Behind the Bastards

It Could Happen Here Weekly 213

5 snips
Dec 20, 2025
Guest
Abby Sato
Guest
Alex Pine
In this discussion, Alex Pine, President of the Blue Bottle Union, and Abby Sato, the union's Secretary-Treasurer, delve into the grassroots movement behind union organizing at Blue Bottle locations. They recount the fierce battles against unjust firings and the spirited walkouts that fueled their recent strikes. Their striking strategies highlight a refusal to yield to management's tactics. Listeners will find insights into the challenges of fostering solidarity and the call for support to boycott Blue Bottle until justice prevails for the workers.
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INSIGHT

Small Island, Big Revolution

  • Grenada's small size belies its outsized revolutionary significance in the Caribbean Cold War era.
  • Local movements connected to regional waves of anti-imperial struggle in the 1960s–70s.
INSIGHT

A Coup Without Tanks

  • The New Jewel Movement executed a largely bloodless coup in 1979 by seizing barracks and radio while Eric Gairy was abroad.
  • Popular antipathy toward Gairy enabled swift change with mass participation.
INSIGHT

Reforms And Rising Militarization

  • PRG enacted popular reforms—education, maternity leave, cooperatives—while also centralizing power into a vanguard structure.
  • Early gains coexisted with rising militarization and suppression of dissent.
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