Podcasts about Labor history

On Labor History Today: What happens if the labor laws that have governed workplace organizing since the 1930s simply disappear? Historian Leigh Campbell-Hale joins Labor Exchange host Robert Lindgren to discuss the 1927 Columbine Mine Strike, the stories labor history remembers—and forgets—and why those narratives matter for workers today. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory  

Planning a summer road trip? How about visiting the places where ordinary people made extraordinary change? We'll talk to Chris Garlock of the Labor Heritage Foundation about their new Labor Landmark Map! Then we'll visit a nearby landmark – Quindaro, the town founded by Wyandot Indians, abolitionists and free blacks as a free port on the Missouri River. We'll talk to a descendant of Robert Monroe who escaped to freedom across the winter ice.  Our feature is Washington Window with Mark Gruenberg.

On this week's edition of Labor History Today: the People's 250 campaign asks whose stories belong in America's history, from the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike to today's fights for worker dignity and democracy. Then historian Eric Bernardino joins America's Work Force Radio to discuss the massive 1938 San Antonio pecan shellers strike led largely by Mexican women workers and fiery organizer Emma Tenayuca. Plus: the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum's “Courage in the Hollers” labor history trail, Birmingham unionists who stopped a Klan church bombing, and this week's Labor History in Two on the historic 1934 Minneapolis Teamsters strike. Questions, comments, or suggestions? Contact us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation in partnership with the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory  

Bonus episode for our three-part miniseries about the UK's 1926 general strike, in collaboration with the General Strike 100 project and told using interviews with striking workers themselves.In this episode, East London dock worker, Harry Watson, talks about life and work on the docks around the time of the general strike as well as the split of skilled dock workers away from the Trades Union Congress (TUC).Our podcast is brought to you by our Patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes without ads, bonus episodes, two exclusive podcast series – Fireside Chats and Radical Reads – as well as free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistoryListen to the whole exclusive bonus episode without ads by joining us on Patreon. As well as more from Harry, it also includes Betty Harrison who recounts her experience of the 1925 textile workers' strike: https://www.patreon.com/posts/e120-1-1926-155633267Listen to our exclusive music bonus episode where we explain the history behind the theme song used for this series (recorded for us by award-winning artist, Montaigne)More infoFind out about events to commemorate the strike in your area (and beyond!) on the General Strike 100 websiteYou will also find dozens of stories about incidents which took place during the strike in cities, towns, and villages across the UKGet a copy of our interviewee, Judy Cox's Revisiting the General Strike of 1926: When Workers Were Ready To DareMore information including sources, further reading, images and soon a transcript available on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e119-121-1926-general-strike/AcknowledgementsThanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands and Fellow Worker.Episode graphic: traffic on Westminster Bridge as a result of public transport being shut down. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.Our theme tune for this preview is Montaigne's version of the classic labour movement anthem, ‘Bread and Roses', performed by Montaigne and Nick Harriott, and mixed by Wave Racer. Download the song here, with all proceeds going to Medical Aid for Palestinians. More from Montaigne: website, Instagram, YouTube.Edited by Jesse French

On Labor History Today: What do Chicago's three Haymarket monuments reveal about labor history, public memory, and who gets to shape the story of the past? Labor historian Peter Cole explains. Plus: Australia's early fight for the eight-hour day, and Labor History in 2:00 on the 1934 West Coast Maritime Strike. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory  

The final of our three-part miniseries about the UK's 1926 general strike, which saw one and three-quarter million workers walk out in the biggest single work stoppage in British history. In collaboration with the General Strike 100 project and told using interviews with striking workers themselves.In this episode, we look at state repression against the strike, the capitulation of union leaders, and the victimisation of strikers and months-long lockout of the miners after the end of the general strike.Our podcast is brought to you by our Patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes without ads, bonus episodes, two exclusive podcast series – Fireside Chats and Radical Reads – as well as free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistoryListen to our bonus episode to hear more from two participants in the general strike, exclusively on PatreonListen to our bonus mini-episode where we explain the history behind the theme song used for this seriesMore infoFind out about events to commemorate the strike in your area (and beyond!) on the General Strike 100 websiteYou will also find dozens of stories about incidents which took place during the strike in cities, towns, and villages across the UKGet a copy of our interviewee, Judy Cox's Revisiting the General Strike of 1926: When Workers Were Ready To DareMore information including sources, further reading, images and soon a transcript available on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e119-121-1926-general-strike/AcknowledgementsThanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands and Fellow Worker.Episode graphic: lorry loaded with petrol escorted by mounted policeas workers watch by the side of the road in London. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.Our theme tune for this episode is Montaigne's version of ‘When the Coal Comes from the Rhonda', a folk song originating from Welsh miners in the early twentieth century and sung during the general strike. Download the song here. More from Montaigne: website, Instagram, YouTube.Edited by Jesse French

