacey's "teachers unions are stupid and evil" plot made to secure $$$ from Netflix's charter-boosting CEO? You might think that. @jennyhunter.bsky.social thinks it shows how bosses don't even think of workers as people. “'We Strike at Midnight Tomorrow': Workers as NPCs in House of Cards."

Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV@solongdentalplan· 5d

.@terrigerstein.bsky.social gives us “'Everybody Hates Minimum Wage': An All-too-realistic Depiction of What Happens When Low-Wage Workers Assert Their Rights." From the introduction (an excuse to quote one of Chris Rock's best jokes):

Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV@solongdentalplan· 5d

Is wrestling "fake?" Well, Vince McMahon's (Anti?) union storylines were real, as @pgagliardi.bsky.social explains in "Monday Night (Labor) Wars: Representation of Union Movements in Televised Professional Wrestling."

Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV@solongdentalplan· 5d

We get some @leftistteendrama.bsky.social and more crustacean-based unionism from @mariadip.bsky.social in “'Your [Organizing] Matters. It’s What Got Me Here.' One Tree Hill’s Brooke Davis as a Role Model for Millennial Union Workers."

Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV@solongdentalplan· 5d

In "Pushing Agitators Out of Airlocks: The Class Politics of Battlestar Galactica" @benburgis.bsky.social argues the ostensibly pro-union episode where mechanics go on strike squeezed the workers into a Obama-esque meritocratic framework.

Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV@solongdentalplan· 5d

In “'I’m the Business Agent.' Garden (State) Variety Union Corruption in The Sopranos" @shaunrichman.org disentangles all the Italian surnames and construction sites to lay out the union plot points, explains how corruption starts (and ends) in real life and speculates on Chase's meaning.

Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV@solongdentalplan· 5d

First up, we have an article by @erikloomis.bsky.social: The Simpsons and the Working Class: Clintonian Liberalism Meets American Popular Culture.

Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV@solongdentalplan· Jun 4

Oddly, the little TV book (which will have multiple indexed references to the Mafia, mob, organized crime, etc.) will have TWO indexed references to "Godfather Part II" (but none for the original "Godfather").

Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV@solongdentalplan· Jun 4

This little book about TV shows somehow will have two index entries for Gary Hart. (None mention Monkey Business.)

Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV@solongdentalplan· Feb 27

Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV@solongdentalplan· Nov 3

That @davidabanks.online chapter is about ST: DS9.

Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV@solongdentalplan· Nov 3

Good news, everybody! The completed manuscript for "So Long Dental Plan" has been submitted to the editors at @sunypress.bsky.social. Here are our chapter titles and authors.

Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV@solongdentalplan· Aug 13

The plot thickens!

Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV@solongdentalplan· Aug 13

Did not know there was a strike episode of the "Mary Tyler Moore Show!" Disappointing that nobody proposed a chapter on it. Maybe next book?

Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV@solongdentalplan· Jul 18

TFW Microsoft's non-consensual A.I. thinks your editorial meeting is a dental appointment.