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As The Daily Show's Jon Stewart noted in his show's opening this Wednesday evening, it wasn't the Chicago teachers' union strike, or workers rioting at the Foxconn factory in China that piqued the interest of Americans concerned about ongoing labor disputes. No, it was the NFL referees strike lockout and some really horrible calls by the replacement refs that got the nation's attention.

Stewart went on to mock Paul Ryan and his absolutely ridiculous analogy, where he tried to compare the Obama administration to the problems with the replacement referees. And they wrapped things up with Patrick Stewart showing up as a replacement worker for Daily Show regular John Oliver, who Stewart wanted to hire in his place and permanently replace him -- only to have his plans dashed when Oliver showed up to explain that the strike was a joke and with Patrick Stewart calling for a wildcat strike when he found out what Oliver was being paid.

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While discussing the recent lockout of the United Steelworkers at the Cooper Tire and Rubber Company, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich reminded the viewers of the Ed Show on MSNBC just how out of whack CEO pay is compared to the average worker out there.

You can read the press release from the USW on the strike here -- Steelworkers Locked-Out at Findlay Cooper Plant.