What impact are ICE raids having on immigrant workers and communities in rural Missouri? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we'll talk to University of Michigan Prof. William D. Lopez about his book "Raiding the Heartland.” Then the new Labor Caucus of Missouri legislators is fighting for legislation to support workers and unions. We'll talk to Rep Adrian Plank. Our feature is Voices from Labor History.

On this week's Labor History Today: Can resistance to Trumpism help rebuild worker power? Jeremy Brecher, author of Strike!, joins labor historian Joe McCartin and organizer Stephen Lerner to discuss their argument that bold, disruptive action—from strikes to economic pressure campaigns—can revive the labor movement, drawing on both history and on-the-ground organizing to map a way forward. We also visit Tacoma, Washington, where Sarah Gray takes us to the gravesite of “Solidarity Forever” author Ralph Chaplin—showing how labor history lives on in local traditions. And in Labor History in 2, Rick Smith marks the 1999 West Coast port shutdown, when dockworkers struck in solidarity with Mumia Abu-Jamal—demonstrating the power of international labor solidarity. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor.

First of our three-part miniseries about the UK's 1926 general strike, which saw one and three-quarter million workers walk out in the biggest single work stoppage in British history. In collaboration with the General Strike 100 project and told using interviews with striking workers themselves.Our podcast is brought to you by our Patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes without ads, bonus episodes, two exclusive podcast series – Fireside Chats and Radical Reads – as well as free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistoryListen to Part 2 and Part 3 now (without ads) by joining us on PatreonListen to our bonus episode to hear more from two participants in the general strike, exclusively on PatreonMore infoFind out about events to commemorate the strike in your area (and beyond!) on the General Strike 100 websiteYou will also find dozens of stories about incidents which took place during the strike in cities, towns, and villages across the UKGet a copy of our interviewee, Judy Cox's Revisiting the General Strike of 1926: When Workers Were Ready To DareMore information including sources, further reading, images and soon a transcript available on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e119-121-1926-general-strike/AcknowledgementsThanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands and Fellow Worker.Episode graphic: car overturned in London during the general strike. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.Our theme tune for this episode is Montaigne's version of ‘When the Coal Comes from the Rhonda', a folk song originating from Welsh miners in the early twentieth century and sung during the general strike. Download the song here. More from Montaigne: website, Instagram, YouTube.Edited by Jesse French

An album and podcast from the Silkroad Ensemble and Rhiannon Giddens was inspired by the Black and immigrant labor that built America's railroads. In Boston, Black sleeping car porters unionized for better wages and humane hours.

This week on Labor History Today: From the fiery tragedy that shocked the nation—the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire—to the powerful solidarity of the 1912 Bread and Roses strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts. We'll also hear how a rebellious group of DJs turned a Bay Area radio station into a labor battleground in 1968, proving that the counterculture wasn't just about rebellion—it was also about dignity, creativity, and fair pay on the job. And we visit Idaho's Sunshine Mine Disaster Memorial, where a towering miner stands watch over 91 tombstones honoring workers lost in one of the deadliest hard-rock mining disasters in U.S. history. Reports from UUP's The Voice podcast, Madison Labor Radio, and Labor History in 2:00. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory  

On this week's Labor History Today, we continue our look at the legacy of A. Philip Randolph and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first major Black-led union in the United States. Recorded at Georgetown University's Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor, SEIU International President April Verrett reflects on what Randolph's legacy means for workers today. Posting on International Women's Day, this conversation highlights the role of women workers—especially in care and service jobs—in carrying forward the fight for dignity, organizing rights, and democracy. Verrett connects the porters' struggle a century ago with today's battles over worker power, immigration, and the changing nature of the working class. PLUS: Remembering Lucy Parsons on Labor History in 2:00 and We Were There, from Bev Grant and the Brooklyn Women's Chorus. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory  

This week on the podcast, Bobby and Alex take a break from discussing the economics of Major League Baseball and are joined by Jason Coskrey in order to discuss the business structure, labor history, and cultural evolution of Nippon Professional Baseball — the top baseball league in Japan. Links:Read Jason at The Japan Times⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tipping Pitches merchandise ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Call the Tipping Pitches voicemail: 785-422-5881Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of PUP.

