TDS Time Machine | Labor Day
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
September 7, 2026
United we podcast. Enjoy a holiday thanks to the hard work of labor unions, and listen to this compilation of labor stories from The Daily Show. Sam Bee meets the French Canadian man that unionized Walmart. Author Philip Dray, visits to talk about labor and his book, "There is Power in a Union.
Speakers Jon Stewart, Samantha Bee, Gaetan Pleur, Philip Dray, Jordan Klepper, Chris Smalls, Peter Schiff, Trevor Noah
TopicsComedyNewsDaily News
SPEAKER_1 (0:00)
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SPEAKER_2 (2:51)
You're listening to Comedy Central.
Jon Stewart (3:08)
While America's largest car maker struggles, America's largest retailer is thriving. Walmart has become a fixture in our country with its low, low prices and low, low employee morale. Now, as Samantha Bee reports, the company is, however, having a harder time gaining acceptance north of the border.
Samantha Bee (3:27)
Here I am in Quebec. They've taken the letters off this boarded up shell of a store that just maybe could have been something. But that dream was mercilessly crushed by this man.
Oh, I didn't realize you were here. Walmart, a plucky retail underdog, tried to realize its dream by opening up this quaint 50,000-square-foot shop in Chanquière, Quebec. The store was just getting on its feet when employee Gaetan Pleur did the unthinkable. He started a union.
Gaetan Pleur (4:00)
I participated in the formation of a union.
Philip Dray (4:04)
Okay.
Samantha Bee (4:05)
Say that again, only this time not in gibberish.
Philip Dray (4:11)
I don't know what he said.
Gaetan Pleur (4:12)
He kept on talking.
I participated in the formation of a union to bring Walmart to change its behavior. In a way to bring Walmart to modify their way of doing things. It was really the big panic at Walmart. There was a large sense of panic at Walmart store.
Samantha Bee (4:30)
The company was frightened. For years, Walmart protected its employees from the burden of union dues by keeping unions out of every one of its 5,711 stores.
But Gaetan could care less about maintaining Walmart's rich history.
Gaetan Pleur (4:47)
It is easy to be the biggest store when you are exploiting their small workers.
Samantha Bee (4:55)
Okay, fine. You're the little guy.
But what about the biggest guy? You're crushing the dreams of every Walmart shareholder.
Gaetan Pleur (5:02)
And I would like to give them a part of my social welfare. Probably I should have thought about sending them a little piece of my welfare.
Samantha Bee (5:12)
So you wanted a livable wage and respect.
Gaetan Pleur (5:17)
You wanted a salary that allowed you to live and respect.
Samantha Bee (5:20)
No, I need you to do the air quotes.
Gaetan Pleur (5:24)
So, like that, you wanted to have respect.
Samantha Bee (5:30)
I need you to do my air quotes.
Gaetan Pleur (5:34)
So, what you wanted was respect and a salad.
Samantha Bee (5:38)
Those aren't really air quotes. You gotta get the tone right, you gotta translate. Walmart was on the ropes. The union workers were demanding a raise of $108 per week, Which, in Canadian money, amounts to about a bag of skittles each.
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