The Secret Agent Organizer of the Starbucks Union with Jaz Brisack

Factually! with Adam Conover

Headgum

Comedy

4.4 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 23 July 2025

⏱️ 90 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Companies are infamous for their union busting tactics, but that doesn’t mean union organizers don’t have their own strategies. This week, Adam speaks with Jaz Brisack, an undercover organizer, or union “salt”, who took a job as a barista in a Starbucks in Buffalo, NY with the explicit intention of organizing Starbucks employees. Thanks to the effort of Jaz and other organizers, around 550 Starbucks stores and 11,000 baristas now have a union. Adam and Jaz talk about how to drum up support for a union in a workplace, the tactics companies use to try to prevent unionization, and how cats are a surprisingly effective source of early workplace bonding. Find Jaz's book at factuallypod.com/books

SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adamconover

SEE ADAM ON TOUR: https://www.adamconover.net/tourdates/

SUBSCRIBE to and RATE Factually! on:

» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/factually-with-adam-conover/id1463460577

» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0fK8WJw4ffMc2NWydBlDyJ

About Headgum: Headgum is an LA & NY-based podcast network creating premium podcasts with the funniest, most engaging voices in comedy to achieve one goal: Making our audience and ourselves laugh. Listen to our shows at https://www.headgum.com.

» SUBSCRIBE to Headgum: https://www.youtube.com/c/HeadGum?sub_confirmation=1

» FOLLOW us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/headgum

» FOLLOW us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/headgum/

» FOLLOW us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headgum

» Advertise on Factually! via Gumball.fm

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is a headgum podcast.
0:05.4	You know, folks, it's ain't the 1800s anymore.
0:07.7	All your personal info can't just be tucked away
0:10.2	underneath a loose floorboard on your prairie farmhouse
0:12.7	where you toil on the sun-drenched fields.
0:14.9	No, all your personal info is out there
0:17.0	on this God-forsaken internet
0:18.6	where we all toil away all day
0:20.5	bathing in the harsh
0:21.3	light of our devices. That's right, the information age has plunged us into an era where all
0:26.5	kinds of your data, including email addresses, phone numbers, names of relatives, exist out there
0:31.1	waiting to be grabbed by anyone looking to exploit you. That is why I have to recommend delete
0:36.2	me. While they won't send you back to a blissful
0:38.3	time before the internet existed, they will do their darndest to scrub your information away from
0:43.3	the net. Delete me targets data brokers, folks who make a living off of trading your personal
0:48.2	information. And you know what? Delete me scrubs that information away. Their teams of experts
0:53.0	diligently hunt down your personal info,
0:55.4	remove it with the internet, and keep it gone, keeping you and your loved ones safe from bad
0:59.8	actors. As the world gets more wired, there has been an uptick in online harassment, identity
1:04.3	theft, and even real life stalking, all because of this easily accessible information.
1:08.5	So why take the risk? You, your family, and your loved ones deserve to feel safe from this kind of invasion of privacy. That is why I genuinely use Delete Me, and I know that you are going to love it too. Check it out, not just for your security, but for your friends and family. You can get 20% off of your DeleteMe plan when you go to join DeleteMe.com slash Adam and use promo code Adam at checkout.
1:30.6	That's join delete me.com slash Adam, promo code Adam.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Headgum, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Headgum and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.