On this week's Labor History Today, historian Eric Arnesen marks the centennial of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, tracing how A. Philip Randolph and Black railway workers built the first major Black-led union in 1925, fought for what Randolph called “manhood rights”—dignity on the job—and helped lay the groundwork for the 1941 and 1963 Marches on Washington, reshaping both the labor movement and the modern civil rights struggle. Plus, on Labor History in 2:00: The Price of Demanding Equal Pay, The 1937 Woolworth Sit-Down, and Remembering E.D. Nixon. NOTE: Arnesen's February 10 talk was part of a special Black History Month and Labor Spring event featuring April Verrett, the first Black woman president of SEIU, the Service Employees International Union, sponsored by the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University. We'll bring you highlights from Verrett's talk in next week's show. Explore LHF's new Labor Landmarks Map and suggest a site near you at laborheritage.org! Questions, comments, or suggestions welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory  

On this week's Labor Radio Podcast Weekly: On Work Week Radio, more than 6,500 San Francisco educators strike for living wages, safe staffing, and protections for immigrant students. From Labor Radio on KBOO FM, Portland Community College faculty describe their contract fight and readiness to strike for the first time in school history. A frontline nurse on Riverside Rank & File explains why 30,000 Kaiser healthcare workers are striking over patient safety and staffing levels. Unite & Win shares strategies for protecting immigrant workers amid growing political pressure. From Labor History in 2:00: MADISON! And on Labor History Today, we explore how labor memory survives through the new Labor Landmarks Map. Plus, in Shows You Should Know, highlights from Boiling Point, Labor Force, The Workers' Mic, El Cafecito del Dia, and Roswell Hub. Find links to every show at laborradionetwork.org and follow #LaborRadioPod on social media.

On this week's Labor History Today, host Chris Garlock explores how workers' struggles leave lasting marks—not just on history, but on the physical landscape itself. In Hamilton, Ontario, the 1946 Stelco strike helped secure collective bargaining rights for Canadian steelworkers—but also triggered a backlash that literally reshaped Woodlands Park, once known as the “People's Park,” to prevent workers from gathering there again. And in Marion, North Carolina, Chris traces the story of the 1929 Marion Massacre, when sheriff's deputies opened fire on striking textile workers. Today, even the small gravestone marking where workers were killed may have disappeared—raising urgent questions about how labor history is remembered, and how easily it can be erased. These stories are drawn from the Labor Heritage Foundation's new Labor Landmarks Map, a growing, crowd-sourced resource documenting sites of working-class struggle, resistance, and memory. In our second segment, Tales from the Reuther Library celebrates its 100th episode by exploring how bold philanthropy helped fund labor organizing and civil liberties movements during some of America's darkest times. Plus, four from Labor History in 2:00: Fighting for a Floor, The First Female Telegraph Operator, The Elusive 8 Hour Workday and Historic Sit-In by Memphis Sanitation Workers. Together, these stories remind us that labor history lives all around us—in parks, factories, memorials, and the landscapes workers fought to shape. Explore the Labor Landmarks Map and suggest a site near you at laborheritage.org! Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory  

A vanished hometown. A son who came back different. An elder on a quiet porch waiting for someone to say hello. We follow John Prine's trail from Maywood, Illinois, to the coal seams of western Kentucky and the factory streets of Michigan, mapping how his songs became a living record of America's working‑class migration.We start with the family story: parents who left Muhlenberg County for steadier pay, weekend drives back down the Green River, and the language that knit southern memory to northern labor. That double vantage shaped a body of work that feels at home in both coal camps and auto plants. Paradise turns industrial extraction into compact family history, explaining why so many left towns that now exist only in stories. Sam Stone pulls the curtain on the cost of war in neighborhoods that sent more than their share, capturing addiction and broken promises without sermon or spectacle. Hello in There lowers its voice to honor elders displaced by geography and time, reminding us that attention is a form of care. And Grandpa Was a Carpenter sketches a worldview built on work, loyalty, and a plain, steady pride.Along the way, we walk the line locals know by heart—the Hillbilly Highway—where Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas families followed Dixie Highway and U.S. routes into Illinois and Michigan, trading coal dust for factory grit. Prine didn't just sing about characters; he archived a code: show up for your people, honor your history, do your part, and expect your country to keep faith. When he died in 2020, the loss felt less like a star going dark and more like a neighbor setting down the notebook where everyone's names were written.If you care about Americana music, labor history, or the quiet ways songs hold communities together, press play. Then tell us which John Prine lyric still finds you where you live. Subscribe, share with a friend who grew up on a front porch or a factory block, and leave a review so more listeners can find these stories.-----------------This episode is a newly expanded version of my 2020 John Prine podcast episode, with more story and analysis.”-----------------The Mitten Channel is a network of podcasts.  

A Porter's Life: Riding the Rails of Black Labor HistoryThe morning of April 6th 1907, Ross Wood decided to fill out the application to become a Pullman Porter. He was 23 years old, and until this point he has only ever worked as a servant; a “houseboy”. Wood was born to parents that were enslaved not too long before he was born. He thought about how if he had been born just 20 years earlier, he too would've been a slave. He wanted to be a porter. It was a respected job among his black peers and even though he would spend his days being demeaned, the $10 a week might've been enough incentive. Sources  Labor Union Negotiation and Agreement Files, 1920-1969. 1920.  Pullman's Palace Car Company. Employee Indexes and Registers, 1875-1946. 1875.  Application and Service Files, 1900-1964. 1900.  United States Railroad Administration. Union Contract Agreement Books, 1919-1958. 1919.https://jimcrowmuseum.ferris.edu/question/2021/august.htm Send us a textSupport the showAlso, catch Dario on the new season of Netflix's "High On the Hog" here!!If you have anything you'd like us to talk about on the podcast, food or history, please email us at ⁠media@77flavorschi.com⁠ WATCH US ON YOUTUBE ⁠HERE⁠! Visit our website ⁠https://www.77flavorschi.com⁠ Follow us on IG: 77 Flavors of Chicago ⁠@77flavorschi⁠ Dario ⁠dariodurhamphoto Sara @sarafaddah

This week on Labor History Today: The 66th anniversary of the Greensboro sit-ins — a turning point that helped ignite the modern Civil Rights Movement and reshaped American politics. We feature an in-depth conversation from The Green and Red Podcast, tracing the origins of the sit-in movement, from Greensboro and Nashville to the rise of SNCC, and exploring how militant nonviolence, media exposure, and youth-led organizing forced a national reckoning — with powerful parallels to today's struggles against state violence. Then, on Labor History in 2:00, we revisit another watershed moment in collective action: the 1919 Seattle General Strike, when tens of thousands of workers shut down a city and demonstrated the power of solidarity. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory  

This week on Labor Radio Podcast Weekly: The Heartland Labor Forum examines the stunning decision to shut down the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette just hours after workers won their case at the U.S. Supreme Court, with NewsGuild–CWA president John Schleuss on what comes next. The Power Line Podcast goes inside the substation with Arizona Public Service electricians Juan Huerta and Beau Tubbs, exploring high-risk work, accountability, and what it takes to stay safe where everything connects. On the Green and Red Podcast, hosts revisit the 1960 Greensboro sit-ins, the rise of SNCC, and the lessons mass direct action still holds today. Labor Jawn features songwriter Mindy Mary on Striking at King's, a new labor song inspired by a 1938 Pennsylvania farmworkers' strike—and why its message still resonates. On the Labor Heritage Power Hour, we feature one of the powerful medleys from the Labor Heritage Foundation's Songs for Minneapolis YouTube playlist, responding in music to recent ICE killings. Bonus track: Labor History in 2:00 looks back at the 1919 Seattle General Strike, when tens of thousands of workers shut down a city and briefly ran it themselves. Plus, in Shows You Should Know, quick highlights from Alan on Labor, Union Talk, Apple Box Talks, The Union Labor Advisory Network Podcast, and Labor Radio on KBOO. Find links to every show at laborradionetwork.org Follow: #LaborRadioPod Contact: info@laborradionetwork.org This podcast is recorded under a SAG-AFTRA collective bargaining agreement. Produced by Chris Garlock, Patrick Dixon & Harold Phillips.

Last fall workers at two Half Priced Books stores organized a union. Now workers at the Westport store have won a first contract. We'll celebrate with them this week on the Heartland Labor Forum . Then, one of the longest strikes in recent history ended with a judge's order and a big win for the union. Then management fired everyone and shutdown operations. Yes it's the Pittsburg Post Gazette, and we'll talk to the President of the News Guild CWA's John Schleuss. Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am. Our feature is Voices from Labor History with Christina Dismang.

This week on the Labor Radio Podcast Weekly, we bring you voices from across the labor movement grappling with state violence, organizing under pressure, and the fight to protect workers' power—on the streets, in the workplace, and in the digital economy.

This week on Labor History Today, we move from repression to resistance—and from history to possibility. We begin with Labor History in Two and the 1917 trial of labor leader Tom Mooney, a stark reminder of how the justice system has been used to silence working-class dissent. Then we turn to the present with a report from the Working Class History podcast, bringing us to the 2025 Working Class Literature Festival at the occupied former GKN factory outside Florence, Italy—where workers are fighting not only to save their jobs, but to transform their workplace into a cooperative and tell their own stories. We close with another Labor History in Two—the 2006 Sago Mine disaster—underscoring the deadly consequences of corporate negligence and regulatory failure. History doesn't just explain the world we're in. It helps us imagine the one we're trying to build. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory  

On this week's Labor History Today: From Camp Solidarity in Matewan, West Virginia—the heart of the legendary Mine Wars—UMWA President Cecil Roberts reflects on the long struggle of coal miners to claim America's promise that “this land belongs to all of us.” On the eve of his retirement, Roberts' words connect today's fights for justice with a century of labor history rooted in the hollers of Appalachia. (Originally broadcast 9/21/25; updated with today's Labor History in 2:00) Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory  

In this episode of Labor History Today, labor organizer and researcher Eric Dirnbach talks with Dave Kamper, author of Who's Got the Power: Hope for Troubled Times, about the post-pandemic union upsurge. From graduate student organizing and teachers' strikes to the UAW's stand-up strike and bargaining for the common good, Kamper reflects on what history can teach us about moments of possibility, and why solidarity is re-emerging as a force for change. Labor History in 2:00: Red Scare Hysteria Deportations Begin Music: Little Flame, by Carsie Blanton. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory 

This week on Labor History Today, we head to Philadelphia with an excerpt from the Labor Jawn podcast. Hosts Sam and Gabe talk with labor historian Dr. Francis Ryan about Philly's central role in U.S. labor history, why working-class stories are often erased, and what today's movement can learn from the city's past. Plus, on Labor History in 2:00: the birth of civil rights organizer Ella Baker in 1903. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory  

In 1937, a 23-year-old Flint woman stood between General Motors security, Flint police gunfire, and the workers fighting for their lives inside Fisher Body. Her name was Genora Johnson Dollinger — and she did more than rally the Women's Emergency Brigade. She dodged bullets for the UAW and helped spark a labor uprising that reshaped the American middle class.This episode begins with a cinematic reenactment of the Flint Sit-Down Strike and Genora's electrifying moment on the picket line. From her kitchen-table organizing to the chaos outside the plants, Genora's bravery becomes the doorway into a deeper story about labor, power, and the long shadow cast over America's auto industry.We would like to hear from you! Send us a Text.

In 1937, a 23-year-old Flint woman stood between General Motors security, Flint police gunfire, and the workers fighting for their lives inside Fisher Body.Her name was Genora Johnson Dollinger — and she did more than rally the Women's Emergency Brigade.She dodged bullets for the UAW and helped spark a labor uprising that reshaped the American middle class.This episode begins with a cinematic reenactment of the Flint Sit-Down Strike and Genora's electrifying moment on the picket line. From her kitchen-table organizing to the chaos outside the plants, Genora's bravery becomes the doorway into a deeper story about labor, power, and the long shadow cast over America's auto industry.

This week on Labor History Today, we revisit the 1946 Oakland General Strike through the eyes of labor educator and activist Stan Weir — and uncover the surprising role a chart-topping “country” hit played on the picket line. After we hear the day's events from Labor History in 2:00, host Chris Garlock digs into Weir's vivid account of the strike's carnival-like atmosphere, where bars rolled jukeboxes into the streets and “Pistol Packin' Mama” — the first country song ever to top the Billboard pop chart — echoed off downtown buildings for 54 hours. We trace how an American Federation of Musicians strike helped turn the tune into a national sensation, and why its defiant energy resonated with the mostly women department-store strikers who ignited the Oakland uprising. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory  

This week on Labor History Today, we're marking the 50th anniversary of the Walter P. Reuther Library building at Wayne State University with a special episode from our friends at Tales from the Reuther Library. Hosts Dan Golodner and Troy Eller English revisit the origins of one of the nation's premier labor archives, sharing stories from its early days and reflecting on why preserving labor history remains vital in a moment of renewed attacks on worker rights. As part of the celebration, they sit down with Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, whose union recently placed its records with the Reuther. Nelson discusses the history and evolution of the flight attendant profession, the fights that shaped it, and why knowing our past is essential to winning today's battles. Plus, on Labor History in 2:00: the 2012 walkout by more than 100 New York City fast food workers that helped spark a movement. A NOTE TO OUR LISTENERS: Recently we passed the 100,000-download mark here at Labor History Today. Now, we don't pay a whole lot of attention to metrics and all that sort of stuff; we don't have sponsors and we've been putting the show together every week since 2017 because – like Sara Nelson – we believe that the key to the future of working people and their unions lies in knowing about our past struggles. Still, it's nice to know that so many of you are listening out there; so here's a promise: you keep listening and we'll keep putting out the show. And if you get a chance, share the show with a colleague, friend or family and what the hell, let's rack up another hundred thousand downloads even quicker! Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. @ReutherLibrary @FlyingWithSara #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory  

Historian and former UAW organizer Rudi Batzell joins America's Workforce Union Podcast to explain how the failure of land reform after slavery — and employers' use of racial division and strikebreaking — shaped the early U.S. labor movement. From “40 acres and a mule” to the CIO, Batzell shows how race and class remain inseparable in American labor history. And on Labor History in 2:00: Justice for Janitors. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory  

On this week's Labor History Today: U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders accepts the 60th annual Eugene V. Debs Award from the Eugene V. Debs Foundation in Terre Haute, Indiana — and pays tribute to the labor legend not as a figure of the past, but as an inspiration for the struggles of today. From the Pullman Strike to the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, from Debs' call for human kinship — “while there is a soul in prison, I am not free” — to Sanders' warning about today's billionaire class, this episode connects the struggles of the past to the movements of the present. Plus, music by The Local Honeys, who performed at the Debs dinner, and Labor History in 2:00 remembers Debs. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory  

10.28.2025 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Maine GOP Targets Mail Voting, SNAP Cuts Hit Millions, Roxanne Brown Makes Labor History Maine is attempting to make it more difficult for individuals, particularly seniors and people with disabilities, to vote by mail. This GOP-backed measure on the November ballot could restrict access for thousands. Today marks day 28 of the government shutdown. Dozens of states are suing the Trump administration for cutting off SNAP food aid, which millions of families rely on. A historic moment is unfolding: for the first time ever, the United Steelworkers Union will be led by a woman. Roxanne Brown will join us to discuss breaking barriers and what her swearing-in means for labor and equality. We are just one week away from Virginia's significant election. Democratic nominee Jay Jones will join us to explain why he should be the next Attorney General. In our Black Star Network Marketplace, we feature a Black-owned brand, E Marie, that is redefining comfort with its ultra-soft blankets and hoodies. #BlackStarNetwork partner: Fanbasehttps://www.startengine.com/offering/fanbase This Reg A+ offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. This investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment. You should read the Offering Circular (https://bit.ly/3VDPKjD) and Risks (https://bit.ly/3ZQzHl0) related to this offering before investing. Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jennifer Albert Mann joins the show to discuss her book "Shift Happens, The History of Labor in the United States," a labor history book for teens and young adults. Shift Happens was the September young adult book recommendation on NEA's Read Across America Calendar, under the theme “invite transformation.”

It's all about shutdown and resistance. First, Jessica LaPointe is President of the American Federation of Government Employees Social Security Council. We'll ask her and a local worker about the present and future of Social Security. Then, we'll ask federal union leaders from HUD, the IRS the Army Corps of Engineers and Social Security how members are surviving with no pay and why they want more unions to show up and protest. Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am. Our feature is Voices from Labor History. 

On Labor History Today: In 2005 the Guinness Brewery at Park Royal, West London closed after seven decades of production. Tim Strangleman spent the last six months of the Brewery's life working with a photographer to record in words and picture the site before it closed. Subsequent research revealed an incredibly rich story of corporate cultural change and the transformation of work and the workplace. Drawing on material from his 2019 book, Voices of Guinness: An Oral History of the Park Royal Brewery, Strangleman, Professor of Sociology, in the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent, Canterbury, reflects on what that story tells us about work meaning, identity and organizational life in the second decade of the twenty-first century. Our show – which originally aired on October 24, 2021 -- is excerpted from Strangleman's Zoom presentation at the October 5, 2021 edition of Our Daily Work/Our Daily Lives, the lecture series sponsored by the Michigan Traditional Arts Program and the Labor Education Program at Michigan State University. To get on the ODW/ODL email list email John Beck at mailto:beckj@msu.edu Click here for photos of the Park Royal Guinness Brewery.   And, on Labor History in 2:00, the year was 1940; that was the day that the federally mandated 40-hour work week went into effect for U.S. workers. Produced by Chris Garlock. To contribute a labor history item, email laborhistorytoday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @MichiganTradArts @MSUSHRLR @DIndustrialKent @SSPSSR @OxUniPress

On this week's Labor Radio Podcast Weekly: Work Stoppage: 32,000 Michigan home healthcare workers win SEIU recognition with a 73% “yes” vote and gear up to bargain with the state. Radio Labour Canada: CUPE re-elects Mark Hancock, announces 800,000 members, and vows to fight back-to-work orders and a right-wing federal agenda. Machinists 141 Connections: Inside JetBlue ramp organizing: why workers want a union and how an in-shop committee is building power. Labor History Today: The 1948 Donora “Death Fog”: how a Pennsylvania smog disaster reshaped U.S. thinking on work, health, and environmental accountability. Plus, on Shows You Should Know: Labor Force, Working People, Labor Notes Podcast, Heartland Labor Forum, Tales from the Reuther Library, Talk The TAUC, Labor Heritage Power Hour. Help us build sonic solidarity by clicking on the share button below. Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people's issues and concerns. @WorkStoppage @radiolabour#LaborRadioPod @AFLCIO Edited by Patrick Dixon, produced by Chris Garlock; social media guru Mr. Harold Phillips.

On this week's Labor History Today: Justice Denied: David Gariff on “Ben Shahn and the Case of Sacco and Vanzetti.” Saul Schniderman remembers musician activist Elaine Purkey. From the Tales from the Reuther Library podcast, “When It Happened Here: Michigan and the Transnational Development of American Fascism.” And, on Labor History in 2: Paul Robeson, “The Voice of an Era.” Originally aired October 18, 2020; produced and edited by Chris Garlock and Evan Papp. To contribute a labor history item, email laborhistorytoday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University. We're a proud founding member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network; #LaborRadioPod

On this week's Labor History Today: A visit to the Donora Smog Museum, where a six-day inversion in 1948 trapped toxic fumes over a Pennsylvania mill town and changed how the U.S. thinks about work, health, and accountability. And, on Labor History in 2:00: The Mother Jones Monument is Dedicated. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory  

Over a century ago, lawyer Clarence Darrow fought battles that sound remarkably similar to present day struggles.

Leanna Renee Hieber is an actress, playwright, ghost tour guide, audiobook narrator and the award-winning, bestselling author of over Gothic, Gaslamp Fantasy, Supernatural Suspense and Non-Fiction books for adults and teens with publishers such as Tor, Sourcebooks and Kensington Books. A Haunted History of Invisible Women: True Stories of America's Ghosts, co-authored with Andrea Janes, was a 2022 Bram Stoker Award finalist for "Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction". The book explores the intersection of women's history and ghost stories. America's Most Gothic: Haunted History Stranger than Fiction, releases 9/30/25 from Kensington.This is Something Rather than Nothing . . .

This week on Labor History Today: From the 2025 Camp Solidarity, West Virginia Mine Wars Museum co-founder Wilma Steele unpacks the red bandana—tracing its paisley roots from Persia to Appalachia—and how a scrap of cloth became labor's emblem of courage, memory, and solidarity. And, on Labor History in 2:00: The Uprising of the 20,000. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #MineWars #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory  

It's Labor Day, so we're sharing one of our favorite conversations on the history of labor in the US- our 2018 conversation with Louis Hyman on his book Temp: The Real Story of What Happened to Your Salary, Benefits & Job Security. We hope you have a great holiday!   This episode originally aired as episode 103 on August 18, 2018. This rebroadcast was edited by Ben Sawyer.

On this week's Labor History Today: Historian Dr. Jeffrey Johnson tells the story of the 1916 San Francisco Preparedness Day bombing and the infamous frame-up of labor leader Tom Mooney, who spent more than two decades behind bars before his eventual release and pardon. Recorded live at the 9th Annual Reuther-Pollock Labor History Symposium, Johnson explores how xenophobia, anti-labor fervor, and miscarriages of justice from a century ago still echo loudly today. Plus, on Labor History in 2:00: The Battle of Blair Mountain. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory  

Los Angeles may be home to a powerful labor movement today, but it was not always that way. Los Angeles was once known as one of the most anti-union cities in the country. On this Labor Day weekend, we re-air Mike's 2024 interview with Kent Wong of the UCLA Labor Center. Kent walks us through the ups and downs of the history of organized labor in Los Angeles -- and reveals how victories and losses here shaped the labor movement nationally.ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:UCLA Labor CenterMemory Work Los AngelesCal Federation of Labor - Labor HistoryLA Stories: Labor Movements in Los AngelesMiguel Contreras: Legacy of a Labor LeaderMike Garcia and the Justice for Janitors MovementFrom Coors to California: David Sickler and the New Working ClassVoices from the Front Lines: Organizing Immigrant Workers in Los AngelesFrom Mission to Microchip: A History of California Labor by Fred Glass (book)What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

WBBM political editor Geoff Buchholz takes a closer look at Chicago's Haymarket Monument, honoring victims of a violent blast during a labor rally in 1886.

Over a century ago, lawyer Clarence Darrow fought battles that sound remarkably similar to present day struggles.

On this week's Labor History Today, scholar and creator Shana L. Redmond sits down with Naomi R Williams, Assistant Professor of Labor Studies and Employment Relations at Rutgers University, to discuss Williams' new book A Blueprint for Worker Solidarity: Class Politics and Community in Wisconsin. Williams takes us into the history of Racine, Wisconsin — a small industrial city where, in the 1970s and 80s, workers built cross-racial, cross-sector alliances that transformed their community. From “total person unionism” to coalitions linking labor, civil rights, and women's movements, Racine's story offers a powerful blueprint for building democracy and justice today. NOTE: This conversation is excerpted from a longer version on the Labor Heritage Power Hour, available on all podcast platforms. This episode also features John Lewis Says Freedom, a brand-new song from musical storyteller and political satirist Charlie King. And, on Labor History in Two: A Little Security for Workers. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory  

Episode: 3235 Gender, labor history, and the devaluation of film editing.  Today, the mother of all film editors.

ORIGINALLY RELEASED Jul 28, 2020 Chris and Dave from the Mandatory OT and IWW join Breht to cover the fascinating and crucially important history of the Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest labor uprising in American history and the largest armed uprising in America since the Civil War.  In this powerful episode, we dive deep into the largest labor uprising in U.S. history—the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain. This was no metaphorical struggle: 10,000 coal miners, armed and organized, rose up against brutal exploitation, corporate tyranny, and state violence in the heart of Appalachia. It's a story of working-class militancy, raw courage, and revolutionary spirit—one deliberately buried and whitewashed by history. We bring it back to light. Check out Dixieland of the Proletariat  ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio HERE Outro Beat Prod. by flip da hood